Conventions of a thriller

Conventions of a thriller

Narrative

The narrative is usually a battle between protagonists and the antagonist. The story is basically a chain of bad events that build up suspension for the climax of good and evil meeting up for the final time and the restoration of equilibrium. By the end of the film the ‘hero’ will have resolved the enigma thus stereotypically solving the case, catching the bad guy and winning the girl.

Setting

Thrillers are typically set in urban locations such as cities and towns. However as the film runs its course the characters may be taken to more exotic locations outside if this urban environment such as a desert.

Actors and roles

The good character (protagonist) is often typically a brave male who is the character looking to restore the equilibrium, this character will also meet lesser characters throughout the movie who will aid them.

The bad character (antagonist) will often have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film progresses. The antagonist is often someone from the protagonists past seeking revenge or the antagonist is seeking revenge on them for some reason.

Props

Overall in thrillers the props in the movie depend on the time the movie is set in. The most common props in thrillers are weapons, ranging from pistols to machine guns, sometimes knives or swords but yet again this depends on where and when the movie is set. Vehicles are often used in thrillers, especially spy thrillers.

Camerawork, editing and sound

The camerawork includes a lot of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist, also these close ups can be used to focus on important props that could impact on that shot.

Music is added to the movie to create suspense which is an essential convention in the thriller. They use a lot of jump cuts throughout the movie, these jump cuts are fast paced so lots of things can happen with it still making sense.

A lot of the sound in thrillers is designed to create tension. Overall sound helps the audience understand thoughts and feelings/moods of the characters in the movie.