DEFINITION: A thriller is a genre of fiction that attempts to thrill the audience by placing the characters at risk. There is no clear ingredience what a thriller should consist of. A thriller is a problematic genre. Thrillers can be categorized by fast paced action and editing, and heroes who must outwit the villain. Devises such as red herrings and cliff hangers are common. Thrillers usually take place in exotic places, such as foreign cities, deserts etc. The hero is usually a "hard man" accustomed to danger, usually a normal person. Thrillers often overlap mystery stories, however, thrillers usually work on a much grander scale. Big crimes, mass murders etc.
SUB GENRES
Action Thriller - Race against time. Violence.
Conspiracy Thriller - Hero confronts a powerful group.
Crime Thriller - Hybrid of crime films and thrillers. Usually focuses on criminals rather than the police.
Disaster Thriller - Conflict against a natural disaster.
Drama Thriller - Slow paced, great deal of character development.
Eco Thriller - Protagonist must rectify environmental problems.
Erotic Thriller - Popular since the 1980's. See "Fatal Attraction".
Horror Thriller - Conflict between the main character is up against a superior force.
Legal Thriller - Lawyers in danger, have to do the case to save their lives.
Medical Thriller - Heroes are doctors who solve a medical expanding problem.
Political Thriller - Hero must create stability for the government.
Psychological Thriller - Conflict is mental and emotional.
Spy Thriller - Government Agent. See "Bourne Identity".
Techno Thriller - High tech equipment.
RULES
The Transformed City - Should expose the poetry of modern life. Thrillers are the possibility for excitement in a boring place.
Heroic Romance - Every day person can be a hero - To become extra ordinary in extraordinary circumstances. The hero is in similar worlds to romance, however exchanges romantic settings for modern cities. The laws of nature are usually suspended.
The Exotic - Something exotic in the film. (Jewels, location, girls etc.) Usually involves middle east artefacts and filmed in unfamiliar or foreign locations.
Mazes and Labyrinths - Audience works things out by clues given. Full of twists/dead ends which keeps the audience guessing. The audience takes pleasure in prolonging the "journey", which results in the story being complex.
Partial Vision - The audience is only given so much to see. Some things are hidden from view.
Concealment & Protraction - Audience pulled in different directions based on clues given. Often to create confusion, and a delay of outcome. Important things are deliberately hidden from view.
Question & Answer - The audience is in suspense, always questioning. Wrong answers are given, and after the opening sequence the audience are left with clear questions.
Media Lesson - 22nd October
We watched the thriller called "Se7en", which helped me to understand and gain further knowledge on thrillers and how they are produced. We then began to analyse the opening titles of Se7en on paper, noting down everything we see in various categories. This will help when our thrillers are filmed and edited, providing inspiration and guidance on how thrillers are displayed.
Media Lesson - 3rd November
I watched the opening titles of the thrillers "Se7en" again and "JAWS" and analysed various aspects of the two on gridsheets. The gridsheets were completed in the lesson to be typed up in detail on this blog. This helps with increasing my understanding of the opening sequences of thrillers and how they are produced, covering various important aspects.
