Ideas for Filming - Common features of a thriller

A thriller generally uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements in the film. Thrillers are seen as stimulators for the audience's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be filled with adrenaline, whether its action-packed or involving a serial-killer. Plot twists and cliff hangers are used constantly as a result of a rousing, fast-paced plot. A thriller conforms to a villain-driven plot, where he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.

Common subgenres are psychological thrillers, crime thrillers and mystery thriller. The spy genre, which deals with fictional espionage is another common subgenre used to create an idea for the audience of alternative lifestyle of a spy. A successful example of a thriller is Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO.

The aim of a thriller is to keep the audience on edge throughout the film, also no matter what subgenre the film falls into the idea is to emphasize the danger that the protagonist must face. The fight and chase are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own unique characteristics and methods. The thriller is supposed to provide a sudden rush of emotions, excitement, sense of suspense and exhileration that drives the narrative and therefore keeps the audience interested for the duration of the film.

CHARACTERS:
-The protagonist faces death, either their own or someone else's.
-The antagonist must initially be more clever and/or stronger than the progonist.
-Either by accident or their own curiosity, random characters are dragged into a dangerous conflict.
CHARACTERS include criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims, psychotic individuals, serial-killers, police and convicts, characters with dark pasts, etc.

STORY AND SETTING:
-Thriller plots involve characters which come into conflict with eachother or with outside forces - the threat is either known from the start or unseen up until the sudden end. Thrillers often portray the world and society as dark and therefore produce a plot of similar darkness-'pathetic fallacy'.