Thriller genre

Research

Films similar to our idea

Our film idea consists of a stalker causing the trouble in the film. Here are a few films similar to our idea:

•Misery: (1990) A famous novelist is "rescued" from a car crash by an obsessed fan.

•Enduring love: (2004)Two strangers become dangerously close after witnessing a deadly accident.

•Cape Fear: (1991) A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a 14 year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.

Hybrid genres and cross genres

Hybrid genre:The hybrid genre in the film industry refers to the aspect of blending several movie genres into one film such as comedy and horror. An example of this type of genre would be the movie Scary Movie 2.

Cross genre:A cross-genre is a genre in fiction that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. For example Frankenstein is a science, fiction and horror.

Our genre of a film opening would be thriller, though the opening will consist of a stalker meaning that the hybrid genre of our film would be Physiological thrilller.

Narrative analysis

Thriller is a broad genre of film that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline - rushing, gritty, moving and fast-paced.

A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace. It keeps the audience on the "edge of their seats", similar to a sensation of hanging from a cliff, as the plot builds towards a climax. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliff-hanger's are used extensively. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist character must overcome.

Character analysis

The main elements of the thriller genre:- The protagonist faces death, either his and/or her or somebody else's.- The forces of the antagonist’s must initially be cleverer or stronger than the protagonist'- The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a character that cannot be put down.- The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.- All action and characters must be realistic or natural in their representation on screen.- The two major themes that underpin the thriller genre are the desire for justice and the morality of individuals.- The protagonist and antagonist may battle, themselves and each other, not just on a physical level, but on a mental one as well.- Either by accident or their own curiousness, each character is dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve.

Characters usually include criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims, menaced women, characters with deep dark pasts, psychotic individuals, spree killers, psychopaths, agents, terrorists, cops and escaped people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more. The themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.

The protagonists are frequently ordinary citizens unaccustomed to danger, although commonly in crime thrillers, they may also be "hard men" familiar to danger such as police officers and detectives. While protagonists of thrillers have traditionally been men, women lead characters are common. In psychological thrillers, the protagonists are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling with the antagonist or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The suspense often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.

Iconography analysisThe setting will usually be based on a urban city with the colours of black, grey, white to empathise on the first characters we see. They can also be set in villages where it leads to the villain character being from a small village or town living a poor, simple life. The colours grey and black are mostly used to show the normal urban life.

The colours blue and red indicate when someone is about to die and danger warnings as they are alarming colours. The camera shots are either very steady for serious situations or move around a lot when there is action happening. When the camera is moving around in a fast pace it may either show action, vulnerability or something going wrong to increase the suspense. Though the use of steady shots also can create suspense when focusing on one character instead of the background.

The lighting that is mostly used in thriller films are dim lights that blur out parts of the environment or parts of a character to create enigma codes to the audience. The main type of props used are weapons usually knives, guns and swords.