What is a thriller film?

What Is A Thriller Film?

There are many Codes & Conventions to a thriller film. Some of these are as follow:

• Enigma - a mystery is always set in a thriller, E.g. In Scream you don't know who the masked killer is.
• Victim's characteristic - the victim is usually seen as weak and vulnerable and not able to help themselves in the situation in hand, E.g. The strangers where the lady tries to escape but isn't able to and is to scared so she hides in here bedroom.
• Violence - the murderer always commits some form of violence towards the victim when killing them, E.g. in Scream 4 one of the victims is stabbed in the back.
• Dramatic irony - the audience know who the killer is or who the next victim is.
• Low key lighting - low key lighting creates shadows to create a feeling of fearfulness and this lets the audience know that something is about to happen to the character, E.g. Prom night in the bedroom scene.
• Slow editing - slow editing is a term used when the editor has slowed down a shot to create tension and suspense.
• Iconography - iconography is the the props that are used in the film, E.g. knifes, shelves if pulled down.
• Non-Diegetic - this is sound that is heard but you cant see it on the screen this can be voices from a character that is off screen or music that is out over the top of the film, this can create suspense and tension and gives the audience an idea to what is about to happen.

Now i have stated some of the key Codes & Conventions about the thriller genre i will analysis the opening scene of "Saw 1" and show you what codes & Conventions are there:

Straight away you see a vulnerable character who was asleep in a bath full of water drowning and suddenly wakes up. This causes a shock to his system and he doesn't know what to do, in the process the water goes down the plug whole and this means he survives but he finds out that he is tied with a chain to a thick old pipe which is very strong. Whilst all this is happening the room is pitch black and you and he cant see anything so he starts to shout for help. Then a voice which is off screen, Non- Diegetic, calls out, this makes the audience try and guess who this character is, Is it another victim? or Is it the killer? Then the lights are turned on and there is a sense of enigma because you see that there is another character that is tied up but there is also another unknown character in the middle of the floor who is dead and has a gun in one hand and a dictaphone in the other hand. this confuses the audience because you would think that he was he killer but he is now dead so they don't know what's happening. There are also lots of iconography elements in this opening as there is a gun, dictaphone, chain, lock, bath, water and a key that floats down the plug hole. You also realise that they are in a big abandoned public toilet which hasn't been used for a long time. All of these create suspicion, tension and suspense which are key factors of the thriller genre.

Panic Room - http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sqIclb4qsJI

Straight away there are pan shots of a city like New York and there is soft but scary music in the background which is setting the scene. This gives you a brief idea of what is going to happen later on. Then you here a non diegetic sound of a woman talking but you can't see her and then it just cuts out. This sets the scene for the rest of the opening and an idea into the characters that you see. This opening doesn't really tell you that it is a thriller as there are not many codes and conventions that would suggest it.

I am going to take inspiration from saw 1 to create the opening scene for my group film. I will using lighting and sound to set a scene to what is going to happen and to also because it will be dark and loud, deep sounds it will make the audience anxious and scared. I will also have short clips to add tension and suspense. I will have diegetic and non diegetic sound to make the audience anxious low key lighting to make shadows, I will use all of the films that I have researched and analysed to create my film clip the betst I can.