GENERIC CONVENTIONS OF A THRILLER
There are many features that characterise the thriller genre.
Here is a list with an explanation of various thriller conventions within a thriller mise-en-scene:
Lighting: Noir lighting (black on white) / ambient/ chiaroscuro lighting.
Most
dangerous scenes take place at night because the bewildered nighttime
and dark areas increase the feeling of danger and suspense (i.e. in
Thelma and Louise and Jackie Brown).
Sometimes
though (Heavenly Creatures/Essex Boys) murder or violent scenes happen
in broad daylight instead. This adds surprise to the violence and could
sometimes even add more thrill and horror, because it is so unsuspected.
(People usually feel safer in daylight, so a murder at that time could
be more shocking. For example, When one of the gangsters in Jackie Brown
unexpectedly shoots the blonde girl in the middle of the car park in
broad daylight with such a casual attitude can have quite a shocking
effect on the audience.)
Camera
angles: Long shots establish the environment the scene takes place in.
Sometimes the director wants the audience to know, sometimes he doesn't.
If he doesn't, the director uses more close-ups so the audience
concentrates and possibly even identifies and empathises with one
certain character.
Locations:
Generic thriller locations are usually enclosed areas which add a sense
of claustrophobia with no escape, no way out for the character in panic
situations. Car parks are also very commonly used in thrillers (Thelma
and Louise/Essex Boys). Other locations used in thriller films are
plain, bewildered locations (gangster gets shot in boot of car in Jackie
Brown) situated in the middle of nowhere.
In
Essex Boys, for example, the beaten up character is helplessly left to
rot in the mud in the middle of nowhere - Here, the terror is added
because there is not much chance that anyone will come across him there
to help him and so he will probably end up dying in a horrible
condition.
Thriller locations are very unglamorous and surrounded by pale or dark colours .
Props
Weapons
Usually
weapons are often used. Many main characters in a thriller own a gun or
a knife. If they do not own a typical weapon, they tend to use items
(whose purpose aren't originally to harm someone with) as weapons. For
example glass vases, baseball bats, high heel shoes, stones etc.
White
vans are often used in thrillers. They are very enigmatic, because
anything could be hidden inside. Plain white -> faceless ->
Enigma.
Characters
Thrillers
mostly focus on illegal, dangerous or "wrong" behaviour, usually
involving characters that are gangsters, part of the mafia, spies,
detectives or any kind of murderers.
Sometimes,
important key characters are complete enigmas, about whom the audience
doesn't find out much information. Some of these enigmas get cleared up
at the end of a film, but sometimes the character stays mysterious and
one never finds out their actual identity.
Femme fatale
A
femme fatale (french: fatal woman) is a strong, independent woman
(maybe a gangsters wife, for example) who contradicts the sexist
stereotype of a weak wife, good for nothing other than cleaning, cooking
and taking care of children.
She
looks beautiful like a stereotypical woman but acts strong like a
stereotypical man . For example, a femme fatale would be wearing red
lipstick, pearl earrings and a beautiful dress, under which she hides a
gun or a knife.
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