Thrillers and their sub-genres + Research into Hitchcock + codes and conventions

What is a "Thriller"?

A thriller is a film whose content, narrative and characters all feature and orbit around a narrative driven by some form of mystery. The mystery in question will almost always be related to some form of crime. An example, the movie "Hannibal".

Thriller films specialize in the build-up of suspense and tension, and this over the years, from Hitchcock's first exploration of the genre, has come to characterize them. Often little pieces of the greater mystery will fall into place throughout the film's length, increasing the viewers interest in the thriller and escalating the stakes of solving the mystery as a result. Commonly, as more is solved, the antagonist presses the protagonist harder in an attempt to resist justice.

The sub-genres of the thriller genre include:

Psychological thrillers- The most common kind of thriller, an example of a psychological thriller would be Hitchcock's "Vertigo". This category emphasises the internal struggle of the characters within the thriller, where the psyche of each character is explored in greater detail.

Political thriller- "Power corrupts" as they say. Political thrillers often feature a narrative in which some form of political scandal takes place.

Paranoia thriller- Playing on the fears of the thriller's target audience, paranoia thrillers contain a narrative that would be, either consciously or subconsciously, accepted and related to by its audience. An excellent example would be the original "The invasion of the Body Snatchers":



The film played on the currently circulating fear of an imminent soviet invasion of america during the post-war 1950's. The american populace was anticipating russian spies and agents to be everywhere, silently replacing the key members of american society. As you can see, the film's title takes stock of that concept and adapts its narrative into something a little more... far-fetched, yet nevertheless, relevant to a paranoid society.

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Hitchcock, born 13th August 1899, was an English film director and producer. His name lives on as "The founding Father" of the thriller genre, pioneering a range of techniques in creating movie suspense and drama. Having had a successful career in England, he moved America, becoming an American citizen in 1955. It was there, that Hitchcock made a name for himself, setting an example for directors around the world with regards to camera shots and editing techniques. Famously, Hitchcock is said to be the creator of the 'point of view shot', used by many directors today.

His films are renown for their frequent narrative of crime, and their expansion into worlds of scandal, violence, murder and action. His films frequently made use of thrilling plot twists and, now called, "MacGuffins" that tested the characters within the film and the audience. His ability to keep a viewer on the edge of their seat was legendary, with his skill in film directing being labeled as "Britain's best" by the daily telegraph in a 2007 poll. Many consider his effect on modern cinema to be unquestionably profound.

He had lead an incredibly successful career, changing the world, to some degree. He passed in 1980.

The codes and conventions of the thriller genre

Modern thrillers, for the most part, are films inspired and created with a mix of conventions in mind, all gathered from previous thrillers that may have been watched by its directors and developers. Widely considered the 'Founding Father' of the psychological thriller genre, Alfred Hitchcock's films share parallels with the majority of thrillers we see today. It is because of Hitchcock that audiences, after watching many of his thrillers over the years, and thrillers inspired by his works, have come to expect a certain style of film containing these elements, leading to the acknowledgement of there being widely accepted 'conventions' for the thriller genre. 

Modern thrillers do well to abide by these conventions as viewers have expectations of how the narrative of a thriller and its characters are portrayed; anything that disregards this idea or moves in opposition can sometimes be ill-received. This is why a number thriller directors, when trying to create an ending or twist, often film multiple scenarios and have them critiqued and conduct voting pols with a selected audience before the actual release of the film to see which scenario should appear in the final cut.

• The main title should, in some way, relate to the narrative of the film- The main title of a thriller can often give an indication of the film's sub-genre and narrative. For example, "The Illusionist" suggests that some form trickery takes place in the film (thus solidifying its place in the thriller genre) and potentially involves someone who's a magician and has stage presence. From this we can gather that the film may not be a sci-fi and possibly not set in modern day society; Illusionists and magicians were a very popular method of entertainment in theaters across Britain during the 19th-20th century. Another example, the film "Inception". Its title directly refers to the method of psychological persuasion the group of men use to profit their employers and therefor themselves.

• A crime centered narrative- In almost all thrillers, some form of crime has been committed, forming the basis of the plot. An example; "Unbreakable" see's its main protagonist find those responsible for causing pain and suffering to others and punishes them, before discovering that an even grater crime has been committed by a person close to him; this crime in particular haunting the protagonist from the beginning of the film.

• Complexity, false paths, clues, Resolution- The thriller genre is a genre that promotes thought; narratives with a complex web of interconnected characters and subplots stimulate the viewer's imagination and therefore their emotional investment into the film. False paths serve as a reset of the viewers tension while clues build suspense and reveal parts of a hidden plot line. Ultimately, resolution is achieved when all the clues have been found and false paths stumbled upon.

• A Twist- "Twists" are an effective way of both surprising and captivating the viewer. Because of the structure thrillers possess, being that the narrative will be Equilibrium, disequilibrium, realisation, repair and re-established equilibrium, the viewer knows what to expect in terms of the general direction of the film. A surprise twist however, is the best way to break the monotony of a plotline that would otherwise be predictable.

• The extraordinary amid the ordinary- The narrative usually takes place in a location or among characters that the viewer would find to be ordinary. This makes the thriller more relatable and therefor more believable when the extraordinary occurs. 

• Enigmas- Often, throughout thriller films, more and more enigmas and riddles are gradually introduced to the protagonist as he/she attempts to solve the original puzzle. These can create sub-plots and false paths for the main protagonist, but may be vital in solving the main plot line's puzzle.

• Systematic dis-empowerment- The main protagonist is systematically persecuted by the antagonist who prey's on their vulnerabilities and weaknesses. The protagonist will usualy be isolated or helpless in some way, physically and/or psychologically.

• The Achilles heel- The main protagonist has a specific weakness. This weakness can be exploited by the antagonist.