Portfolio Project Genre #2 

Thriller

Thrillers are plot-driven films with plot twists and mysteries. They are filled with tension, fear, and suspense. Usually, there is a character in danger or with a lot of pressure on them. There are many types of thrillers, such as psychological, political, crime/spy, and sci-fi thrillers.

Who Likes the Thrill?

The typical target audience of thrillers is adults ages 18-25. This audience is 18+ due to disturbing, violent scenes. However, young adults starting at age 16 do find the plots interesting. Males are usually attracted to the action-packed plots while females are drawn to the questions and psychology behind the plot. For this reason, different subgenres attract different audiences. Action thrillers have a majority male audience ages 15-30 while female audiences dominate romantic thrillers. 

Genre Conventions

Content

Thrillers usually have villian-driven plots with red herrings (distraction from reality/clue), plot twists, and cliff hangers. Common characters include, criminals, stalkers, innocent victims, and murderers. They are typically set in an urban city. Thriller writer Dan Brown says there are "Three C's" to thrillers: contract, crucible, and clock. Contract is the promise to the audience that you will answer the big question the plot is centered around by the end of the film or book. Crucible means you need to make it hard for the protagonist to escape their situation. Clock is the pressure from time running out; it turns the obstable into a high stakes situation. Mirrors are often used to illustrate a character's inner self or a villain approaching the victim. Flashbacks are used to show the protagonist's life before the incident, so audiences can connect that insight to the current circumstance. It also allows audiences to connect with the protagonist. The narratives usually hold suspnense and adventure too.

                                                               Black Swan psychological horror thriller mirror scene.                                                       

Techniques

Thrillers use many techniques like low key and high key lighting and shadows. Low key lighting puts a harsh shadow on the antagonist's face to make them look sinister or mysterious. It also develops uneasiness in viewers as it is harder to see detail in the scene. Color palettes are often associated with the characters. So, the antagonist usually has dark colors, like black, gray, and red. Nondiegetic sound, specifically high tension music, is used when approaching a climax to add tension. Pacing is usually manipulated with quick cuts to increase suspense and anticipation and a variety of angles are filmed, such as dutch angles and extreme close-ups.

Institutional Conventions

Narrative Image

Iconography is used to identify thrillers. This usually includes a hero protagonist, villain, and victims. Low key lighting tells audiences that danger is involved. Other iconography includes weapons, like guns and knives, to indicate violence and confined spaces to suggest something major will happen. Low-key lighting is used for a mysterious mood and black, gray, and red color palettes are common.

Marketing

Thriller posters usually have the color palette of black, gray, red, white, blue, yellow, and orange. An image of the main character takes up majority of the poster. The title of the film is in bold, all capital letters in a clear, simple font often in white, red, yellow, or orange. The posters feautre low key lighting and have a tagline on the poster that hints to what the film is about. These conventions are also used in thriller film trailers. Tense music, stings, low key lighting, and dutch angles scenes are all used in the trailers. The trailer usually begins slow paced to signal normality then follows with a screen fading back to indicate something is about to happen and develop tension. Then, the pacing may speed up with fast cuts. Iconography is included in both the poster and trailer. 

Secret Window psychological thriller movie poster.

Thriller Films

Inception (2010)

Dom Cobb is able to steal people's secrets while they dream and is know given the task to do the opposite and plant an idea in a CEO's mind. Just like most thrillers, the "Three C's" are followed. The contract is that by the end of the movie,  Cobb will perform the inception to clear his criminal record. There is a time constraint as the team has the length of a flight to fulfill their task. The crucible is that the team cannot leave the dream until they finish the task. The setting is also in urban cities, such as Tokyo and Paris, and utilizes low key lighting, confined spaces, violence, and weapons. The movie poster also follows that of a typical thriller with low-key lighting, a blue and black color palette, and a red, all capital title. There is also the tagline "Your mind is the scene of the crime."

Mercy (2026)

A detective is on trial after being accused of murdering his wife and has to prove his innocence to an AI judge. This film follows the "Three C's" of thrillers. The contract is that by the end of the film, audiences will find out if the detective is proven guilty or innocent. The clock is that he has 90 minutes to prove his innocence. The crucible is that he is restrained to a chair in a courtroom and physically cannot escape. The setting is in an urban city of Los Angeles in 2029 and continues to use other thriller conventions, such as low key lighting. The poster has a common color palette for thrillers, features the movie title in a bold, all capital white font, and has an image of the main character taking up most of the poster, as do most thriller posters. The poster even includes a tagline "The future of criminal justice is artificial intelligence."

After conducting some research, thriller films are definetly a genre I am interested in. I love how there is already a set format for creating the plot ("Three C's" of thrillers). It helps narrow down the brainstorming process. What looks intimidating is coming up with a question to introduce in the film opening.

Sources:
- Dukes, J. (n.d.). *What is a thriller?* Celadon Books. https://celadonbooks.com/what-is-a-thriller/

- Ethan. (n.d.). *Audience expectations from thrillers*. Ejaz Film. https://redherringproducti4.wixsite.com/ejazfilm/audience-expectations-from-thrillers

- lydiakate. (2016). *Audience for a thriller genre* [SlideShare]. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/audience-for-a-thriller-genre/59075605

- Schwaar, C. (2020, November 24). *Dan Brown’s three C’s*. Chris Schwaar. https://www.chrisschwaar.com/2020/11/24/dan-browns-three-cs/

- Robertson, L. (n.d.). *Codes and conventions of thriller films* [SlideShare]. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/codes-and-conventions-of-thriller-films-67915457/67915457

- Harrison, L. (n.d.). *Thriller poster conventions* [SlideShare]. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/thriller-poster-conventions/26540804

- Palacio, I. (2020, January 16). *Codes and conventions of the horror-thriller genre*. Ignacio Palacio Media Blog. https://ignaciopalaciomediablog.home.blog/2020/01/16/codes-and-conventions-of-the-horror-thriller-genre/

- IMDb. (n.d.). *Inception (2010)*. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/

- IMDb. (n.d.). *Plot summary for The Watchers (2024)*. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31050594/plotsummary/

- MoviePosters.com. (n.d.). *Inception poster*. https://www.movieposters.com/products/inception-mpw-123396

- Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). *Secret Window*. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Window

- Scott, R. (2023). *Black Swan ending explained*. MovieWeb. https://movieweb.com/black-swan-ending/