Iconography of the thriller genre.

1. Iconography of The Thriller
Genre.
Alice Smith

2. Knives
Knives are a typical symbol associated with a thriller as they have
connotations of blood, death, pain and brutality. A typical representation of
this would be in the famous knife scene from Hitchcock's film 'Psycho'.
Knives are often used to show that somebody is going to get killed and it
acts a common device to keep the audience engaged

3. Shadows
Silhouettes and shadows are what give a thriller the enigma and mystery for
the audience. Shadows are a common piece of iconography associated with
the thriller genre because they build up fear in the audience, by instigating
that the protagonist is being watch by a human being or some kind of
animal/monster. The protagonist is often oblivious to this but can often
sense that something isn't right, which leads them on their journey. They
often induce thoughts of fear and darkness for the audience as well as
giving them clues and they ask questions out of suspense. A character with a
silhouette is most likely to be the antagonist, which usually isn't revealed
until the end of the film.

4. Confined Spaces
The use of confined spaces in a thriller also makes the audience feels as
though they are too trapped. Being in a confined space often leads the
protagonist to start breathing heavily and panting to inform how they are
trapped and cannot escape, or it often leads to the start of their struggle as
they try to break free.

5. Woods
Woods are locations often used for thrillers. This is because they create a
sense of being lost as the characters find themselves trying to figure out
how to escape. Woods are often isolated too, which creates a sense of
vulnerability and it seems inevitable that the characters will ever find any
help. There may be one house in the woods which often turns out to be the
antagonist.

6. Cities
Psychological thrillers often take place in a city which brings all of the
drama closer to home. This often gives a sense of reality for the
audience