Ingredients of a Thriller


The "thriller" genre is a specific type of film which uses the key components of suspense and tension to excite the viewer. They are typically films which involve issues which are not normal in everyday life, such as 'Taken', which deals with the problems a father does as he tries to hunt down his daughters kidnapping. The suspense comes from the many intense gun fights in the film, and the ordeal the father goes through, with the audience wondering whether he is ever going to see his daughter again. This type of film is exciting to the viewer, as it is something that almost everybody watching the film has never gone through and will most likely never go through, therefore creates excitement for the viewer.


Another very famous example is the film 'Memento', which deals with a man who has amnesia and is trying to find out how his wife died. The suspense comes from the strange order of the film, which starts at the films climax, before making the sequence of events beforehand become clear to the viewer. This is a very famous and critically acclaimed film, due to the change in narrative of the film.




Thriller films typically use very suspenseful music, such as string instruments, to create a very high-pitched, uneasy tone for the viewer. This creates suspense as the viewer starts to anticipate that something very bad within the plot is going to happen. The music used is crucial in creating a successful thriller film, as music is a key theme in creating feeling within a film, and can set the tone of the scene.


Thriller films usually range from the age ranges of 12, 15 and 18, as the audience is generally a mature audience who will understand what is happening, and due to the sometimes gruesome or complex plots, which children will not like or will struggle to understand.