Conventions of Thriller Films

What do we expect to see in the first 5 minutes of a Thriller film?

Thrillers will create a sense of suspense, tension and uncertainty. They will do this by using different light, music, shot types.
Most of the films I have studied include the opening of credits presented on a black, dark background with some non-diegetic sound playing to set the scene. Another convention of titles is that usually the most important film companies or actors in the film are shown first in the credits.
Tracking and pan shots are commonly used at the beginning of Thriller films, particularly a certain group of people who we should be interested in as an audience. The most typical shot used in thriller films seems to be the close up, greatly used in Se7en to build suspense and mystery at the beginning.


A list of Thriller Conventions are also shown below:

- A Crime at the core of the Narrative (E.g. Murder) which will keep the viewer captivated in the film.
- A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions. This will have an effect of leaving a strong enigma by keeping the audience questioning the film and keeping their full attention by having them trying to solve the mystery.
- A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved. This will keep the audience's concentration as they will not want to stop watching the film without finding out what happens.
- A Protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist. All thrillers have a protagonist against an antagonist at some point in a thriller.
- Themes of voyeurism.
- Themes of mirroring.
- Themes of Identity.
- A thriller film can also be closely related to a horror film.