1. ‘Thriller’ is a huge genre within the
media and hundreds of thriller films
have been produced over the years.
Using the internet, I was able to
research the vast collection and have
decided to look at a small sample of
these in detail to extend my
understanding of the genre and to
provide me with inspiration for my own
project.
Screen shots from
research on thriller
films done on the
internet.

2. The Woman In Black
Pathetic Fallacy: The dark stormy sky creates an intense, dark
atmosphere which is very reflective of the thriller genre.
Shot types: The BCU shot
of this character’s face
makes the emotion much Misé en scene: The eerie
more obvious and allows us house in the distance is
to see his expression close surrounded by mist and
up, which is a common almost appears as if it is being
feature of thrillers as it lets swallowed up by the black
us see the character’s clouds. This emphasises the
fear, anger, determination isolation of the building and
etc. makes it seem much more
scary which is a typical
convention of the genre.
Colours: The colours Font: The ‘creepy’ font fits
used (blacks, greys in well with the thriller
and sepia tones) are genre and the choice of
very dark and are the pearly white colour
commonly associated gives it a ‘ghostly’ feel
with which emphasises this
fear, evil, negativity point even further.
etc. which are typical
themes of thrillers.

3. Typical convention of thriller: lawyers are renowned for being
‘tough’ and almost ‘aggressive’ which makes them a strong character
type and this is common of the protagonist in a thriller.
Typical convention of thriller:
the ‘hero’ character has an Typical convention of thriller: the setting has
Achilles heel/ weakness. an unusual quality (in this case remoteness).
Plot:
A young widowed lawyer travels to a remote village where he
discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing
the locals.
Typical convention of thriller:
‘scary’ elements of the story. Not a typical convention of thriller: Typically
the antagonist character would be played by a
male so it is unusual that the writer has chosen
a woman for this role.

4. Stereotypically a weak character This colour is commonly associated with
type which makes the audience darkness, fear, evil etc. and this therefore makes
curious as to why they have the genre of the film quite obvious and sets up an
chosen a female. expectation for the audience.
The Woman In Black
Using the words ‘The Woman’
to describe this character
makes her unidentifiable and
The title gives the audience nameless. The audience will
clues about the storyline as immediately feel uneasy and
it relates to obvious disconnected from this
themes such as character before even
death, mourning, grieving watching the film as they
etc. cannot relate to her in any
way.

5. Black Swan
Costume: The woman wears a very grand tiara/crown and this is a clear
symbol of power which suggests that she may be an unconventional
character in the film. Misé en scene: The fact that
Shot types: The CU shot
of this character’s face the headshot of this woman is
makes the emotion much the only think in the frame is
more obvious and allows quite important. It shows the
us to see the prominent audience that there is no
madness in her eyes conflict with an outside party
which makes the image so therefore suggests that the
more relevant to the conflict must be an emotional
genre. or mental one which
introduces the idea of a
psychological thriller.
Colours: The image is
prominently white
with highlights of Font: The font is very
darkness such as the simple, subtle and classy
heavy black eye yet completely stands out
makeup. This could as it has been written in
suggest a battle black on a white
between good and background. The font
evil which is therefore appears to
conventional of the reflect the film title as it is
thriller genre. written in black in a style
which is elegant like a
swan.

6. Not a typical convention of
thriller: the ‘hero’ character
usually has a ‘hard man’
persona and it is unusual for
Typical convention of thriller: mental
this role to be played by a
breakdown is a common theme particularly
delicate female.
found in psychological thrillers.
Plot:
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for
the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but
slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like
Odile, the Black Swan.
Typical convention of thriller: there are two
clear opposing sides (the black swan and the
white swan) representing a rivalry between
good and evil and this is something commonly
found in a thriller.

7. A swan is a very elegant, peaceful
creature which makes it an unusual
This colour is
element to include in a thriller film.
commonly
associated with
darkness, fear,
evil etc. and
this therefore
makes the
Black Swan
genre of the
film quite
obvious and
sets up an
expectation
for the
audience.
The title introduces an immediate
contrast which is commonly found in
a thriller as a popular theme is the
rivalry of good vs. evil.

8. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Composition: The black section
Shot types: The BCU shot of this characters’ faces makes splitting the page down the middle
the emotion much more obvious and allows us to see their creates a clear divide in the two
expressions close up, which is a common feature of thrillers halves and suggests a conflict
as it lets us see the character’s fear, anger, determination between the two characters. The
etc. fact that both characters are
wearing glasses is interesting as
one has tinted lenses and the other
has clear lenses. This shows a
contrast in the two of them and
Colours: The colours used in highlights which is the protagonist
the bottom half (fiery colours and which is the antagonist.
such as yellow and red)
suggest action which is a
standard convention of a
thriller film and in contrast to
this the colours in the top
half (greens and blues)
suggest technology/science Font: The bold, strong font is
which can be a feature of the representative of power and
thriller genre though this is action which links in well with
slightly less commonly the genre. The streaky effect
found. also could be giving the
audience clues about the plot
as it suggests high speed.

9. Typical convention of thriller: Exciting
settings like this busy city are a classic
convention of the thriller genre.
Typical convention of thriller: a
common element of the thriller is Typical convention of thriller: introduces
weaponry as this supports the violent the element of danger to the story due to
theme. the high speed of the train.
Plot:
Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the
passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an
ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off
with the mastermind behind the crime.
Typical convention of thriller:
adds danger and fear to the Typical convention of thriller: conflict between
story which are classic themes two opposing sides (i.e. good and evil) is a
within the genre. common feature of the thriller genre.

10. Forceful act: ‘taking’ suggests that
it was not allowed to happen with Numbers could suggest repetition or a
permission and this breaking of countdown etc. which provides clues about
rules introduces an ‘evil’ the plot of the film.
organisation/team.
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
The title gives the audience
clues about the storyline as Including numbers in the film titles is
it indicates what the aim of confusing for the audience as it doesn’t make
the antagonists is. any particular sense. This however is effective
as it leads them to question what the title
means and encourages them to watch the
film in order to find out.