Conventions of a thriller

Liam Boreham

CONVENTIONS OF A THRILLER ! LIAM BOREHAM

The protagonist(s) faces death, either their own or somebody else's.

The force(s) of antagonism must initially be cleverer and/or stronger than the protagonist's.

The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a character who cannot be put down.

The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.

The protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) may battle, themselves and each other, not just on a physical level, but on a mental one as well.

Either by accident or their own curiousness, characters are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve.

NARRATIVE

A protagonist who is systematically disempowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist,

usually the protagonist has a flaw which is exploted by the antagonist.

He villains in thrillers are usually tall or well built with a shady sense that they shouldn’t be trusted. The character

may have had a traumatic experience in the past which has altered their view on life.

Sometimes supporting characters will help the protagonist and occasionally we see a betrayal occur on their behalf.

CHARACTERS

Common methods and themes in crime thrillers are :

• Ransoms, Where the character is held by villains who want a reward and the protagonist has to rescue them.

• Captivities, Where they main character has to retrieve a character from within the antagonist’s mists.

• Heists, An attempt to remove somewhere of its possessions the protagonist could be preventing this or doing this.

• Revenge, Where the protagonist is attempting to give someone payback for previous occurrences

• Kidnappings, when a character is taken and in danger.

THEMES

CAMERA MOVEMENT

MISE EN SCENE

Plots of thrillers contain characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces – the threat is sometimes mental or hidden. An atmosphere of creepy peril and unexpected violence, such as crime and murder, characterize thrillers. Thrillers often present the world and society as dark, dishonest and dangerous. But in Hollywood they usually feature upbeat endings in which evil is overcome. The tension usually arises when the character is placed in a threatening situation, a mystery, or a trick from which escaping seems impossible. Life is threatened, usually because the main character is innocently or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or possibly fatal situation