Types of Thrillers.

Types of Thrillers

There are various kinds of thriller sub-genres, each bring a different element into the world of 'thriller films'.

Psychological - thrillers which are based around the idea of the mind. The plot is almost definitely based around one of the main characters, albeit bad, mental state.

An example of this is the film 'The Machinist' in which the entire film is based around the main character trying to come to turns with his insomnia. However, the film reveals his mental state is in shatters as his entire social life is basically a hallucination created from guilt.

Crime - thrillers which are based around the idea of criminal behaviour. The majority of the films follow street-gangs, mafias etc. 

An example of this is the film 'The Departed', set in Boston. It revolves around an undercover cop in the Irish Mafia, and a member of the same Mafia undercover in the police force. The plot is based on both of the characters trying to discover who the other is, before they, them self, gets caught.

Spy - thrillers which are based around the concept of government agents, spies etc. There is a broad spectrum of plot ideas for a spy thriller, although commonly they involve: Double-crossing, identity crises etc.

An example of this is the Bourne Trilogy, a series of films based around a man who has forgotten his identity, through out the series, he uses a variety of spy tactics to overcome his enemies and find out his true identity.

Political - thrillers which are based around the government, or political parties. Commonly, these films revolve around terrorism, rogue government agents etc. 

An example of this is the film the Manchurian Candidate . Which is based around a brainwashed political candidate, and terrorism.

Sci-Fi - thrillers which are based around science fiction. Due to the wide range of different Sci-Fi elements, the plot ideas are very wide-ranged as well, however, there is a very thin line as to when a Sci-Fi Thriller becomes just a Sci-Fi film. Sci-Fi Thrillers tend to have a more down to earth and realistic approach than Sci-Fi films.

An example of this is the film Limitless, in which a man digests a pill, thinking it will be just be a drug, such as ecstasy for example, however, it completely improves him as a person, it makes him smarter, more charismatic etc.

There are a variety of other Sub-Genres as well.

No Country For Old Men

No Country For Old Men

No Country For Old Men (2007) is a thriller written and directed by the Coen Brothers (Ethan and Joel Coen). It stars Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. The film is based on the novel by the same name, written by Cormac McArthy.

The plot revolves around a fairly normal, and innocent man called Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), stumbles upon $2.4 million from a drug-deal gone wrong, and he ends up in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with a 'psycopathic killer' hired to track him down, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) whilst Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to get to the bottom of everything. 

One moment of suspense in this film is when Moss is in his hotel room, and he finds the transponder. As it starts beeping; us, the audience, know that Chigurh is close. It leaves the audience on the edge of their seats, anticipating the outcome of the situation: Is Chigurh going to kill Moss?

Another thriller element in this film is the frequent action, albeit sometimes quite short. There are various moments of action, from start to finish, from Moss running away from the cartel, and various moments of Chigurh killing people. 

An interesting fact about this film is the majority of 'signifcant' deaths in this film appear off-screen, such as the Cartel members near the start of the film, Moss in the hotel, Carson Wells when confronted by Chigurh (although we can just about see him), and possibly Moss' wife (although it is up to interpretation whether she died, although in the book she definitely did).

My Thriller Questionnaire

My Thriller Questionnaire

James Bond Films

James Bond Films

James Bond is a character who appears as the protagonist in films based on Ian Fleming's 007 novels. A lot of the novels have been adapted into films. There have been a variety of films released, and a variety of actors have played the role of James Bond.

There are a variety of conventions & rules in a James Bond film.

• Shaken not stirred - in every James Bond film, at some point, he will order a martini from a bar, and ask for it to be 'Shaken not stirred' - one of the more light-hearted elements of the Bond films

• Sexuality - through-out every film, Bond manages to have sex, or at least have a romantic relationship. Usually, his first 'sexual encounter' ends in either the woman dying, leaving him or betraying him (a femme fatale). He also usually later develops another sexual/romantic relationship with a woman who is more on his side, or wants to help him, or him help her, she can be seen as a heroine in this aspect, they are called Bond Girls. For example, in 'Die Another Day', he is betrayed by Miranda Frost, a double agent, whom he previously slept with. She took the bullets out of his gun whilst he slept, causing him to get captured later on in the film. However, with help from Bond Girl Jinx, played by Halle Berry, they save the day.
• Exotic Locations - unlike most thriller films, Bond is usually taken to exotic locations on his missions. For example, the Bahamas in Casino Royale.
• Gadgets - Bond is given an arsenal of gadgets by MI6 technician Agent Q. This include lazers hidden in watches, miniature explosives etc.

• Captivity - frequently, Bond is captured by his nemesis, but manages to escape. Usually, the antagonist explains to Bond his evil plan while he is in his captivity.
• Pursuit - Bond usually has a chase scene in the film, either him being chased by his enemies, or him chasing them. For example in Casino Royale, around the start of the film, he chases a man linked with terrorists through Madagascar. 

