Thriller Sub Genres - Examples and Definitions

Thriller Sub Genres - Examples and Definitions

Action Thriller

• e.g Die Hard, Kill Bill Vol. 1, The Bourne Identity.

• The protagonist has a "mission" they have to complete that threatens their life or a loved ones.

• physical action-creates a sense of suspense

• continuous motion and action-CUs + extreme CUs,with a mix of still and moving shots (they contribute to the overall sense of danger that the protagonist is facing)

• there is often physical stunts, chases,fights,battles and races

Crime Thriller

• e.g The Usual Suspects, Jagged Edge,The Fugitive.

• The protagonist has to fight/stop a criminal and the criminals plot - these movies focus on both the hero and the criminal

• criminal is usually a serial killer,murderer,robber or is being man hunted

• uses action and physiological aspects to build tension and suspense

• uses non-diagetic sound

• - either the music is very simple with a repeating tune (e.g theme music off jaws) alerting you that something bad is going to happen                   

•  - or it follows diagetic sounds in the movie to make them  more dramatic (e.gin Nancy Drew her footsteps are followed by a high pitched tone after each    small creak made to raise suspense from the fear that the criminals will hear)

Film-Noir

• e.g Sunset Boulevard, Sweet Smell of Success, The Maltese Falcon,

• N.B- it is a style of crime thriller popular in the 1940s and 1950s
• the protagonist is a cynical hero fighting a criminal to save his/her life and/or to stop the criminals plot
• it is characterised by black and white style with stark lighting effects - colours aren't present so they don't distract the audience causing them to focus solely on the characters and the strong shadows present which creates tension as they make sharp contrasts
• it relies heavily on narrative voice and various flashbacks to explain the intricate plot - allows the audience to share the thoughts and ideas of the specific character and the memories that are determining how the respond to a given situation ( we feel at one with the character causing us to feel tension as we feel like we are there) 

Science Fiction Thriller

• e.g  Inception, Aliens,District 9.

• The protagonist is usually part of a team that to deal with the invasion and/or the relationship between aliens
• contains heros, villans, unexplored locations, fantastical quests and advanced technology - often the continuous floodingof new information "overwhelms"the audience, leaving them in suspense as they can't "keep up" yet are sucked into the plot
• is a "future-gone-bad" situation - even though it it is futuristic it feels realistic as it follows realistic situations that could occur to us "tommorow"-lures us into suspense as we want to know how we would end up in that situation

Religious Thriller

• e.g The Devil’s Advocate, The Ninth Gate, The Da Vinci Code.

• The main characters are having to explore or hide the problems seemingly caused by their belief in an attempt to find the "truth" they seek
• the movies sticks to the objects and other religious factors that would be present in that religion - this allows the audience to see a realistic view into that religion making them relate to the expectations of the characters making us feel what they are feeling
• supernatural phenomenons are used, e.g demons and them possessing people,visual exorcisms, that religions "end" of the world occurring - this causes the audience to question the possibility of it being true and that they might not meet the requirements needed to be "saved" making tension as they want to know what happens to the character they are starting to see themselves as

Disaster Thriller

• e.g  2012, The 5 Wave, Titanic

• The protagonist is either having to start a new life after a disaster, has to stop a disaster from occurring, or is shown facing the disaster and pushing through it - focuses on character facing the disaster
• wide shorts are used - show the scene and the dramatic change/problem caused or that will be caused by the disaster - suspense is created as we feel the pain from the dramatic change caused from the disaster
• CUs are  used on the characters - makes us relate to the character more and feel as if we are the character, causing us to experience the tension the character is facing
• made realistic in terms of scenarios - mentality of it could happen to us and we feel held by suspense as it could happen to us