Conventions

Thrillers were born from Alfred Hitchcock, a man that introduced many different thriller elements that you see on screen nowadays. Hitchcock introduced various factors that has influenced many contemporary thrillers and is viewed as the most significant figure in film and thriller history.

Some of Hitchcock’s techniques are still used in today’s film industry and they range from shot types to the narrative of a film. Hitchcock most famously invented the “dolly zoom” which was used to portray a feeling of “uneasyness” which was evident in Vertigo. Thrillers are supposed to make the audience feel almost uncomfortable so that they’re hearts are racing so you can reveal the ‘Punch Line’ of the film. One way to cause unease is to have a non-linear narrative and show the main point of the film first. This causes dramatic irony throughout the whole film as the audience knows more than the on-screen characters. Or the director could fool the audience by using red herrings, so that they think they know who did what, but really it will just be even more shocking when they found out who did.

Shot types that can cause unease for the audience are extreme close-ups, low angle shots, high angle shots point of view shots and so on, but these can really throw the audience and once again we must mention the dolly zoom used to cause an unease for the audience.

Jump cuts are a good way to disorientate the audience as they show little movements that are barely noticeable. Fast paced editing can get the audiences hearts racing especially when coupled with a good score, but on the flip side, slow editing can build tension before a crescendo.

Contrapuntal sound can confuse the audience, as it does not match the on screen actions, leaving them to wonder why it is there. Anything on either of the speed and pitch spectrum makes the audience uncomfortable as it is something theatre not used to.

Typical characters in thrillers are masked men, stupid teenagers and femme fatales. If the director is feeling extreme then he can 'flip the script' and make them be masked women, smart teens and males in distress, which continues to cause confusion for the audience.