Thriller Sub-Genres

Thrillers

Thrillers are characterised by the emotions that they evoke from an audience. The moods that they extract include: excitement, suspense, anticipation, anxiety etc. There are many sub-genres to thriller films and the following are examples:

Crime Thriller
A crime thriller will usually follow with regular thriller codes and conventions. They create suspense, mystery and anxiety through their use of action and violence. For it to be categorised as a crime thriller, we will see the impact of a crime on the protagonist of the film. It is a hybrid of crime and thriller films and it will focus on a crime and the extent of its success. The plot will usually involve a serial killer, murder, manhunt or robbery and will focus on the action and psychological aspects of the characters to create the suspense needed. Close up shots of suspected culprits are effective as they almost pull us into the mind of each character through facial expression. The suspense is usually built through the close up camera angles and dark colour schemes. The dark colour schemes create an atmosphere of mystery and danger, important elements to any crime film. Often there will be close ups of objects that tell the audience that they should pay attention because they will foreshadow later events or conclusions in the film. 

Conventions of Crime thrillers include:

• Suspense, action and violence
• Enigma - a person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand
• Chases - cars, on-foot, helicopter
• Guns are used to represent an element of danger 
• Drugs - represent a lack of order due to their effects of changing mental states
• Blood - represents a lack of safety and makes the film more realistic

A classic example of a good crime film is Sherlock Holmes (2009). It's use of dull colour schemes and all of the classic crime story lines create a realistic film that entices an audience to be on the edge of their seats. 

Here is a screenshot from the film 'Sherlock Holmes' and we see the close up shot of Holmes but the attention to the background is also worth looking at as we see someone hidden behind bars. The dull colours and figure in the prison cell, let the audience know that there is a sense of needed freedom that needs to be found. And there is a crime that needs to be solved. 

Other examples of Crime Thrillers: Point Break (2015), The Silence of The Lambs (1991), Now You See Me (2013)

Disaster Thriller
Disaster thrillers involve events that are devastating to all or certain parts of the world. One or more of these events will usually take place: Natural disaster, terrorist attack, or an epidemic. They will focus on characters who are trying their best to survive giving the circumstances at hand and will often see these characters trying to save other survivors. In these types of thrillers, camera angles and editing are vital. For example, tilting the camera will cause disorientation when filming an earthquake scene or something to do with a natural disaster, in a movie about a terrorism attack continuity will be needed to ensure the sequence of events makes total sense and the cuts between scenes are all in line, this will add the the detailed story line and create a feeling of uneasiness.

Conventions and Representations in Disaster Thrillers:

• Small groups of main characters - they will often increase and decrease in number as they find and lose different characters due to events that add to the dramatic event in the movie
• Use a life threatening event to tell the story
• Special Effects - Used creatively to create a film that is realistic and also bring an uneasiness to people watching who may see that things can happen in real life and emphasise the extent of danger 

The movie 'The Poseidon Adventure is a good example of a disaster thriller. In it, a ship is capsized by a rogue wave causing a mass of people to die. But there are survivors. They group up and try their best to survive, but as mentioned previously, people are added to their time of survivors while people are also taken. 

The characters have facial expressions that represent their inner feelings. They're lost and uncertain. The angle of the camera is down low and we are supposed to be focussed on the faces of the characters as the camera is tilted to look up at them. There is a little light, which tells us that we are in a place of darkness but there is something lurking in the shadows. 


Other examples of Disaster Thrillers: Independence Day (1996), Zombieland (2009), 2012 (2009)


Psychological Thriller
A psychological thriller will focus on the mental, psychological state of its characters and the unstable emotions that they possess. A psychological thriller will "dissolve any sense of reality" and bring to light any and all complex and tortured relationships between characters. The characters will usual build or break relationships with other characters. The obsessive and pathological mindsets of characters create the anxious, mysterious and suspenseful film that leaves an audience in a state of ambiguity. What's happening next? Am I the one going insane? Colour schemes in these films are often used strategically to represent a persons mind state. Dull colours create that mysterious atmosphere while black and white space is used to create a void that will need to be either filled or disposed of. Psychological thrillers are often inclusive of both horror and thriller genres, sometimes using blood and gore to portray the insanity of a messed up mind. Editing is important in these films as they sometimes jump between reality and state of mind, meaning the film must be edited well enough for the audience to notice the differences between the two.  Psychological thrillers will also use flashes of light and camera tilts to create a sense of emotional instability. 

Conventions in a Psychological thriller:

• Reality - Creating a world that is real is very important in a psychological thriller. Considering it is a movie focussed on mental states, it has to be believable by audiences to create a sense of fear and suspense that makes them question themselves, they often have normal jobs too
• Perception - Different people see different things in different way. The protagonist of a psychological film will perceive reality very different to those 'normal' characters in the film. Their perceived reality is what will create the psychological insanity.
• Identity - Who are you really? A psychological thriller will question identity and sometimes make the protagonist go on an adventure of mental state to find their true self
• Shadows and low key lighting are used to add tension to a scene and show that there is often something hiding in the dark, they represent a lurking darkness in the character
• Costume - Characters are usually plainly dressed which can represent their 'normal' surface appearance but underneath they are insane

An example of a Psychological Thriller would be 'The Machinist' a film from 2004. Christian Bale plays Trevor Reznik, a factory worker whose lack of sleep causes him to think he's going insane.  

