THRILLER GENRE RESEARCH By Liza Mae Saich Varndean College

THRILLER Thriller is a genre that aims to anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a high climax.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE The very first taster of thriller entertainment is The Arrival Of A Train At La Ciotat (1895). This was just simply a video clip of a train coming towards the camera. But as the audience of the 1890’s had never seen anything like this it frightened them and introduced a whole new film genre. One of the earliest thriller films is Alfred Hitchcock's, silent film ‘The Lodger’ (1926). This is believed to be the film that helped shape and form the typical thriller genre we see in films today. ‘Alfred Hitchcock is considered the acknowledged as the master of the thriller or suspense genre, manipulating his audience's fears and desires, and taking viewers into a state of association with the representation of reality facing the character.’ Another famous early thriller film is psycho (also directed by Hitchcock) this included a very famous shower scene murder that has influenced many other thriller films to this day.

THRILLER IS A HYBRID GENRE Hybrid (noun)- a thing made by a combining two different elements; a mixture. The thriller genre can be broken down into many different hybrid genres such as;  action- or adventure- thrillers  sci-fi thrillers (such as Alien (1979))  crime-caper thrillers (such as The French Connection (1971))  western-thrillers (such as High Noon (1952))  film-noir thrillers (such as Double Indemnity (1944))  romantic comedy-thrillers (such as Safety Last (1923))  psychological-thrillers (such as The Black Swan (2010))

NARRATIVE THEMES AND CONVENTIONS Most stories employ suspense in order to maintain interest, but thrillers exploit that particular narrative quality as much as possible. Main characters in thrillers are placed in menacing situations from which they escape seems impossible. Themes often include terrorism (Arlington Road (1999)), political conspiracy (Shutter Island (2010), love triangles that lead to murder (Orphan 2009)), Crime (Collateral (2004))etc. Often the heroes are ordinary folk who are drawn into danger unknowingly or unwillingly. More often the heroes are men, but occasionally women take the lead (The Terminator (2004)). As opposed to stories where a crime is already been committed and needs to be dealt with the plots of thrillers usually involve the hero having to work out the plan of a villain. The villain presents obstacles throughout the narrative that the hero must overcome. Usually the identity of the villain is already known to the hero and the audience, as opposed to mysteries where his or her identity must be uncovered. The villains' plan is usually grand in scale and will result in mass destruction and many deaths.

TYPICAL CHARACTERS  Protagonist; Innocent victims, sometimes characters with dark pasts / Cops / Ex cops - a protagonist is the main character of the narrative which ends up in a conflict situation because of the Antagonist. The Protagonist usually ends up facing their own death or the death of somebody else in which they have to try and prevent. The antagonist typically sets up a kind of quest that the protagonist has to complete. The film's narrative construction is dominated by the protagonist's point of view. The protagonist and antagonist may battle, themselves and each other, not just on a physical level, but on a mental one as well. The protagonist is usually a man.  Antagonist; Convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, serial killers, kidnappers, terrorists- the antagonist is the ‘evil’ character in the thriller film. This character is usually very sinister and devious, playing with the protagonist's mind and the audience. The antagonist can vary from male to female depending on the film. Many thriller films I have watched use children as antagonists.

EXAMPLES OF MISE EN SCENE  Mise en scene (placing on stage) is the objects used in the films to create the right genre/context to what ever is being filmed.  The key aspects of mise en scene are; set, lighting and actors.  Iconography is an aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects within the mise-en-scene of a particular genre.

MISE EN SCENE OF SIXTH SENSE  The mise en scene in this picture helps the audience know what is going on. The character is in a car. The interior is a beige leather colour suggesting that the family may have a bit of money or family that does as they can afford such luxury. Outside the window you can see a tree, gate and buildings suggesting the characters car is in a street. The other character in the scene is obviously injured. The camera is focused on her which means she is obviously important. The look on the main characters face although out of focus we can tell he is concerned.  We expect to see come in contact with characters that are dead because of the title. The women in the screen grab is obviously dead which plays to the thriller genre as seeing a dead person is not normal.

MISE EN SCENE OF TAKEN  In this scene from the 2008 film taken there is not much mise en scene, but the objects that are tell us a lot about the movie and characters. The main character is obviously the man holding the photograph. His sleeves are rolled up and his top button is undone which suggests that as he is wearing a shirt and tie he is usually a smart dressing character but because of whatever is on the photograph he has had to make himself feel more comfortable. From the look on his face and the character opposite him it looks like an interrogation. The photograph is of a teenage girl who obviously means something to the man holding it.  In the background you can faintly see a run down, abandoned room. There is broken furniture and the lighting is very musky and eerie. This could suggest that the place that they are in is in a very reclusive place and they don’t want to get found.