Introduction The Thriller Genre

Thriller

There is no such thing as the 'thriller genre'. In fact Thriller is a broad genre of various aspects of media where the most distinct components of suspense, tension and peaks of excitement are used as the main elements in the film. The word thriller itself is an overarching generic term. Thriller is comprised of various sub-genres. For example one of the main subgenres is crime. This is one of the most commonly explored subgenres within thriller. Once one subgenre like crime is firmly established a series of subgenres from crime follow and these are called caper (crime film involving more than one crime) films. Examples of crime films include No country for old men and the silence of the lambs. Films like Se7en and the score are just a few of many crime thrillers that often center on a police officer or a criminal and involve murder and robbery. There are other sub genres of thriller as well such as Erotic thrillers like Basic instinct and the color of the night, Political and Legal thrillers such as the Pelican Brief and State of Play. 

One of the main aims in thriller is for the audience to experience a sudden rush of emotion, exhilaration and excitement that drives the narrative forwards with a mixture of subtlety and pace. This is known as taking the audience off the "edge of there seats" which is a metaphor. In the Thriller genre the three main techniques are derived from literature and are imbedded in film. These 3 techniques are intricate to the overall atmosphere of a Thriller film. These are known as 'red herrings', 'plot twists' and 'cliff hangers,' which the protagonist must overcome throughout the duration of the film. Ineffectively without these three elements there would be no Thriller film. Films such as Reservoir Dogs and Psycho are examples of thriller that include all of these elements.

Characters in thriller films can vary and differentiate? In many crime thrillers we can see that the plot is centred on a murder which a cop whose has a damaged past aims to solve the case. Some crime thrillers might involve an innocent person whose held hostage. An example of this type of plot is seen in the film Collateral. Some other films see prison inmates, fugitives, assassins, people in troubled relationships. Some of the most commonly explored themes in Thriller frequently include terrorism, conspiracy, pursuit or romantic triangles that lead to murder.  

Suspense is a key formula in the Thriller genre. It’s arguably the most important component in Thriller films. We credit the great Alfred Hitchcock for developing this technique. In some of his most influential films like Psycho and Vertigo Hitchcock uses what is called omniscient narration. This creates varying degrees and levels of leprosy for the audience and creates the feeling of powerlessness for the audience to intervene. Suspense is used most often in Thriller films to make the dyeing moments of the film memorable and tense for the audience. Essentially suspense is about conflict and how the protagonist is able to deal with obstacles. Suspense has never been ignored by the writers and is one of the most important parts of a film especially in the Thriller genre.