Thriller Essay

With reference to 'Psycho' and other films studied discuss some of the key inventions used in the thriller genre

In this essay I will be writing about the main features in a typical film of a thriller genre. It will include all of the conventions of a thriller film for example, I will talk about how they build suspense, and tension and also how most thriller films have a shock or twist in the storyline. I will make reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s famous ‘Psycho’ and some of the other thriller films that I have watched of this genre.

Every well-conceived thriller is made to keep the audience on edge about what’s going to happen throughout the film. This is done by the enthusing storyline of the film, which most typically has an unexpected twist or either a shock during it. For example in Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ (1960) that I am studying in class, there is an unexpected and also a shocking twist at the end of the film. The main character called Norman Bates owns The Bates Motel with his domineering mother who the audience never actually sees. He is a quiet yet lonely man who is obviously under the control of his mother. The audience finds out right at the end that Norman who seems quite innocent until this point, suffers from severe psychosis and has a split personality. He believes his other personality is his mother who is actually dead, this side of his personality is the murderer throughout the whole film and he is coincidentally covering it all up for his mum who never was alive in the film. Whilst watching this film I found the shocking ending very unexpected which made the film an all round success for me and that’s also the case with many other people. Thriller films are specifically made to make the audience experience suspense and tension all the way through, which creates excitement and scares the intended audience as well. I think that this film portrayed these very well as I felt tense throughout the whole film and the ending was especially exciting.

In most thriller films the main characters are just normal people who live normal lives like the audience. This is a good technique to use as the person watching the film can empathise with the character and also feel sympathy towards them. The audience will understand how the character is feeling or even the situation that their in because its possible that it could happen to the person watching and it may be something that they are familiar with. In some thriller films the audience is in the same position in the story as the character is. This meaning that the character finds out different things as the story goes on and so does the person watching it at the same time. However some thriller films let the person watching know what’s happening at the start of the film and the audience then watches the characters journey on finding out the information that the audience already knows. These are both typical types of storylines that are used in most thriller films.

Thrillers are a big genre as a whole, however thriller films do have sub-genres. For example there are mystery thrillers like David Fincher’s ‘Seven’ (1995), there are also psychological thrillers like the obvious one, Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ (1960) and also Joel Schumacher’s ‘Phone Booth’ (2003) and there are crime thrillers like Joel and Ethan coen’s (brothers) ‘No country for old men’ (2007). Nearly all thrillers stereotypically have an antagonist and a protagonist where most likely a death or murder is involved. For example ‘Seven’ is about two protagonists, the detectives who are both put on a case about an unknown serial killer, the antagonist, who kills seven victims, each death to match with the seven deadly sins. This sets a feel of suspense through the whole film, as the audience never knows when the killer is going to strike next or whom he’s going to kill. This in a way, forces the audience on wanting to watch more as the unexpected murders unfold and the interesting storyline becomes even more exciting. This film also has a shocking ending to it as well as ‘Psycho’, and many other thriller films, which are all unexpected. Although these are completely different types of thrillers in their own sub-genres, both endings to the films match, which binds them both together as the main genre, a thriller. Many thriller films also have a plot twist in the storyline where the plot suddenly changes dramatically at a certain point in the film. These are used so that the audience doesn’t get bored or even gets lost along the storyline, this excites and ultimately shocks the audience because it’s not what they expected and therefore keeps them entertained.

In most thriller films I think that the sound is one of the most crucial aspects in making it successful. Almost every thriller film has a cutting soundtrack or sound effects. However there is one thriller film that I have watched in class where there is no music throughout the whole of the film and that is ‘No Country for Old Men’. If you took away the music in a thriller film, it just wouldn’t be the same or have the same effect on the audience. It’s the same if the wrong kind of music is put with a film, it won’t convey the right message or make the audience feel the way they should. The cinematography also plays an important part in a good thriller film. The lighting creates suspense most of the time and portrays the scene or character very well. The colour also represents a scene well by creating tension well. If there is dark lighting it shows its quite mysterious and unknowing. Whereas a brightly colour scene may seem more happy or optimistic.

Overall I think that thrillers are a very effective kind of genre towards an audience because they vary in so many different good ways. They are entertaining and exciting to watch which has to obviously be a key thing in any type of film. The audience never know what’s going to happen next in the story and it keeps them guessing throughout the film which makes them want to watch it more. In my opinion I think that the thriller genre is the best because it is extremely exciting and coincidentally, it’s thrilling.