In this screenshot, the use of faded colours (pale face, dark shirt, dull grey surroundings) and a close up shot show the lack of sanity this man has. His dark shirt appears to be normal, he just looks sick but the darkness of the surroundings hint to his insanity and the radial tilt shift has everything but his face blurred, creating a sense of mystery as we see nothing but the man.

Click here to see the trailer for 'The Machinist'.

Other examples include: Se7en (1995), Black Swan (2010), Frozen (2010)

Supernatural Thriller

A supernatural thriller is a hybrid film composed of supernatural and thriller elements. What separates these films from other thrillers is the use of forces, events or powers that are beyond the world's natural capabilities and they cannot be explained by science. The protagonist of the film will usually have an ability that is uncommon in the world, sometimes a super power, or they are on a quest to find the source of a supernatural force. The conflict that arises from the unnatural events creates a suspense and anxiety that is experienced by the audience which keeps them on edge for the entirety of the film. Supernatural thrillers can often be compared to horror thrillers as they incorporate the uneasiness of unnatural beings creating havoc in a place of normalcy. They will often use camera panning to create that 'lurking' effect of a spirt as well as flashing lights to cause disorientation and sometimes place over colour screens to separate reality from other worlds.

Conventions in a Supernatural Thriller:

• Protagonist will have a super power e.g mind reading, telekinesis, flying, speed, strength etc.
• Horror orientated elements - ghosts, vampires, demons, wolves etc. 
• Paranormal activity
• Mysterious - the mysterious element will add the the thrilling nature of the film, leaving the audience constantly on edge as they wonder who or what is at fault for the upset 
• Anticipation is built through casualties in supernatural thriller as the force that is unnatural will hurt and/or kill characters in it's way
• Costume - In many supernatural thrillers, costumes of the protagonist are important as they can tell a lot about the person and their prior life an example is in the film 'The Tattooist'

Though it isn't exactly a 'costume' this woman's skin is covered in tattoos that represent the permanent consequence of a tattoo. The Tattooist is a film in which the protagonist tattoos clients who die after he tattoos them. Though he creates beautiful masterpieces, his supernatural power is the power to kill through his tattoos. 

Click here to watch the trailer to 'The Tattooist''

Other examples include: The Sixth Sense (1999), Ghost Rider (2007)

Mystery Thriller
These films use the mystery to take the element of suspense to a whole new level. Being left in the dark on certain situations leaves a lot of space for ambiguous thought on where the film is going. This can be the effect of the abundance of black space that mystery films seem to use. Full black screens are often edited to separate scenes, the black space taking up the entirety of the screen that relates to the unsolved events that occur in the film. The significance of a mystery film is not just that the protagonist goes on a journey to solve a problem but that the audience is invited to solve the mystery with them. Mystery thrillers usually use a series of wide and aerial shots to give a sense of location as well as close up shots that teach the audience to pay attention to details that may become more important in the future.

Conventions of Mystery Thrillers:

• Unsolved crime 
• There is always a character who wants to solve the crime and the intentions are not always clear 
• Props - Usually there is an object that is used to associate a suspect with the crime
• Costume - Detective wear, jumpers, clothing that leaves mystery and often costume can give a big hint to certain clues in the story line
• Enigma
• Dull, dark days with a lot of rain adds to the dreary 'lack of life'
• Identity again is a convention in a mystery as we see people seeking their own as well as the identity of others 

An example of a mystery thriller is 'Gone Girl' (2014). In the film a man's wife is 'kidnapped' and it is believed she is murdered. the entire movie is a mystery in itself as the accused murderer, the films.. protagonist.. is attempting to figure out the mystery for himself. 

This screen shot is from the film and in it we see a woman (the missing wife) laying blank faced in the bath. It is almost as though she is bathed in cold, dull colours and what we see is just her head. The light glistens on her face but it only pronounces her sad face. Mystery lingers as we are still to find out what happens to her.




Other examples include: Inception (2010), The Maze Runner (2014), The Bourne Identity (2002)

Action Thriller 
An action thriller is a cross over between an thriller and an action movie. The way that it is different from other thriller films is that the focus is on the physical action in the film. The thrill that the audience feels is the excitement and suspense generated from the highly active scenes. In action films, there will always be a lot of tracking and panning of the camera in action trillers as they do their best to create a full awareness of the action packed scenes. The thrilling 'edge of your seat' emotions are created by the constant moving motion of the fast paced action and often the hints to mystery and sometimes horror that is a result of the action. in action films, diegetic sound is used appropriately to emphasise the action. Action thrillers will build suspense through a sequence of fast paced shots that will eventually slow once they have reached a good conclusion. You will notice in a lot of movies when equilibrium has been reached yet again, that the camera movements tend to slow and become soft, creating the effect of a decrease in action and we can find safety now that the drama is over.

Conventions of Action Thrillers:

• Car chase, chase on fit, a LOT of running and good guy chasing/running from bad guy
• Fights and arguments
• Violence - creates a tension that will make the audience feel anxious and unsettled
• Most action films will use coarse language that relates to the stress of the action
• Semi-realistic plots - These are important as they ensure the audience can relate to the film though there are exceptions with films that include Dooms Day or world destruction but they are realistic enough for the audience to relate 

Click here to see a car chase scene from Fast and Furious 6.

Notice how the skidding from the wheels, revving of the engines and screeches from the breaks are are amplified but they are still sounds that we would see if we were in the movie ourselves. Non-diegetic sound is heard in the background as we hear an upbeat and fast paced soundtrack to accompany the action on screen. 



Other examples of action thrillers: Casino Royale (2006), Deadpool (2016), Green Lantern (2011)