Thriller Recipe and Conventions

What is the recipe to a thriller?

Fast pace, frequent action and inevitable heroes and villains are the recipe to a classic thriller.

What makes a thriller is  the intense suspense, red herring and nail biting cliffhangers. We cannot forget the villain driven plot where the heroic figures must overcome various obstacles that get in their way. Its genre is certainly flexible because of its ability to engage the audience effectively, whether its through dramatic rendering of psychological, social and even political tensions.

The famous Hitchcock praised thrillers by saying



"to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like."

Rather exotic locations are used when it comes to filming thrillers; such as foreign cities. However some still adapt to the cities of California or New York City such as Psycho and North by Northwest.



The heroic figures in thrillers are normally described as "hard men" as they are ever in the company of danger, for example policemen. However, in some cases they just may be ordinary citizens that attract danger but not to their fault.

Traditionally, men were the leading roles as heroes but feminine leads have been growing around the late 1900s. Sigourney Weaver played a fantastic role of Ripley.

Alien, 1979

Thrillers VS Mysteries 

Often, thrillers tend to overlap with mystery stories, but you can distinguish the two by the structure of their plots. In a thriller the hero must hinder the plots of the enemy instead of uncovering a crime that has already occurred, while in a mystery there is likely to be a premature disclosure of the murderer's identity. The identity of the villain is known throughout the film in a thriller.

In most cases thrillers are revolves around situations on a grander scale such as mass murder, terrorism, assassination or even on a political regime; the overthrow of governments. Thrillers like to shock on a typically rather extreme level. Jeopardy normally occurs as well as violent confrontations in thrillers. Mysteries like to climax as soon as the mystery is solve, on the other hand the climax in a thriller happens when the hero defeats the villain.

Mystery film example: The Maltese Falcon                    

Thriller film example: Psycho 

                                   

                                      

The influence of film noir and tragedy are heavily used in thrillers, unfortunately the hero (who is tends to be our favourite) is most likely killed in the process. If a thriller is what it calls itself to be, they will create the primary mood that they will elicit, such as fearful excitement.

There are all kinds of thrillers, such as:

• Legal thriller
• Spy thriller
• Action-adventure thriller
• Medical thriller
• Police thriller
• Romantic thriller 
• Historical thriller 
• Political thriller
• Religious thriller 
• High tech thriller 
• Military thriller

And the list goes on and on.

One of the most enduring characteristics to thrillers is the openness to expansion.

What thrillers have in common is the intense emotions involved, especially those of apprehension and exhilaration of excitement and elements of breathlessness. These features are designed to stimulate that "thrill" in thrillers. If a thriller isn't able to thrill, then its not what its surprisingly to be.

Sub-genres 

There are sub genres in the thriller genre which have their own particular uniqueness.

Action Thriller
Example: The Transporter (2002)



This sort of genre works with features of a race against the clock; where time is limited and things need to work at a fast pace. It contains a large amount of violence and ofcourse, an antagonist. Guns, explosions, and elaborate set pieces are all in these films.

Conspiracy Thriller
Example: Three Days of the condor 



A large powerful group of enemies are confronted by a hero who knows the true intent of the group's wickedness sugarcoated by their power. The hero is the one who truly recognizes their intentions.

Crime Thriller
Example: The Asphalt Jungle (1950)



Crime thrillers focus more on the criminal/criminals rather than focusing on the police. Action is emphasized over psychological aspects. Murders, robberies, chases, shootouts and double-crosses occur in the centre of the film.

Disaster Thriller
Example: Earthquake 1974



The main conflict is caused by a natural or even artificial disaster like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, nuclear disasters aswell as artificial disasters.

Drama Thriller
Example: The Interpreter (2005)



Drama thrillers consist of both elements of drama and thriller film. They are slower paced and there is a vital involvement of character development.

Erotic Thriller
Example: Dressed to Kill (1980)



This genre contains both erotica and thriller and has become increasingly popular since the 80s, additionally the VCR market penetration rose.

Legal Thriller
Example: An Innocent Man (1989)



The confrontation of enemies outside, and inside the courtroom is done by the lawyer heroes, but they are in danger of losing their case as well as their own lives.

Medical Thriller
Example: Awake (2007)



The heroes in this genre are medical doctors/personnel who are working to solve a medical difficulty that is expanding. Tess Gerritsen and Gary Braver are famous authors of this particular sub-genre.

Political Thriller
Example: Seven Days in May (1962)



The stability of the government is dependent on the hero. The hero must maintain that and they are there to save the day while solving conflicts that may occur.

Psychological Thriller
Example: Blue Velvet (1986)




This genre revolves around emotional and mental instability between main characters. There is often a violent resolution, however the emotional and mental instability is more highlighted than the physical aspects.

Spy Thriller
Example: With Love, from Russia



The hero is normally an agent who works for the government who must take violent action against other rival agents working with the rival government, or even terrorists.

Techno Thriller
Example: The Hunt for Red October (1990)



It is typically military and the technology is heavily the re-occurring theme throughout the film. The technology is normally described in detail, in a way in which the audience understands the plot. Tom Clancy popularized the genre with this film and was described as the "Father of the Techno thriller."

Religious Thriller
Example: The Da Vinci Code (2006)



The plot relates very closely to religious related objects, institutions and questions. A large amount of religious thrillers have shown a significant affinity for religion and philosophical issues. The famous Da Vinci Code has led greatly, a current boom in religiously related thrillers.



Thrillers have a combination of relating aspects to them such as conspiracy, psychological tricks  and of course, horror. All these elements are used to elevate tension, to cause that absolute "thrill" we look for when we see a thriller. 


Many thriller novels have adapted into movies, such as the Bourne Identity starring the famous actor Matt Damon, which  used many of the thriller conventions of the plot. The sequals, The Bourne Supremancy and The Bourne Ultimatum drift away majorly from Robery Ludlum's storyline, the conspiracy-thriller is very well preserved.