Thriller Sub-Genres

My group and I have chosen to do a thriller for our film opening sequence because it builds tension and creats suspense for the audience. In general I just think that the thriller genre will be the most exciting for our intended target audience. However, we must also considire what type of thriller movie we are going to make, I will be naming and explaining the codes and conventions for each thriller sub-genre.

Action Thriller- This type of thriller is one of the most popular and commonly watched sub-genre because it focuses on the action within a story as well as building tension. The action thriller tends to be common with a lot of audiences because of the visual appeal it provides them, for example, explosions, gun shots, blood and general violence. Examples of this sub-genre include: The hunger Games, Se7en and Casino Royal.

Crime Thriller- This subgenre focuses on crime and a violation of the law. In a lot of cases the story is from the criminal’s point of view and they are the narrator. Physical action and eluding the police is really common from the protagonist criminal character in these types of films while on the other side of the Law they attempt to gather evidence and try to discover the criminal. Examples of this type of film are, The Dark Knight Rises and Pulp Fiction.

 

Disaster Thriller- In this subgenre, a lot of the time, a natural disaster or freak accident is taking place, and the protagonist is either trying to stop the disaster, save people in the film, or just save themselves before time runs out and the disaster has run its course. Some good examples for this type of film are the Final destination sequals and San Andreas.



Psychological Thriller-  This perhaps is the most commonly reconised type of thriller. In this subgenre a lot of the conflict is mental, rather than physical. The protagonist has become involved in a dangerous conedrum of which threatens their sanity. They must overcome their opponent by using their mental skills and being smart. One of the biggest Psychological thrillers is the Saw sequal or maybe even The Shining.

Dramatic Thriller-  This sub-genre is quite different to the other types of thriller films in the sense that it shows the charracters emotions and what they're feeling on the inside a bit more. In these types of films ussually there has been a big event that occured and the main charracter is greatly effected by it. Also you will see that a lot of the time the main character is the antagonist as well as the protagonist because they are trying to overcome the events but at the same time their emotions prevent them from doing so and hold them back. Some examples of this Sub-genre include, Seven Pounds and This Is England.



Horror-thriller-  This is another common sub-genre because it normally combines scary, tension building scenes with a determined protagonist trying to deffeat the evil that is present. In these films, dark, low-key lighting is almost always used to connote evil or something sinister. Furthermore, the use of slow sound that gradually increases is common because it builds tension up to the big events in the film. Examples of Horror-thrillers are: Insideous, Sinister and The Visit.