EXPLORING THRILLER MOVIES

GENRE IS THE CLASSIFICATION OF THINGS ACCORDING TO THEIR SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS. EACH DISSIMILAR GENRE HAS SEPARATE CODES AND CONVENTIONS THAT ALLOW US TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THEIR CATEGORIZATION.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS IN FILMS

Codes are systems of signs that create meaning and can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic:

•Technical codes - the camerawork in a film. •Symbolic codes- show what is beneath the

surface of what we see: a character's actions show us how the character is feeling.

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something.

Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.

For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an

integral part of any horror movie.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF THRILLERS

Thematic Elements Thriller movies are meant to be enigmatic,

tension- creating and exciting.  They promote moods, e.g. a high level of

anticipation, adrenaline rush, arousal, uncertainty, anxiety, ultra-heightened expectation, and sometimes even terror.

The tones in thrillers are usually gritty, slick and lurid.

NARRATIVE ELEMENTS Thrillers have literary devices like plot

twists, red herrings and cliff-hangers. They usually show society as a corrupted

and dangerous place that has violence, crime and murder: a menacing atmosphere.

However, they often feature happy endings where the antagonist(s) are either killed or arrested.

TECHNICAL ELEMENTS The thriller genre usually have quick cuts,

elliptical (invisible) editing, change in camera angels.

The music are often those that creates tension but again, it depends on which sub-genre the movie lies in.

Also, the lighting (especially the use of shadows), mirrors, flashbacks, fight/chase scenes, twists, surprises and stairs is a vital component.

The primary subgenres of thrillers are: mystery, crime and psychological thrillers and each of them has its own characteristics and methods though some of the conventions mentioned in the previous slides are common to all.

In crime thrillers, there are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings.

In mystery thrillers, there are investigations and elements such as conspiracy theories, false accusations, paranoia.

Paranoid thrillers also have the above elements and sometimes action are found in them too.

Common elements in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/deathtraps, horror-of-personality and obsession.

TOP RATED THRILLERSThe Godfather

The Silence of the Lambs

Memento

Pulp Fiction

Inception

Rear Window

Psycho