Conventions of a Thriller Film

Music: usually starts off slowly, then building to a crescendo to add tension and dramatic effect to the climax of the shot. The music will sometimes take to an oppositonal mood where for example there will be a happy tune playing while someone is getting murdered but this is something that happens in more edgy, independent films. Mystery: There will be an unanswered question or an 'enigma' all the way through the film, only to be answered at the end of the film. Pace: The will be quick during the action scenes but slower when the protagonist is figuring out what to do Mise - en - scene: Thriller films usually take place in cities, where lots of action takes place where there is lots of diversity and a very high population, this makes the place where the crime happens a normal place where the audience would live themselves so the can relate. Costume is casual to show that the main characters in the film are also just normal people and that the protagonist has been unwillingly thrown into the situation. Props are always used in Thriller films, they can be weapons used by the antogonist or clues of some sort given to the protagonist. Themes: Isolation, Vulnerability, Betrayal, Revenge, Love/Passion, Troubled Childhood, Jealousy, Obsession etc. Gender: Sereotypically, the antagonist is mainly played by a male and the progtanist is usually a mixture of male and female. Characters: The antagonist is usually intelligent and scheming and the protagonist usually encounters some help along to way usually a sidekick.