What is a thriller? - Miss B

What is a thriller? (Ms Begum)

Genre – Category that a film focus into, for example: horror, romantic comedy.

Codes and convention – the common features that are used in thrillers to appeal to the audience and are typical of a thriller film. Example lighting and sound.

Target audience – The group of people the film is aimed towards, for example the target audience of many thrillers are 18+n this is because they include a lot of violence and some psychological issues which can disturbing for many younger viewers, we could also see the target audience by looking on the back of DVD cover which it states why it is rated as it is such as extreme violence ect, which shows what target audience they are aiming it for.

Theme – The storylines, subject that are present in the film.

Sub-genre - A sub genre is like subdivisions of an encompassing term. Its taking groups like comedies, mysteries, poems, and making the thinking narrower.
 

What is a thriller?

The term “thriller” is that it is a suspenseful and sensational, Thrillers are usually consisted of numerous action scenes and faced paced plots. Not all film thrillers are suspenseful, but many suspense novels are thrillers. But what all thrillers have in common is creating a chilling feeling amongst the audience. The narrative being difficult to follow helps bring up the tension and suspense depending on the sub-genre.

By looking at sub-genres of thriller films, i found that thriller can be related by several sub-genres such as, crime, action/adventure, sci-fi, drama, mystery, horror, physiological.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5TsZ6iyaH4

By combining all the above features we could talk about “scream”. The genre for scream is horror/thriller which also goes into the idea of it being a sub-genre.  The target audience for it is 15+. It is shown that the storyline for “scream” is a number of serial killing,, but the way the serial killer does his murders indicates that the serial killer does it for amusement.

Common themes of thrillers

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 categorizations, with similar characteristics and features.

If the genre is to be defined strictly, a genuine thriller is a film that restlessly pursues a single-minded goal - to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the “edge of their seats” as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the main characters is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible.





Audience response to thrillers

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements, Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. plot twists and cliff hangers are used extensively. A thriller is villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the hero must overcome.

The aim for thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax. The cover-up of important information from the viewer, and fight and chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own unique characteristics and methods.

Conclusion

Doing this coursework helped me by understanding what a thriller is and their sub-genres by watching different thriller films and how they are laid out in the sense of genres and sub-genres. Watching different film trailers gave me different ideas in what I and my peers are going to include in our trailer. I also learnt the differences between a thriller and a horror by watching in detail what exactly both the genres and sub-genres show.

By staying on top of all my coursework and not falling behind, ill be able to meet all the coursework requirements and keep all my work up to date.