Blog 1 - Thriller Conventions

Thriller Conventions

Thriller genres involve fast pacing and frequent action. They usually have resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains.
Unlike other movie genres, a thriller is a plot often driven by a villain. Then, the idea is that the hero is supposed to overcome the obstacles in its way which are thrown at him/her by the villain.

A thriller uses devices such as suspense, cliffhangers and red herrings.

Suspense creates an atmosphere with a build up of tension. For example, there is a suspense build up in the film North By North West when Roger Thornhill is being followed by a crop duster, and discovers it it out to attempt to kill him. The audience are unaware of this until the eerie music builds up and we see panic rush into the scene.

Cliffhangers involve a story ending with no complete close. For example, a story could end with a huge plot twist not being resolved, and leaves the audience wondering what will happen next, therefore they are very much interested in seeing a follow up movie, if there is one.

Red Herrings involve the audience being tricked by some sort of interpretation in a film. An example of this is in North By North West when audiences believe that the blonde female is a good character to begin with, then find out that she is working with the villain. The audience feel tricked here, but feel even more tricked when it is revealed at the end that she is a "good guy" after all.