Genre Conventions of Thriller Films

1. Iconography

1.1. Guns

1.1.1. E.g 'The Dark Knight'

1.2. Weaponary

1.3. Low Key lighting

1.4. Shadows

1.5. Blood

1.6. Knives

1.6.1. E.g 'Orphan'

2. Sub Genres

2.1. Horror

2.2. Erotic

2.2.1. E.g 'The Boy Next Door'

2.3. Action

2.4. Psychological

2.4.1. E.g 'Gone Girl'

2.5. Crime

2.6. Mystery

2.7. Sci-fi

3. Themes

3.1. Kidnappings

3.2. Heists

3.2.1. E.g. 'Ocean's 11'

3.3. Murder

3.4. Revenge

3.5. Stalkings

3.6. Ransoms

3.7. Espionage

3.7.1. E.g. 'Casino Royale'

3.8. Obsession

4. KEY

5. Conventions we included

6. Real Film Examples

7. Can have more than one sub-genre e.g 'Inception' is a sci-fi action thriller

8. Narrative

8.1. Action and Enigma codes

8.2. Non-linear

8.3. Linear

8.4. Protagonist and Antagonit

8.4.1. E.g 'P2'

8.5. Cliffhangers

8.5.1. E.g. 'Inception'

8.6. Suspense/Tension

9. Characters

9.1. Vicitm

9.2. Stalker

9.3. Murderer

9.4. Serial Killer

9.4.1. E.g. 'Se7en'

9.5. Con Artists

9.6. Psychopaths

9.7. Police/Agents

9.7.1. E.g 'Shutter Island'

9.8. Hero

10. Setting

10.1. Urban Areas

10.2. Suburbia

10.3. Cities

10.4. Forests/Woods

10.5. Small Towns

11. Although our lead character is the victim, she also acts as the heroine (uncommon in thriller films) as she attempts to save herself instead of relying on a male character to rescue her

12. Side Note