The thriller genre contains many elements of mise en scene, editing, sound and cinematography which are used frequently in thriller films to create a certain mood which creates the desired mood upon the audience. Thrillers also feature multiple sub-genres for example espionage thrillers, and they also include hybrids where the genre of thriller is mixed with another film genre, the most typical genre hybrid is horror-thriller films.
Lighting is a large focus of mise en scene that is use in thriller films. Typically low key lighting is used as it establishes a more eerie feeling necessary for the plot of thriller films. Low key lighting creates shadows and contrasts which can connote good and evil.
On top of this, actor appearance plays a pivotal role in thriller films, typically they will involve a young girl as the protagonist or victim in the film and the antagonist will typically be a matured white male which plays upon and even creates stereotypes that the audience becomes used too.
Score is another vital element to the thriller genre as the mood of the score and the other sounds we hear in the film can influence the films overall effect and extent to which it keeps within the traditions of a thriller film. However sometimes these traditions will be challenged and contradicted intentionally for example the stealers wheel scene in reservoir dogs.
| " |
Most thriller films are told in a coherent narrative order and tend to typically open with a slow build up but by the end, thriller films are typically fast paced. This contrasts with horror films which tend to both open and close with a gruesome death.
They often include red herrings both in terms of characters and scenes. The plot is set up to trick the audience into suspecting an innocent person and then later revealing this to be wrong but this can also occur in scenes where music will become tense the lighting will change and we expect something dramatic to happen but then nothing does which still succeeds in creating a thrill for the audience.
Sub genres of thriller films include psychological thrillers which tend to be the most common this genre includes films such as 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Seven'. There are typically few deaths but the thrill comes from a psychological fear of the antagonist. Other sub genres include espionage thrillers and science fiction thrillers. In espionage the thriller element of the plot will be the element of danger the protagonist is in and typically a high level of action will be involved also. In science fiction thrillers there tends to be more of a reliance on special effects and the thriller element is almost secondary to the sci-fi element of the film.
Hybrid films include elements of two different genres. Comedy thrillers are one of the largest and most successful types of hybrid films for example the 'Scream' series which contains elements of the thriller genre such as the typically associated sound and mise en scene but also frequently contains examples of humor and slapstick comedy. Crime thrillers are another successful hybrid. These films tend to focus on the criminals rather than the police and other groups of people who would typically be protagonists in other film genres however in crime thrillers they are technically antagonists. Crime thrillers usually emphasize action of psychological aspects which are typically found in sub genres rather than hybrids. Central topics of these films include murders, robberies, car chases, shootouts and double crossing.
Joseph Power
No comments:
Post a Comment