Thriller Genre- Conventions

What is a thriller film ?

A thriller film establishes a suspenseful plot that includes heightened emotions of anxiety,revelation,anticipation and impulse. Thriller plots commonly attempt to keep the audience's full attention throughout as the plot reaches a climax this is commonly driven by a mission the protagonist must complete as they are set against a mystery,problem or need to escape. Thrillers are somewhat similar to films of the horror and action-adventure genres, thrillers have more psychological elements in the plot causing the audience to stay 'on the edge of their seats' when questioning their assumptions and expectations. 
 

Conventions of thriller films 

Thriller films have man conventions making the films easily recognizable to the thriller genre whilst enhancing the plot to ensure the film meets the desire to keep the audience guessing throughout the plot. These conventions will be explored further below:

Location 

One convention involves the location of the film, the location is commonly urban like a city. This location is common in thriller films as it is gritty, contemporary and allows for various shots of other parts of the city. To go with the location low key lighting is found in the urban locations to create a moody atmosphere that echoes the plot and suspense driven story.  

Narrative

Another convention of the genre involves the plot of the film generally,thriller films follow Todorov's narrative theory, this consists of equilibrium, disruption , recognition, reparation and new equilibrium. The story commonly incorporates a protagonist and their struggle that interrupts everyday life which is sometimes resolved in the end of the film. The disequilibrium of the film is commonly due to a mission that must be completed or a crime that has taken place like a murder that must be solved. 

Characters

Moving on from this the two main characters ,protagonist and antagonist, will have various qualities making them easily recognisable as the hero or villain of the film. The film's protagonistt is likely to be an current or ex agent/spy, an average member in the public who could find themselves in 'the wrong man's shoes' or become the hunted after being the hunter. Contrastingly the antagonsit of the film is likely to have mental health issues, be a known psycopath, have strong anti-government views or have a prejudice mindset regarding political or religious views/beliefs. 

Props

Following this, most thriller films explore various aspects of weaponry and espionage to enhance the plot and certain scenes. One example of this a fight scene, these scenes enhance the action and fear aspects of the narrative enigma. Fight scenes commonly include weapons like guns or members of the government like spies and agents. 

Plot

To continue, another convention that is common in the genre is social realism. Though there can be supernatural elements in thriller plots many inlclude aspects of social realism and illustrate the challenge an innocent memeber of the public many face. Social realism plays a large part in thriller plots as it creates an unusual situation for the protaganist creating suspense and anxiety for the audience.

Sound

Leading on from this,thriller films will inlude many ambient sounds and an interesting soundtrack to create atmosphere. There will be multiple uses of incidental music of a low tone which is generally edgy and reflects the emotional and physical state of the protaganist and antagonist. There will also be a significant use of sound effects and ambient sound to enhance to atmosphere of the film and the location. 

Mise-en-scene 

One more convention is the recognisible costumes and make-up of protaganists and antagonists. The protaganist in thriller films is commonly good looking and wear dark coloured clothing that reflects their place in society and individual personality. Some will wear suits to depict their occupation whereas others will wear casual clothing. Contrastingly, antagonists and generally ugly and have visible scars, diformities and wear utilitarian clothing or strange unifroms. 

Camera and Editing

Camera and editing conventions are used in addition to those already mentioned, various shots are used in certain scenes that are common to thriller films. An example of this is close-up shots of protaganists when they are anxious or in danger whereas mid and long shots are used with action match editing to illustrate fight scenes or shot-reverse-shot editing alongside over the shoulder camera work to exemplify a conversation between the protaganist and antagonist.

Though all of these conventions are different and are seen in some thrillers but not at all incorpirated in others all thriller films provide the audience with adrenaline keeping their engagment with the film. This is also achieved with the use of disturbing shots that ensure the audeince feel uneasy but not too shocked as the plot is still realistic. These conventions, camera work, editing, sound and mise en scene all add versimilitude of the narrative allowing the audience to easily grasp the plot and become engaged with the  mystery of the thriller.