Conventions of a thriller essay

With reference to Psycho and other thrillers studied, discuss some of the key conventions used in the thriller genres

There are many different sub-genres within the thriller genre, such as both crime thrillers and psychological thrillers. Despite these sub-genres all thrillers end up sharing the same forms and conventions to create their own unique story. The most successful thrillers form from the plot being clear as this enables the audience to follow the story throughout, meaning that when the twist does come it will be unexpected as the audience will be that focused on what they think is important  they won't be able to see what is really about to happen. This is a key aspect as its what makes the thriller stand out and appear more intelligent to other genres. The three films from the thriller genre that I studied were Psycho, No Country for Old Men and Shutter Island. 

One thriller that i studied that had a huge impact on me was Psycho which was produced by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960- it conveys all of the typical conventions and more.


The first thing I noticed was filmed in black and white which suggests it could fit into the 'Film-Noir' sub-genre. By doing this I believe that on the whole it helps add to the tension and suspense of the film. A key convention of many thrillers is to mislead the audience, Hitchcock achieves this very well as when we first see Marion she is stealing the money from her boss to enable her to run away with her lover. At first, this portrays that this film will be based on a love affair. However, we soon forget about this as we are then focusing on the money throughout. This misleads the audience into thinking that the money is going to be playing a major role in the film. Hitchcock does this as he wants to lure us into a sense of false security. Something that did come to a shock to me was that the main character Marion, dies a third of the way through the film. This is unusual because it doesn't usually happen and up until this point in the film the audience has seen it from her point of view which from now will change.


Another key convention key convention is giving the audience false suspense. Hitchcock achieves this by using the policeman as we know that he is following her, and the audience thinks this is due to the theft of the money making it their only concern. The officer following Marion wears sun glasses which creates a sense of suspense. This is as the audience cannot make eye contact with him and may feel un-easy or insecure.


The next convention that Hitchcock uses in Psycho is the use of enclosed spaces. We see this when Marion is in the shower which appears to be her own personal space so therefore the audience assumes that she is in no danger. 

The suspense is cleverly built up at this point as we immediately see the door open and a shadow approaching her which she is not aware of. At this point, despite obviously not being able to do this, the audience feel they want to make her aware. As Hitchcock manages to make the audience feel this way towards the film, he has achieved his objectives successfully. During the murder, there are extreme close-ups of Marion's eyes, which puts the audience on a more personal level to her and can see that see is suffering through her emotions shown.

Another film I studied that fits into the Thriller genre was No Country for Old Men by Ethan and Joel Coen in 2007.


One major convention that makes No Country for old men different to other of it's genre is the sound. Usually, typical thriller films use sound to enhance the tension and suspense that have an effect on the audience. However, this film is unusual and doesn't use a soundtrack although the directors still manage to keep the audience on the edge of their seats simply by the brilliant acting, the storyline, the setting and the adult content.


The character Anton Chigurh makes the film particularly thrilling as he's a psychopathic killer. He manages to play his role perfectly as he hasn't gone over the top with the acting so much that it looks unrealistic but kept the balance just right. He shows no emotion throughout the film even when he's killing, this makes him seem almost inhuman and also helps create tension and emotion as the audience are always wanting to know what's going to happen next. For example, at the end of the film when he walks out of 'Carla Jeans' he shows absolutely no emotion at all, so the audience are left wondering if he killed her or not. This also contributes towards the adult content as it's not a childlike and predictable film, as the audience are left to draw their own conclusions on what has happened.

The other main character in No Country for Old Men, Lewelyn Moss, is a typical character to the Thriller genre. The audience sympathise with him despite taking money that didn't belong to him. We do this as after committing the theft, he then goes back to the site with all the bodies in and gives water to an injured man, which then gets himself in trouble. This shows that in comparison to the other main character, Anton, he is very human like who shows lots of emotion unlike Anton. After a long chase, Lewelyn moss is finally killed by Anton, which is quite surprising to the audience as they get the idea that he had eventually got away.

The final thriller film that I studied was Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorcese


The fact that the film's story is based on a dubious mental hospital on a shady island already brings up cliches of the Thriller genre, and perhaps the sub-genre, Psychological thrillers. Also, the idea of two detectives being stuck on an Island in the middle of the sea investigating a case in a mental hospital may shock the viewer. 


The very first sequence in Shutter Island, the ship scene on route to the Ashecliffe institute uses various different conventions to create tension upon the audience. This scene is very important as it manages to create a dispirited atmosphere which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats before the hospital gates have even opened. Whilst on the boat, the two main characters/detectives 'Daniels' and 'Aule' discuss their task and what may be ahead of them. They conclude their dialogue by suggesting that their destination is a mental hospital only for the "mentally insane", this again could put the audience experience quite subtle distress of what is to come. The camera then pans out to an extreme long shot of the island, and there is a sudden change of ambiance. The shot, (which is pictured below) is of a dark misty island and fills up most of the frame. It portrays the idea that the island is a inhospitable and mysterious place that perhaps the protagonists should not visit. The audience automatically get a negative vibe about Shutter island, and potentially feel sympathetic to the task that is ahead of the main characters. 

Throughout the film, there are some shots that are particularly disturbing for the viewer and could put them in a moment of distress creating a tense and subtle atmosphere An example of  this is when the main protagonist Leo is first walking through the mental asylum with his partner. He looks across to the right and the camera slowly moves across showing the media shot of an old, fragile, and ill looking lady chained up. Slowly, as Leo looks across, she lifts up her index finger and 'shushes' Leo as if to keep quiet about something. Himself and the audience appear to be shook up and in a slight state of depression by this demented looking lady. Also, the idea that this women could be real makes this clip particularly tense for the viewer. From seeing this shot in the film, the audience may get the idea that she could play a vital role in the film, however, this is not the case. Later in the film as the story and twists unfold, the reasoning for the lady shushing becomes apparent to the audience. 

Another convention that creates tension and suspense in Shutter Island is the effect of sound. The use of dramatizing non-digetic music creates soundscapes that reinforce the suspense inherent to the image on the screen. As well as this, the digetic sounds are used to alert and sensitize the viewer, increasing the sounds potential effect. An example of how these are used in the film are during the boat scene. The digetic sound of the wind on the boat, paired with use of the non-digetic dramatic music constructs a threatening atmosphere upon the viewers. Only until they are provided with narrative information does they know what to expect from the island. 

Besides this, editing techniques are thoroughly used and play a big part in creating tension. Fast cut sequences are employed by Scorsese which help to increase suspense by change the tempo of certain takes. As well as this, mise-en-scene conveys suspense and tension in Shutter Island, along with the acting. The character's facial expressions signify what they're feeling and their emotions, which can again have an effect on the audience watching. Regularly in the film, Scorsese uses the effect of low key lighting in central parts of the film, and are included to make a 'film-noir' like ambiance, with anxiousness and the anticipation of impending danger. 

All three thrillers I researched and talked above above, use various different techniques and conventions of the thriller genre effectively. Together, these contribute towards making the audience feel psychologically and emotionally distressed, and put them on the age of their seats for the rest of the film. They all use similar types of music typical to the horror genre which contribute towards putting the viewer in a case of suspense. As well as this, various shots, camera angles, acting, and editing techniques help towards making these three Thriller films high in suspense and tension.