Triller Genre Research

Thrillers


These type of movies normally contain a female protagonist whos young and in distress and a man as the foil serving as the antagonist. The setting normally carries the characteristic of isolation, for example, an abandoned warehouse, woods, field. Which gives the feeling of a “nowhere to run and hide” Normally some type of romance is involved in the ploy along with violence. Both subgenres play off of each other in thrillers whether its violence that leads into romance or the other way around.


When filming a thriller, many directors follow a similar format. Including tilt shots or disorientated shots to help create discomfort and confusion for the viewer. Throughout the movie, you will find close-ups and extreme close-ups when the protagonist is on screen. In order to create a sense as if "all eyes are on" the protagonist when they're speaking. High angles are common to help establish dominance one character may have over another, normally used with the antagonist over the protagonist. Lighting in most scenes is normally dim, gloomy in order to make things difficult to see and to create suspicion and confusion. Editing is normally featuring quick shots in which create a build up for suspense along with confusion, which is complemented by the lighting. Suspense plays a major role in this genre, whether it is fast paced or slow paced.


The target audience for thrillers is a large array of ages from the ages of 15-50. There is a large pan due to it being relatable to both male and female since many thrillers include violence and romance. Because of this, this has allowed thrillers marketing teams to take multiple approaches to gain attention for their upcoming movie. Social media plays an instrumental role since their target audience (15-50-year-old) are on social media. Trailers and ads for the movie would appear on their timeline or screen in order to get the viewers attention.


The movie "Pyscho" is a perfect example of a thriller movie. This movie and one scenario, in particular, give examples of what many directors use. There is a scenario in which the young female protagonist is in the shower, unaware of what's coming next and vulnerable. The killer or the male antagonist is slowly coming into the shot, in which the scene quickly turns into a quick edit montage of the woman being stabbed to her death. However, while the stabbing is occurring, this is being shot from multiple angles, one being the high angle. And another being close-ups and extreme close-ups of the woman being stabbed. The bathroom in which this scene occurs allows for there to be "nowhere to run or hide" feeling, which ultimately lead to the woman's death. The antagonist quickly runs off of the screen, however, the murderer can't be recognized due to the room being poorly lit.


Another example of a thriller movie following this format would be a "Nightmare on Elm Street". One scene, for example, one of the protagonists is sleeping before being unexpectedly killed by the antagonist. However, the room is on the second floor, creating the feeling that there is no place to escape or hide if she was awake. The monster is invisible and moves into the room undetected before the slaying. Since the monster is invisible the identity is not revealed for that scene. Once the initial move is made, a quick montage begins of the woman being thrown around the bedroom like a ragdoll. Including close-up shots of the woman realizing she's possed and her screams for help. High angles are also featured when she is initially possed and is quickly thrown in the air and begins to levitate. With the scene taking place at night, the room would be pitch black, however, the moon serves as the only source of light in the room.


1 Nightmare on Elm Street https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISzAuk-2NYs


2 Pyscho https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s22lNU5jXM4\


3 Intruder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCjsHXSjlHA


4 It follows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI7TFTH5f5I


5 13 cameras https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRKG9KiOIkk

Intro to blog

Hi, my name is Marco Ruiz. I'm a senior at Cypress Bay High School, I created this blog for my Aice Media Studies class. I hope you enjoy my work.