Conventions of The Thriller Genre
These are some of the top thrillers this year (2021):
What do these films have in common?
All of these films evoke shock during certain moments and grow suspense within the audience. These techniques allow these films to build and maintain tension for majority of the films' durations.
What are the differences between these films?
Each of these films use their own unique archetypes to create their tension (for example, Army of the Dead (2021) has zombies as their antagonists whilst A Quiet Place Part II (2021) has aliens).
Definitions of the Thriller film genre:
"These are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorisations, with similar characteristics and features." - Dirks, 2001
"Thrillers are about the feeling of thrills! They are movies and TV shows that keep you wondering what will happen next. They give viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation, and anxiety." - Hellerman, 2020
"Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience." - Konigsberg, 1997
The overall summary of these definitions is that films categorised under the thriller genre intend to excite the audience and build suspense, which as a result makes the audience curious and anxious.
Why is it so hard to define a Thriller film?
Because this genre is very vague and can include a wide range of films that have very different aspects compared to each other but can still be classified as thriller films.
My Favourite Subgenres of Thriller
- Psychological Thrillers - A thriller narrative that puts focus on the mentally unstable state of its characters.
- Action Thrillers - A thriller narrative that includes activities taking place that are fast-paced and violent.
- Science Fiction Thrillers - A thriller narrative based on scientific theories and/or beliefs, and so many films in this sub-genre are based in the future or in Space.
- Supernatural Thrillers - A thriller narrative that contains elements of fantasy or forces that are beyond the laws of nature or scientific understanding. Common themes/conventions include: forces that are not explicitly shown,
What is the difference between a Horror film and a Thriller film?
Horror films intend to scare and shock the audience more than Thriller films, which intend to make you very uncertain and anxious but also curious. This is because Horror films usually have a threat that the audience clearly acknowledges, and so they know that the threat either overpowers the protagonists or is overpowered by the protagonists, whilst Thriller films create and maintain suspense, making the narrative unpredictable for the audience.
These are the main differences I have found; however, take this with a grain of salt, as these genres are constantly evolving and are very similar, which means many movies can fit into the Horror Thriller genre.
What audiences should expect when they see a Thriller film:
- Not to fully understand aspects of the story for majority of the film's duration
- To be anxious for characters
- To feel excitement and anticipation
Bibliography
- Dirks, T., 2001. Thriller and Suspense Films. [online] Filmsite.org. Available at: <https://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html> [Accessed 9 Dec 2021].
- Hellerman, J., 2020. Defining The Thriller Genre in Movies and TV. [online] No Film School. Available at: <https://nofilmschool.com/thriller-genre-in-movies-and-tv-shows> [Accessed 9 Dec 2021].
- Konigsberg, I., 1997. The complete film dictionary. 2nd ed. London: Penguin [Accessed 9 Dec 2021].
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