Thriller conventions

Settings -

• Exotic eg. foreign cities, deserts, high seas

Characters -

• "Hard men" as hero's accustomed to danger,
• Policemen,
• Spies,
• Soldiers,
• Aviators,
• Ordinary citizens drawn into danger.

Narrative -

• Often overlap with mystery,
• Distinguished by structure of their plots,
• Hero thwarts plans of enemy,
• Grand scale : serial/mass murder, terrorism, assassination, overthrow governments.
• Violent confrontations,
• Hero often has to save their lives and other's,
• Modern films influenced by horror to heighten tension.
• Create a mood of fearful excitement.
• Twists,
• Cross-cutting,
• Flashbacks,
• Narrative retardation,
• Red herrings,
• Chase/pursuit,
• Mysterious characters,
• Principle of concealment,
• Deadlines,
• Morally complex characters,
• Traditionally good triumphs over evil.

Sub-genres -

• Medical thriller,
• Political,
• Psychological,
• Spy,
• Supernatural,
• Techno,
• Action,
• Conspiracy,
• Crime,
• Disaster (natural),
• Drama,
• Eco,
• Erotic,
• Horror,
• Legal.

Technical-

• Tracking (pursuit, subjective),
• POV (watching, immediacy),
• Extreme Close Ups (concealment, expression),
• Reveals,
• Close ups,
• Dramatic angles and framing (audience on edge, unease through strong diagonals),
• Eery/tense/discordant music (build in tempo, volume or pitch, off-scene sounds (concealment),
• Low key lighting and shadows,
• Over exposed lighting on flashbacks,
• Editing pace changes for chase and builds to climax.

Directors -

• Clouzot,
• Hitchcock,
• Friedkin,
• Reed,
• Mann,
• R.Scott,
• Jordon,
• Spielberg,
• Hopkins ect

Examples -

• Phone Booth,
• Double Jeopardy,
• Ronin,
• The Bourne Identity,
• Stranger on a train,
• While she was out,
• Alien,
• The Terminator.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
3. The Dark Knight (2008)
4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
5. Rear Window (1954)
6. The Usual Suspects (1994)
7. Psycho (1960)
8. Fight Club (1999)
9. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
10. North by Northwest (1959)
11. Memento (2000)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. Se7en (1995)
14. Léon (1994)
15. Taxi Driver (1976)
16. Vertigo (1958)
17. M (1931)
18. Double Indemnity (1944)
19. The Third Man (1949)
20. Chinatown (1974)
21. The Departed (2006)
22. Alien (1979)
23. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
24. The Shining (1980)
25. L.A. Confidential (1997)
26. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)
27. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
28. Aliens (1986)
29. Metropolis (1927)
30. A Wednesday (2008)
31. Rebecca (1940)
32. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
33. Touch of Evil (1958)
34. Some Like It Hot (1959)
35. Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
36. The Great Escape (1963)
37. The Prestige (2006)
38. Salaire de la peur, Le (1953)
39. Strangers on a Train (1951)
40. Sin City (2005)
41. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
42. No Country for Old Men (2007)
43. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
44. Notorious (1946)
45. The Big Sleep (1946)
46. Johnny Gaddaar (2007)
47. Gran Torino (2008)
48. Jaws (1975)
49. Diaboliques, Les (1955)
50. Batman Begins (2005)