Conventions of Thrillers

    Thriller Conventions

I was tasked with finding the top 4 thriller films of 2021, find and watch the trailers and answer a few questions about them. The four films I chose were...

What have all of these Thriller films got in common?

Whilst watching the trailers for the four films that I chose to embed, I payed close attention to how the trailers displayed the themes and story of the film and how they were similar. I thought about how each one made the film look interesting and what kind of things they showed the audience.

Each film did it differently, but they all showed certain moments that created suspense for the audience, which maintains a sense of tension and allows the films to hook and maintain the audience's attention.

What are the differences between these films? 

Each of these films have their own different and unique styles that set them apart from one another. For example, each film and its different archetypes introduce us to the sub-genre, as for James Bond, we are quick to establish that it is a spy film. As for The Forever Purge, we establish that it is very similar to a slasher, however, it still remains a Thriller because there are obvious moments of conflict and tension.

Definitions of a Thriller film, what is a Thriller?

"Thrillers are about the feeling of thrills! They are movies and TV shows that keep you wondering what will happen next. They give viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation, and anxiety."

- Hellerman, 2020

"Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience."

- Konigsberg, 1997

(Psycho, 1960)

Mini Summary:

It's clear that the main objective of a thriller film is to excite the audience, build and maintain suspense and to keep things tense. To me, personally, I think a thriller film is a film capable of keeping an audience hooked and interested because they are in a constant state of "what happens next".

Why is it hard to define a Thriller film?

I think the difficulty in defining a Thriller film comes down to the extent of the genre's broadness, from many sub-genre's to different ways of displaying the thrilling content that grips and holds the audience's attention.