Conventions of the Thriller Genre

Conventions of Thrillers

The typical thriller features one thing at its core: a struggle between good and evil. This will often be represented in the form of a protagonist who is being hindered in one way or another by an antagonist and so must overcome this, which is where the plot arises. A thriller film will typically feature a growing sense of threat or danger, which builds up to a climax or cliffhanger, the idea of which is to leave the audience 'on the edge of their seats', anxious to know what happens next. Thrillers will typically be set from the protagonist's perspective, allowing the audience to follow their story more, and become more sympathetic to them as a result. Often it will be the case that in a simple, less tense scene such as a conversation, not all information will be revealed on purpose, in order to keep the audience guessing, and allow tension and suspense to mount more as a result.

Typically, the protagonist in a thriller will be a relatively straightforward and easy to understand person, allowing the audience to relate to them as soon as possible. Though having said this, in some cases (such as Adrian Lyne's Fatal Attraction), the now seemingly normal characters may have a dark or hidden past, which can be the reason they inevitably come into contact with the antagonists, who are consistently more complex characters. For instance, antagonists will often be things such as: escaped convicts (as seen in Daniel Zirilli's Curse of Alcatraz), psychotic individuals (as seen in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining), or obsessive stalkers (as seen in Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo). This unlikely meeting of a seemingly innocent and ordinary protagonist and an usual and often sinister antagonist provides the basis for the events of a thriller film.

Thriller soundtracks are typically totally orchestral. The less tense, more everyday scenes will often be coupled with calm, pleasant pieces of music. The combination of these two elements is designed to lure the viewers into a false sense of security. However, during more crucial, tense scenes, soundtracks will often be dissonant and harsh sounding, perhaps to reflect the thoughts of the antagonist. A common feature is the use of 'stings' in the soundtrack which sound at the same time as certain events on the screen in order to put added emphasis on them. Often, a total absence of soundtrack will be used deliberately in order to provide suspense, and create tension before this is ultimately released with whatever event comes next. A good example of these conventions being put to use is the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's seminal Psycho. The soundtrack to this scene has become arguably one of the most recognizable in cinema history.