What is a thriller film

 A Thriller Film is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. Good thrillers must include certain codes and conventions to achieve their aim. 

The codes and conventions of a thriller are usually of the following, the representation of the characters especially women are presented as weak this is done in some thriller films by the victim wearing white clothing which symbolizes weakness. The characters are also presented as good vs bad generally in thrillers,   The protagonist in these films is set against a problem, for example an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist will faces. irony is another feature used which creates suspense as the audience know throughout the film that the victim is going to be killed but just not when its going to happen. Intensity of sound is another convention used which creates suspense these are normally parallel to the images. Iconography is always used in thrillers as its the main weapon the killers tend to use. Through out thrillers low key lighting is used to create shadows and a mysterious effect to hide the characters faces. Slow editing is used in thrillers to build tension which keeps the audience interested in the film.

In the opening sequence of saw 1 we can immediately tell that the film is a thriller from that it starts off with being set in a unknown location of a bathroom looking room where two men are tied up by chains which creates enigma and indicates there will be some thrilling action to what is going to happen next to them. Low key lighting is used for about the first minute of the opening sequence of the film to create  mysterious and creepy atmosphere. 



thriller analysis of a thriller film opening


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