Conventions of a Thriller

Thriller Conventions

• The use of lighting - thrillers are normally filmed in quite dark areas and at night time.
• The use of flashbacks in the footage
• It may not be clear who is to be trusted in the opening. Characters may have hidden agendas.
• Thriller antagonists are always human (not supernatural)
• Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better-equipped villains
• Thrillers rarely contain blood and gore - the suspense is instead built up through the implication of an event taking place. It is often 'what is not seen' that creates fear in the audience
• Thriller is a genre of literature, film and television that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements.
• Common methods in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, and kidnappings.
• Elements such as conspiracy theories, false accusations, paranoia, and sometimes action are common in paranoid thrillers.
• The tension usaully arises when the character(s) is placed in a menacing situation, a mystery, or a trap from which escaping seems impossible.
• Life is threatened , usaully because the principal character is unsuspectingly or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation.