The Thriller Genre; What Are The Features Of A Thriller?

A thriller is typically film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage. A thriller uses suspense, tension building and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers are designed to stimulate the viewer's moods, causing them to endure a rollercoaster of moods, giving them a high level of apprehension, ultra-heightened anticipation and expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and usually panic and terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing with events happening in a fast-paced sequence. Editing, sound and character casting are important when making a thriller. One example of a thriller film is Fast and Furious 1, which in summary is about "a Los Angeles street racer falling under the suspicion of the LAPD as a string of high-speed electronics truck robberies rocks the area. An officer of the LAPD then joins the ranks of Toretto's highly skilled racing crew undercover to convict Toretto. However, O'Connor finds himself both enamored with this new world and in love with Toretto's sister, Mia. As a rival racing crew gains strength, O'Connor must decide where his loyalties really lie.". Even this summary on the cover stimulates the potential viewer's emotions, making them desire to watch the film for themselves. The promise of an exciting story line interests the audience.

 

 

Thrillers always include a protagonist and an antagonist, which ensures that the story has dramatic effect. Typical features which consistently arise within films in the thriller genre are surprises, quick cuts and camera angle changes, music to add tension, light to create shadowing, mirrors, stairs, point of view shots, prolepsis of time and flash backs. In the thriller film Se7en, make up is an important element to shocking the audience and making the film memorable.

Within the thriller genre there are many sub-genres; including psychological thriller (e.g. The Sixth Sense), crime thriller (e.g. Se7en), comedy thriller (e.g. The A-Team), political thriller (e.g.JFK) and conspiracy thriller (e.g.The Bourne Identity).