Genre Research: Kenza Mokhtari

Thriller

A film that incorporates suspense, tension and excitement as it’s main features

Examples include:

Psycho (1960)

The silence of the lambs (1991)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Shutter Island (2010)

The Maze Runner (2014)

Sub-Genres

Action Thriller – James Bond: Quantum of Solace (2008)

Comedic thriller – Austin Powers (1997)

Conspiracy Thriller – JFK (1991)

Crime Thriller – Se7en (1995)

Disaster Thriller – 2012 (2009)

Espionage Thriller – The Army of Shadows (1969)

Medical Thrilller– Contagion (2011)

Mystery Thriller– Gone Girl (2014)

Paranormal Thriller– Sinister (2012)

Political Thriller– The Conversation (1974)

Psychological Thriller– Psycho (1960)

Religious Thriller – The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Romantic Thriller – Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Treasure Hunt Thriller– National Treasure (2004)

Comedy Thrillers Comedy thrillers incorporate key characteristics of the two categories

to create an unconventional sub-genre

Examples include Zorro (1998), Charlie’s Angles (2000) and Rush hour (1998)

Often have very dramatic storylines

Contains aspects of romance, crime or action

Psychological Thrillers Often similar to horror

Includes a plot twist or cliff-hanger

Narrative driven by the villain as opposed to the protagonist

Narrative is more focused on the character (eg. The way the villain's mind works) as opposed to the conventional engrossment in plot

Explores themes of perception, death reality or existence

Genre Signifiers: Main image

Main image:

The main image in a thriller is almost always the protagonist who will be place quite central; thrillers are known for selling their films to people outside their target audience by using well-known actors; for example Leonardo Dicaprio who is known for ‘Out of the furnace’ and ‘The beach’. By placing the actor in the middle the advertisement the audience. The character is typically on their own to create the image of loneliness and isolation, popular themes that run throughout thrillers as the audience would be left in suspense as they would recognize the lack of help.

Genre Signifiers: Typography

Typography:

One of the genre signifiers of thriller is the typography; with the exception of the actor’s names, the fonts used are sans serif which are used to portray simplicity. Due to the nature of them, thrillers tend to have fairly complicated plot lines and a enigmatic main character; this complication is juxtaposed against a very easy to read font. Another juxtaposition is that the main characters are usually dressed well, with the men in suits and the women in dresses, this formality is juxtaposed against the informal font. The typography is often in white, again to make it easy to read and also to make it stand out against the dark background; or red.

Genre Signifiers: Use of colour

Colour:

The colours used in thriller posters commonly contrast each other with combinations of black & white and cool & warm colours. The colour black is associated with negative imagery, it represents death and ambiguity. Red and oranges are also often used to suggest fire and firearms and connote the themes of danger and sin as fire is often associated with hell and red with the devil. Thrillers contain similar colours to horrors as they tend to have a similar audience and would thus use similar methods of appeal.

Genre Signifiers: Lighting, Background image & Props

Background image and props:

Another genre signifier is the background image which typically contains dark lighting and bad weather, the contrast of the colours

Pathetic fallacy is used to convey ominous happening within the film. Several of the films contain some form a fire which connotes danger and darkness. They also have weapons to represent the action parts of the film.

Audience demographics

Ages: 16-45This may be dependant upon the subgenre, for example a psychological thriller would attract a slightly older audience starting from >25, whereas a horror or action thriller would attract a younger audience <25

GenderPredominantly male viewers, but again, with a skew based on sub-genre; romance and supernatural thrillers are typically directed towards female audiences, whereas violence and political thrillers

Social-economic backgroundMore complex and intellectually demanding films, such as conspiracy or political thrillers, are conventionally targeted at middle class audiences; other than these, thrillers are targeted at middle and working class citizens

Narrative Conventions

Narrative is fixated on the villain/antagonist as opposed to the hero/protagonist

Incorporates dramatic irony

Layers of conflict are often further complicated by plot twists

Fast paced plot

Follows Tzventan Todorov’s Equilibrium theory

Equilibrium

Disruption to equilibrium

Realisation of disruption

Attempt to repair equilibrium

New/restored equilibrium

Historical development

The first film to incorporate aspects of a thriller was Alfred Hitchcock's ‘The Lodger’ 1926; the feature was silent and black and white

The low budget and lack of developed technology meant that the films in the late 1920’s up to the 80’s were not scary enough to receive an age rating

In the 1930’s, films with sound began produced and thrillers began to develop as a genre

The 1930’s were also the period where the iconic film noir style was devised introducing the gentleman detective

By the 1960, renown films such as Psycho were released, however the genre cycle didn’t begin until the 90’s

Around 1995, thriller began to follow the concept of a genre cycle, due to the success and revenue that it generated

A decade later, thrillers have become a conventional and highly recognised genre with multiple sub-genres

Common character types

Vladimir Propp’s character types that apply to thrillers:

Hero, Villain, Helper, False hero/villain

Application to Sherlock:

Hero: Sherlock

Villain: Moriarty

Helper: John Watson

False villain: Mycroft

Dispatcher: Greg