Sam Gavin Varndean College Varndean College

OVERVIEW OF THRILLER GENRE “Thriller” is a lose term that refers to any film that generates suspense and excitement as a major part of its narrative. They tend to have suspenseful scenes to make the audience tense. If we like the protagonist, we hope that they succeed. Often at the start of the film there will be something shown about the character that will make them relatable. If we relate to the character we get emotionally involved in their story. In the common Thriller movie narrative, the protagonist will start off as someone who is either down on their luck, or looking to reach a goal that seems impossible at the time. A good example is Sarah Connor from The Terminator. She starts the film as a waitress who’s life seems to not go right for her. She gets stood up on dates and feels a bit sad. Then the Terminator comes and turns her world upside down, getting the ball rolling in the narrative. Throughout the film she works with a soldier from the future to overcome her problem. They want to kill the Terminator yet survive it at the same time. By the end of the film Sarah prevails and finds her place in the world. She goes through a character ark.

THRILLERS WORK AT DIFFERENT LEVELS Thrillers can work at different levels. The main aim of a Thriller is to get the spectator tense. Now this can work in many different ways. The genre uses ‘thrills’ at one level that simply depicts danger and violence. However the second level is a psychological experience which provides the spectator (audience) with the thrills/ anxieties that create an emotional/ anxious response. Such as The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan. The film gets emotional response out of its audience using very realistic ideas and executing them in a way that isn’t extremely dramatic or exaggerated. This realistic approach to the scenes gives the audience a different level of thriller.

EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS HAPPENING IN ORDINARY SITUATIONS One of, if not THE most important element to a good thriller is having something that changes the main character’s everyday life. I came onto this topic a little bit in Slide 1 with The Terminator. Often the film will have one or two scenes showing us the Protagonist’s every day life. Showing the every day life of the Protagonist helps the extraordinary event seem much more impactful. If by this time we’ve already related to the character, then we imagine ourselves in their situation. In The Terminator, Sarah Connor goes to a club for a drink, this isn’t really something out of the ordinary. It’s once the Terminator points a gun at her, but a soldier from the future shoots the Terminator instead, THAT hits the audience as a complete surprise. This is one of the most important elements to Act 1 of a Thriller. Once they’re invested and taken by the extraordinary event, you have them.

NARRATIVE THEMES & CONVENTIONS Narrative is an important element to Thrillers. Act 1 often consists of setting up the Protagonist, introducing the extraordinary event that changes everything, and revealing all the major plot points. Act 2 often is a little slower, having more character moments, a few more plot points, perhaps another scene involving the extraordinary problem that they need to overcome and a very dark moment. Act 3 is the conclusion of all the major plot points. The Protagonist takes action of the problem and decides to end this once and for all. After a big climactic fight or event of some kind, the Protagonist succeeds in his/her goals and usually ends up where they wanted to be and lives a happier life. There are many other variations on this common narrative structure, but this is the most common in my opinion.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock is almost certainly his best-known film. Produced on a highly constrained budget of $800,000, it was shot in black-and-white on a spare set. The unprecedented violence of the shower scene, the early demise of the heroine, the innocent lives extinguished by a disturbed murderer were all hallmarks of Hitchcock, copied in many subsequent horror films. Psycho is possibly one of the most important stepping stones in the Thriller genre. After completing Psycho, Hitchcock moved to Universal, where he made the remainder of his films. The Birds, inspired by a Daphne Du Maurier short story and by an actual news story about a mysterious infestation of birds in California, was Hitchcock's 49th film. He signed up Tippi Hedren as his latest blonde heroine opposite Rod Taylor. The scenes of the birds attacking included hundreds of shots mixing actual and animated sequences. The cause of the birds' attack is left unanswered, "perhaps highlighting the mystery of forces unknown". Thanks to movies like Psycho, The Birds and others, Hitchcock became known as the master of Thrillers, due to his amazing direction and sense of exciting, suspenseful and tense scenes.

HYBRID GENRES In our present we expect to see Genre Hybrid. Where the Genre is mixed between two and sometimes more. Such as a Sci-Fi/ Fantasy, like Star Wars (1977). The film has lots of Science Fiction elements like space ships, futuristic technology, aliens, etc. However it gets its Fantasy element through the spiritual aspect of ‘the Force’. A good example of Genre hybrid in Thrillers is The Terminator. It is clearly a Thriller through the tense and suspenseful scenes, the scary Antagonist; The Terminator, and the constant survival theme. However it also falls into the Sci-Fi (Science Fiction) genre due to the themes of time travel, futuristic technology and future events. The Thriller and Sci-Fi aspects are as important in the movie as each other, and so The Terminator gets classed as a Sci-Fi/Thriller. In Donnie Darko, the theme of Psychology is as important as the Thriller theme, and so it gets classed as a Psychological/ Thriller.

MISE - EN - SCENE Mise-en-scene plays an important role in the Thriller genre. Things that are on screen, props, location, performance, all fall into the realm of Mise-en-scene. Often in Thrillers there are subtle clues towards future events in the film, this is proven by watching and analysing various opening sequences. Commonly a lot of information will be given in the first 5 minutes of the movie. Then there are subtle things that are left to interpretation. Such as an object/image/location resembling a major plot point that gets revealed later in the movie. Mise-en-scene plays out throughout the whole film and often suggests the themes of the movie without literally just coming out and saying it.

THRILLER CHARACTERS One of the most important parts of the Thriller genre is Character. The Protagonist needs to be likable and relatable from the get-go. If the audience doesn’t like the Protagonist, then it’s going to be hard for them to care about what happens to them. If they don’t relate to the Protagonist, then it will be hard for them to get invested in their situation. Often the film will have one or two scenes showing us his/her every day life. Usually (not always), they’ll be down on their luck and not where they want to be in life. This is something the audience can relate to. This is good set up for future events in the film because we get a sense of what they want, and if they’re getting it or not. If the character is relatable, then we root for them to overcome their problems and succeed. Often in the 3 rd Act of the film, the Protagonist will take charge of the situation and face off what ever obstacle is in their way. By the end of the movie they become a better, stronger person. This is called going through a Character Ark. Sometimes as ‘icing on the cake’, they’ll also get the love interest in the end as well.

DIEGETIC AND NON-DIEGETIC SOUND Sound plays an important role in Thriller films. Diegetic - is sound taking place within the scene, that the characters can hear. Such as spoken dialogue, actions that make sounds, radios, television, etc. Non-diegetic sound - is represented as coming from the a source outside story space. The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening. We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy).

THRILLER FILMS AND AUDIENCE  Thriller films keep the audience on the ‘edge’ of their seats as the plot builds towards a climax. They create:  Intense excitement  Suspense  A high level of anticipation  Ultra-heightened expectation  Uncertainty  Anxiety  Nerve-wracking tension  The spectator is drawn into dark spaces, reminiscent of Film Noir (shadows, low key lighting, dark areas within an urban setting)  The voyeuristic positioning of the character within the film