What makes a thriller a thriller?
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Music full of suspense
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Plot-driven storyline
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Absence of blood and gore
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low-level lighting
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The idea of being on the run
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Fast-paced editing (Jump cuts)
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Plot twists
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climax
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unpredictable elements.
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conflict- binary oppositions (hero/villain)(Crime/justice)
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Female Protagonists-> Twists
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Claude Levi Strauss- Binary Oppositions
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cliffhanger moments but the narrative gets resolved
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Todorov -equilibrium -disruption-equilibrium
Thrillers
Film openings
Film openings
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Opening credits- which film production companies are involved
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Titles
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Name of the film
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Learn about the protagonist
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Learn the character's name
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Introduction
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Establishing shots
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Along Came A Spider
Along came a spider is a psychological thriller that has clear thriller conventions. This includes low-level lighting throughout the whole film which sets the genre of a thriller film very clearly for an audience member. Throughout the film, the weather is always heavy rain and thunder and lighting which is also a big thriller convention as it's a pathetic fallacy for the emotions of the characters. During the film, there were numerous plot twists and there was a concept idea of being on the run such as Mr Soneji being on the run from Alex and Jezzie. This is another massive convention for a thriller film.
Psychological Thrillers
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Midsommar
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Ma
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Escape Room
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Secret Obsession
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Black Swan
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The Girl On the Train.
Psychological Thriller Fims
Conventions
Reality
Perception
Mind
Existence
Purpose
Obsession
Identity
Death
Vast Landscapes
Midsommar
Midsommar Summary
Midsommar is about a couple that travels to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural home for its fabled midsummer festival, however, it devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Crime Thrillers
Crime thriller films
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Along came a Spider
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Joker
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Snowman
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The Hate That You Give
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Seven
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Knives Out
Knives Out
Conventions
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Police -> Audience placed in the perspective
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Violent scene
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Guns -> weapons
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The male protagonist ( wisdom/ brawn)
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Investigations -> audience is invited to try and figure out the mystery.
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Low-level Lighting
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Chase sequence.
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Weather works against the protagonist -> Isolation
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Time constraints -> Protagonist need to solve a crime before
Knives Out Summary
Knives Out is about the death of Harlan Thrombrey, in which everyone in the dysfunctional Thrombely family is a suspect.
Political Thrillers
​The Pelican Brief
Dunkirk
Vantage Point
The Firm
London Has Fallen
Conventions
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Power struggle- Hierarchical_> people that hold powerful positions.
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Protagonists -isolated 'good' people -clever' innocent( individuals.)
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Chase sequences
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explosions/gun threats
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Conspiracy-being kept secret by those in power
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The audience is in the position of the protagonist-> omniscient
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suits, courtrooms, the secret -> (manuscript, USB stick)
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Surveillance -> being watched - inability to hide.
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Political aspect
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Complex language
Dunkirk
Political thriller films
Dunkirk Summary
Dunkirk is about Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France being surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II. The film alternated between three different periods of time involving separate groups of people.
Technological Thrillers
Technological thriller films
The Net,
I Robot
Enemy of The state
Blade Runner
Matrix
Minority Report
The Circle
The Circle
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Technology-> against the protagonist for the majority
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Isolation - theme and how technology can create isolation connection
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chase sequences -fast-paced editing
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non-diegetic music- raises the heartbeat
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guns, death and not gruesome
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Protagonist -female and male (solo)
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Antagonists- Group/organisation -> wit and strength
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Resolution-> protagonist will take them down.
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Technology- computers/ -> dates the film. Iconography,
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Set in a big city location -built -i tech environment
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Conventions
The Circle
In The Circle, a young Girl is on an apprenticeship at a social media company in which she gets involved with an experiment which could change the world she realises its adverse consequences.
Action Thrillers
Action thriller films
Ava
Anna
No Time To Die
What Happened to Monday
Gunpowder Milkshake
Kingsman: The Secret Service
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Kingsman: The Secret Service
Conventions
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Explosions - weapons-gins-machine guns/rocket launchers
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Mainly male protagonists -> female protagonists -> sexualised
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Chase sequences-> high action content-> cars/helicopter
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Some form of Love interest
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protagonist-secret agents/spies or retired solo agents
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Fight sequences
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Eggsy Unwin faces several challenges when he gets recruited as a secret agent in a secret spy organisation to look for Valentine, an eco-terrorist.
Disaster Thrillers
Disaster Thriller Films
The Fifth wave,
Chernobyl, 1986
Deep Blue Sea
Underwater
Crawl
Ice Road
Sharknado.
Contagion
I am Legend
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Conventions
The mood of dread/threat
Primarily impacts the nationality of narrative makers
Image of Disaster
The dominance of male characters
Mini-victories
Family
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The 5th wave
The 5th Wave
The 5th wave is about Cassie trying to save her brother in the midst of an alien invasion.