Thriller Conventions

Thriller Conventions

Thriller film conventions:

• Antagonist- Normally have twisted views of the world and they normally believe there actions can solve the worlds problems, they are normally psychopathic and in certain films they are portrayed as smart and thinking through there plan methodically, such as in Seven.
• Setting- Thrillers are normally set in very corrupt areas such as cities, haunted buildings, prisons etc, the dark streets in the city provide tense and mysterious backdrop.
• Protagonist- They are normally male characters who are going through a normal day, but in the film they are suddenly sent into an extraordinary plot.
• Themes- The director will normally put a number of themes into a film, the plot for example will normally revolve around some kind of mystery or some complicating conspiracy. Some films are designed around a theme such as Seven which is based aroun the seven deadly sins, these themes are placed around the whole film.
• Sound- The sound used in thrillers is crucial to showing the mood of the film, in thrillers the sound provides the most tension and suspense and it can make shots appear very menacing and dramatic to the audience
• Editing- The director will often use jump cuts as it often makes the film flow better and allows the film to make sense to the audience, it can also help build suspense in the audience and can cause jump scares, in some situations, it can also be used to show one of the characters is nervous and this can add tension to the scene this was widely used in the film District 9.