Sub-genres within the Thriller genre

• Action thriller: In which the film often features a race against time, contains lots of violence and an obvious rival. These films usually contain large amounts of weapons (mostly guns), explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. They also often have elements of crime and mystery films. Examples of action thrillers are James Bond, The Transporter and Jason Bourne films.
  
• Crime thriller: This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers. These films focus on the criminal rather than the good guy e.g. the policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. Most crime thrillers include robberies, chases, murders and shoot-outs. Examples include Seven, The Killing, Reservoir Dogs and Inside Man.
  
• Medical thriller: The main character (hero/heroine) is in the medical profession and work to solve an expanding medical problem. An example of a medical thriller is Awake.
  
• Psychological thriller: In which the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional. Alfred Hitchcock films are good examples of this, Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, Suspicion.
  
• Spy thriller: In which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. Examples include The Bourne Identity and Mission Impossible.
  

Conventions of the thriller genre

Using 'Flightplan' as an example, the conventions of thriller films can be explored.
A build up to the action was created by non diagetic sound coming from the train and innocent music to represent the child involved.
The character being alone at the train station created fear, apprehension, anticipation and an unsettling feeling.
The atmosphere is dark because it is nighttime and this makes it mysterious. It continues to stay dark throughout the opening and the turbulence of the plane builds tension. The innocent piano music plays over the turbulence.
Flashbacks are also included when the mother thinks back to when her daughter was pronounced dead.
A realistic setting is used to create a sense of 'the unusual' occurring within a normal setting. Here the realistic setting is an aeroplane. When the mother is looking for her daughter, the pace of both the music and the camera shots is fast.

Analysis of thriller openings

'Seven' - the music created fear and tension and was quite disturbing. Faces were hidden which created curiosity and the atmosphere was dark and mysterious. You could tell the character was planning something from close up shots of their notes and photos. I liked the whole opening to this film because it included most conventions typical of a thriller.


'The Usual Suspects' - a dark room with characters dressed in black with their faces hidden. The music begins slow and builds up with the action creating tension. Because it is set on a boat, this gives the feeling they are trapped. However, I thought this was a more appropriate opening for an action film.


'Hostage' - the colours white, red and black were used which are typical of a thriller. In this case, the red could represent blood. The titles were part of the action by being placed on buildings which established the location. However, therre was nothing established about the charcters or much about the narrative content.