Conventions of My Genre (Thriller)

Genre

 The genre that I have selected for my film is the heart racing genre of thriller. Thriller is considered to be a broad genre in literature, films and television and within thriller there are numerous and more than often overlapping sub-genres. Hitchcock stated that thrillers allow for its audiences to "put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like. Thriller is therefore a flexible genre that's more daring and made by independent companies, aimed at niche audiences and have much more freedom and creative control over their final product. Postmodernists encourage as flexible genres challenge the common conventions of a genre by mixing and using a wide range of characteristics and conventions that belong to different genres. For instance, many of thriller's conventions overlap that of the horror genre and will sometimes leave audiences confused as whether a film's genre is a thriller or a horror.

 In thriller, the plot generally revolves around a battle that takes place between the protagonist and the antagonist, when there is a disruption in the equilibrium. The story then showcases a chain of unfortunate and sometimes deadly events and endeavours to build tension and creating a suspenseful climax. The protagonist's aim is to restore justice within the story, where the antagonist will be determined to destroy it. The aim of a thriller film is to create excitement and suspense for its audiences.

Sub-Genres

Conventions

• Violence is a common convention of thriller, violence is typically communicated through the use of mise-en-scene in props such as weapons (guns, knifes, etc).
• Fast paced, frequent action and resourceful heroes who must defeat and overcome the plans of a dominant villain
• Suspense and cliffhangers are used heavily in thrillers.
• Villain driven plot, where villains will throw obstacles at the protagonist
• Plot twists that endeavour to shock and perhaps even disturb the audience
• Dramatic soundtrack to provoke audience's emotions
• Characters tend to follow Propp's character theory as it includes the hero, the villain, the princess, the dispatcher, the donor, the helper and the false hero.
• Dark colour scheme and low-key lighting to connote mystery and provoking thrill
• Isolation is considered a conventional theme of thrillers and often shows characters in vulnerable position

Mirrors

Mirrors are a typical convention of thriller films as they are a way for audiences to see the characters reflecting upon their inner self and shows clearly to audiences exactly what a character may be feeling through facial expression. Mirror also are considered to represent the darkness within certain characters. An example of this would be the film Mirrors.

Plot Twist

Plot twists are what drives and creates unease within thriller films, A plot twist surprise and confuses audiences and could perhaps led to a discovery of a false protagonist. This involves presenting a character in the beginning of the film as a trustworthy protagonist, but later on getting rid of said characters (usually killing them) this convention is also known as a red herring. An example includes from a 1999 supernatural thriller film The Sixth Sense where a child has a psychologist doctor (Bruce Willis) whom he talks to about seeing dead people. Throughout the entire film this doctor helps him but later the audience discovers that the doctor is in fact a dead person also.

Thriller Film Examples 

The Black Swan

 The 2010 Black Swan was a psychological thriller, directed by Darren Aronofsky. The film includes suspense, plot twists and low-key lighting in particularly scary and heart-racing scenes. Part of what makes this film so terrifying to its audience I believe is the use of the unreliable narrator. Typically in thriller films, we are introduced to a narrator or a character whom we place our trust into, but Nina remains unreliable to its audiences, making the audience fearful as they have nobody in the film whom they can rely on. A convention that the film follows heavily is the use of mirrors as much of the film is shown through mirrors. Within the film Nina's reflection in the mirror moves independently from her own, making the audience uneasy and questioning just who is the real Nina and who they can truly trust.

The Purge

  The 2013 The Purge was a fictional thriller/horror film that was directed by James DeMonaco. The film centres around the idea of all crime being legal, including murder, making the film more of a social science fiction. The Purge itself includes various conventions of thriller, and does so effectively despite receiving mixed reviews. Suspense, mystery and and curiosity and feelings that revolve around this film. The film manufactures these feelings and emotions through the mise-en-scene within thriller films the mise-en-scene is crucial for creating the setting, environment and characters within the film. For instance, at the very beginning of The Purge, the characters are shown going about their day to day lives, highlighting the normality and shows them within a happy and positive environment. This 'happiness' is shown to the consumers through the lighting which is high-key, bright and additionally through the characters facial expressions, where they are seen smiling, happy and laughing. The facial expressions are also used to showcase the relationship and interactions between characters before these events occur,