Thriller Genre Conventions

By Kiah Bennett

Mind Map Suspense:-Was John or the killer going to die.- Was the victim (Sarah) going to die or the killer at the end.

Camera Angles:- Extreme close up (to

see the characters facial expressions)

- Establishing shot( so the audience can see the location)

- Extreme long shot(capture the whole scene)

- Canted angle( show the characters confusion)

Fast paced:- When the victim was trying to

get back in to the house. - Running away from the killer - The killer murdering her friend

Maddie - The fight between the killer

and John.

Foreshadowing:- In each shot a window was in it - The fire alarm (it was then

used to save her life)- The earing ( John then found

out that the killer was pretending to be the officer)

Dramatic irony:- “That’s a heck of a fire alarm” ( the audience knew that this was going to be used at the end of the film)

Isolated house- No one can hear what's happening and the victim cant get help

Vulnerable Character (Sarah):- Deaf - Living Alone

Use of an soliloquy/voiceover (When the audience can hear what the characters (Sarah) thoughts are.

Hush film poster

Denotations:

Colour (black and white) Slogan (Silence Can Be

Killer) Title (Hush) Man and Woman Knife Mask

Title and Slogan The title demonstrates that either the victim has to stay completely quiet or they will be caught. On the other hand, it could suggest that the victim is deaf or has trouble hearing. This links with the slogan ‘silence can be killer’. This proves that the victim can not hear, so she doesn’t know where the villainous antagonist is, making her very vulnerable and causing her to be trapped.

Iconography (1)

The knife demonstrates that the victim is in danger, because on the poster the killer is holding it. Also, it shows that the knife can be recurring within the film, which connotes that either someone is murdered with the knife or is used for defence. The knife in the poster has a shine on it and light conveys hope, which causes the audience to think that the knife is used to kill the villainous antagonist not the victim.

Iconography (2)The mask demonstrates that the killer doesn’t show his identity, which shows that he wants to be hidden making the character even more terrifying. Also, the mask shows that the villainous antagonist is experienced and this isn’t his/hers first time killing someone. By using the mask it makes the character even more mysterious, causing the audience to be even more curious.

ColourThe use of black and white creates a sense of dark and light. By using this juxtaposition it causes the audience to think of the themes either heaven or hell, life or death and hope or hopelessness. In the poster they have used a glair which could suggest light coming through a window showing that the victim may be trapped inside and the killer can come in or stay out as he/she is shown in between the glair and the victim is away from the glair. This proves that the villainous antagonist has an advantage on the victim.

Characters

The woman in the poster is the victim in the film. The characters name is Sarah. In the poster Sarah's facial expression coveys that she is afraid and shocked, this proves that the character is vulnerable and is confused. She is confused because she doesn’t understand why the killer is targeting her.