Genre: Genre is an element that is very important to the producers and the media audiences as they must engage their audience as their target to be successful and interesting to ensure the grasp on the genre the audience have so they will keep watching to be entertained and get pleasure.                            

The thriller genre: This is a genre which revolves around suspense mainly to keep the media audience interested and anticipating what will happen next in the plot to create worry for characters. Films in this genre are meant to keep audience at the edge of their seats, by creating tension which is almost uncomfortable to bear so they keep watching. Almost in all thrillers the protagonist has a problem to resolve which is usually the plot of the film, for example a mystery they have to solve, or an escape from a problem as a resolution. The resolution or the end is usually highly exaggerated at the peak of the tension throughout the entire film, to an emphasized climax at the end which commonly has another film to carry on what happens next which keeps the entertainment to its best. This genre is made of several different sub-genres which all contain the thriller conventions along with distinct characteristics to describe the plot of the film there-fore making it a separate sub-genre, however they will always contain all the thriller conventions you would find in a thriller film.                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                 The call is an example of a thriller film because it contains several elements in the thriller film genre such as the plot which is about a girl who is abducted by a man into the back of a van in which she then calls 911 and the main character who is the person who works at the call centre (the protagonist) makes an error in judgement and she has the problem to face which is the fate of the teenager, she has to confront the kidnapper. Therefore, this film will build up a lot of tension and suspense specially when the confrontation happens then the plots climax will be reached                                          

American psycho is about a young business man who hides his psychopathic ego from his co-workers, family and friends this film is about his journey to delve deep into his hedonistic fantasies which are violent in nature, he then ends up in an apartment of dead bodies and then confesses all his actions to his lawyer. This is a thriller film because it doesn’t just make you concerned for what the main character will do next, but for his victim’s fate creating tension of the climax of whether he is caught or punished.                                                  

Sub genres of thrillers:

Crime thriller is a sub-genre which is usually based on a robbery or a murderer where the plot is based on the protagonist for example the murderer or the gangster. These thrillers are psychological and action based to build suspense.                                                                                                                            Psychological thrillers are based on the metal capability of usually the main character, the theme in these films are not physical but mind related because the character could have been having a fantasy vision. They usually have a violent and discomforting nature because they are jumpy and sometimes cross over the horror genre very easily.                                                                                                Erotic thrillers are based on the main character’s sex appeal and provocativeness; this person is often the protagonist who has used this to their advantage to commit crimes such as murder. This type of thriller makes us fear for the victims in the film so the audience Is always on the edge of their seat throughout waiting for another scandal. Romantic triangles leading to murder may be a theme in this type of film.

Common conventions of thrillers: 

Thriller films are often shot in urban or suburban settings to give more of an effect of what you wouldn’t expect in somewhere that looks peaceful also to give the film more of an adventure for the characters.

The hero is often someone who is secretive but moral, mostly an outsider and the one who solves the puzzle or enigma and exposes the truth. Usually on a journey throughout the whole film to solve the mystery put out by the protagonist.

The narrative or plot throughout the film is often revolves around a mystery in which the hero must solve which is usually involved in a violent crime of some sort. The enigma isn’t usually solved until the end of the film.

The suspense at the end of the film is that the answer to the puzzle is often more rational than a supernatural explanation. Violent crime is the subject of most thriller films

The hero and the villain though often opposing each other are usually quite similar anyway or looking for the same thing out of the puzzle.

They are often reveal the workings of a government or secret agency during the film as they are either the hero or the protagonist. Such as the army, police, government.

The thriller is centred on the injustice of someone in society e.g. violent criminal, escaped prison convict etc. which is then solved by the hero.

Common themes:

Most often Crime, Terrorism, Psychological mind games, Romantic triangles leading to murder, Religious or political Conspiracy, Supernatural events, Pursuit e.g. a stalker and a victim.

Audience response to thrillers:

The hypodermic needle theory suggests that the audience is passive throughout and their intelligence is irrelevant and they will only believe what they see, what the film makers put out into the film. This theory suggests the audience can be manipulated into thinking anything that the film makers lead them to believe, they believe they can throw them off at any instance with plot twists such as the identity of the killer, the film can lead them to believe that everything they saw at the beginning of the film was all wrong and start contradicting their own thoughts. However, the theory with psychological thrillers is that they can interpret the film in different ways, and that they will be left to do research on the film ending afterwards.

The theory by David Buckingham is the creative audience, his theory is that young people use the media to make sense of their own experiences and everyday lives. He believes that young people can relate to characters in the psychological genre as they may be going through similar phases making the film more interesting for them, so then the main response is being inclined to watch more thriller films.

Researching this has helped me understand thrillers based on why they are made and how they captivate their audience by getting into the audiences head by using all different types of colours and effects along with camera angles and movements to make different meanings. Doing this research has enabled me to learn how I can also create some thing thrilling with meaning at the same time.