conventions of a thriller & sub-genres

8/3/2019 Conventions Of A Thriller & Sub-Genres

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Research Into Thriller Films

What Are The Conventions & Sub-

genres Of A Thriller Film?



Action Thriller

o In which the hero/heroine confronts dangerous adversaries, obstacles, or situations which

he/she must conquer, normally in a violent or suspenseful manner.

o Examples include The Adjustment Bureau Taken The Bourne Trilogy



Conspiracy Thriller

o In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent

only she/he recognizes.

o Examples include: Awake Snake Eyes



Crime Thriller

o This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful

account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminals

rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects.

Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, chases, shootouts,

heists and double crosses. This includes, Silence of the lambs oceans eleven



Legal Thriller

o In which the lawyer-heroes/heroines confront enemies outside, as well as inside, the

courtroom and are in danger of losing not only their cases but their lives. Examples include:

Time to Kill Primal fear Fracture



Political Thriller

o In which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him.

Some examples include: Notorious The Ghost Writer



Psychological Thriller

o In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is

mental and emotional, rather than physical. Characters, either by accident or their own

curiousness, are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to

resolve. Characters are not reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies,

but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a

formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The

suspense created by psychological thrillers 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. Examples include: Panic Room Phone Booth

Psycho



Supernatural Thriller

o In which the film brings in an otherworldly element mixed with tension, suspense and plot

twists. Sometimes the hero and/or villain has some psychic ability. Examples include: The

dead zone The Skeleton Key



Conventions of a Thriller

o Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their

plots. In a thriller, the hero must thwart the plans of an enemy, rather than uncover a crime

that has already happened. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that

must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements. While a

mystery climaxes when the mystery is solved; a thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats

the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of others. In thrillers influenced by film noir

and tragedy, the compromised hero is often killed in the process.



Convention of a Thriller

o In recent years, when thrillers have been increasingly influenced by horror or psychological-

horror exposure in pop culture, an ominous or monstrous element has become common to

heighten tension. The monster could be anything, even an inferior physical force made

superior only by their intellect ( as in the Saw movies), a supernatural entity (Dracula,Christine books, The Amityville Horror, Ringu films), aliens (H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos

books), serial killers (Stepfather, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre films), or even microbes or

chemical agents (Cabin Fever, Richard Matheson's The Last Man On Earth). Some authors

have made their mark by incorporating all of these elements (Richard Laymon, F. Paul Wilson)

throughout their bibliographies.



Conventions of a Thriller

o Similar distinctions separate the thriller from other overlapping genres: adventure, spy, legal,

war, maritime fiction, and so on. Thrillers are defined not by their subject matter but by their

approach to it. Many thrillers involve spies and espionage, but not all spy stories are thrillers.

The spy novels of John LeCarre, for example, explicitly and intentionally reject theconventions of the thriller. Conversely, many thrillers cross over to genres that traditionally

have had few or no thriller elements. Alistair MacLean, Hammond Innes, and Brian Callison

are best known for their thrillers, but are also accomplished writers of man-against-nature

sea stories. Thrillers may be defined by the primary mood that they exhibit: excitement. In

short, if it thrills, it is a thriller.

conventions of a thriller & sub-genres

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