Conventions of a Thriller Movie

This entry will be focused on what kind of conventions you would expect to find in a typical thriller movies and from this we will be able to take a look at whether we will be following or challenging them when we come to making our own opening sequence.

First of if we look at what the actual purpose of a thriller movie is and this would be to create suspence and excitement for the audience as thrillers (mostly psychological) would delve into the mindset of the character, and some examples of thriller movies would be:

*Black Swan
*From Paris With Love
*Salt
*Shutter Island
*Abuction
*The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
*Hanna
*I Am Number Four
*Limitless
*The Resident
*The Skin I Love In
*Source Code
*Jack Reacher
*Safe House
*Underworld: Awakening



Themes and Characters: 

Although it would be hard to give a real definition of what a thriller is certain sub genres would follow the same themes and characters and it would be because of these that when an audience views a film they would be able to tell that what they are watching is a thriller movie. If we are to look at crime thrillers some of the common themes would be ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge and kidnappings. However, if we were to look at paranoid thrillers then it would be things like fringe theories, false accusations and paranoia (as the name suggests).

Some of the usual conventions that you would expect in thrillers would be:

The protagonist faces death, and it might be their own or someone that is close to them. 
The villain (or antagonist) may be more powerful then the main character. 
Usually, (but not always) the story might resolve around a character who cannot be put down. ]
Linked in with this point is that there is usually a mystery that has to be solved. 
The things that happen in the movie and the way that the characters act has to be seen as being realistic. 
Two major themes that play part in thriller movies would be a very strong sense of justice. 
There may be a presence of innocence in an otherwise corrupt world. 
The protagonist and the villain while they may engage in physical battles it is also likely that they will battle with mind games as well. 
Other characters may be dragged into the action by curiosity. 

A lot of the characters that you would find in a thriller movie would be very ordinary citizens who wouldn't be used to dangerous situations or danger and by doing this it gives the audience a sense of realism and therefore makes it more relatable. But again, this would differ in the sub genres as in crime thrillers the protagonists would be policemen or other people who have to deal with dangerous situations and have been hardened against the things that  they will have to come up against.

Samuel L Jackson- Unbreakable (2000)

Story and Setting: 

Usually the story of a thriller movie by which characters would come into contact with some kind of threat and this can sometimes be unseen. Some of the things that would usually stick out thrillers would be the use of murders and crime. In some movies the outcome is that evil triumphs.  Something that thrillers would really put emphasis on would the puzzle element of the story and there would be clues and hints as the audience would try to figure out what is going on at the same time as the main character does and usually the point of this is not who did it but it would be to try and make sure that that villain does not strike again.