• Cars - Bond also has the nicest of cars a lot of the time. His personal favourite is an Aston Martin, which has been his favourite car since the films began. Obviously, as the era modernised, he began driving newer more advanced cars.

Vertigo (Opening Sequence)

Vertigo (Opening Sequence)

The opening sequence to Vertigo is very mysterious, it doesn't reveal anything about the film. It opens up by scaling up a woman's face, she looks scared. It focuses into her eye, which then fades into a spiral shape. This is a graphic match. For the rest of the opening, spiral shapes appear all over the screen whilst the names of the actors and people involved in the film. The music playing over the top is quite haunting, this reveals the mood for the whole film, that it will be rather scary.

Zodiac (Opening Sequence)

Zodiac (Opening Sequence)

The opening sequence to Zodiac is very effective, it immediately reveals the antagonist's personality. It opens with a young man and woman in the car kissing, when a car begins to circle them. They at first get nervous and worried, however the car appears to drive away. The car then returns and a man gets out. The dialogue suggests that they know him, however, he quickly shoots them both, repeatedly with a silenced pistol. The killer is never revealed. There is no music in this scene. This immediately sets the tone for the film, that it is dark, and mysterious.

Se7en (Opening Sequence)

Se7en (Opening Sequence)

This opening is very effective, and allows the audience to see what the film is going to be like. The use of quite disturbing sounding music, and a haunting looking text makes the audience sure the film is going to be very dark, and quite horriffic. Also we can see the antagonist in this film, shaving off his finger prints, among other things, showing him to be disturbed but quite cunning. Also, the dark, un-colourful lighting allows us to see the film is going to be dark.

Why The Difference Between 'The Manchurian Candidate' Films?

Why Is There A Difference Between 'The Manchurian Candidate' Films?

The Changes:

The Villains:

1962 Version: The enemies are Communists in Manchuria! This is because, this film was made during a time when the people of America thought communism to be a major threat to their society. Also, this film was made around the time of the Cold War, in which America were fighting against Communist countries and factions.

2004 Version: The enemies were a massive multinational conglomerate, an evil corporation! The change was made to make the villains a giant corporation because the threat of 'Communism' is no longer such a big thing in America anymore, however, the idea of a conspiracy regarding big corporations trying to take control of the White House, or even the world, are a common belief among people of the world, not only in America.

The Brainwashing:

1962 Version: The brainwashing is controlled by an Asian man Dr Yen Low, whilst the captive american soldiers appear to be hypnotised into believing they are surrounded by old women at a Garden Club meeting, however, these 'old women' were in fact Communist enemies being instructed on how the brainwashing works, and how to make the brainwashed soldiers do tasks!

2004 Version: The brain washing is controlled by Dr Atticus Noyle, a South-African scientist who specialised in neuroscience. the brainwashing techniques are more modern and realistic. We cans see the soldiers being hooked up to machines with bandaged heads, implying they have had some sort of brain altering surgery or procedure. Also, we can see Shaw has a chip implanted into his head.

The Candidate:

1962 Version: The candidate running for vice-presidency is Shaw's step father, Senator Iselin, and Shaw is the agent responsible for making sure he gets elected!

2004 Version: The candidate running for vice-presidency is Shaw himself, Iselin has a much smaller role in this film. The reason for making Shaw the candidate is havign a brainwashed sleeper agent inside the White House itself is more frightening and devious than having a sleeper agent outside of the whole political process.

The End:

1962 Version: Shaw overcomes is brainwashing orders and shoots both his mother and Senator Iselin, before putting on his Medal of Honour badge, showing that he believes he has finally earned the right to wear it, and then kills himself.

2004 Version: Marco instead has the rifle. Shaw knows that Marco has probably overcome the brainwashing since he missed the mark to kill the opposition. Shaw looks at where he knows Marco is, starting to tear up, but smiling, knowing that he is probably going to be killed. Them Marco shoots both Shaw and his mother in one shot. The federal agents run up to the room and find him, he goes to shoot himself, but the agent shoots him in his shoulder, stopping him. We then see him, with his arm in a cast, with federal agents, revisiting where he had been brain washed. Marco was changed to also be brainwashed in this film because it made the character more involved, and the audience could sympathise with, also, he had previously been seen as a paranoid character by the government.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

The Manchurian Candidate (2004) is a remake of the 1962 version, of the same name. It was directed by Jonathan Demme. It stars: Denzel Washington, Liev Schrieber, Meryl Streep & Jon Voight, aswell as featuring many others. Unlike the previous version, this film has an all-star cast, where as the original's only real star was Frank Sinatra, a well known singer and actor of the time.

The majority of the plot is the same as the original film, focusing on the idea of the soldiers being brainwashed into believing that Shaw (Liev Schrieber) had saved their lives in the apparent battle, and Marco (Denzel Washington) is made to recommend him for the Medal of Honour. There are differences however, such as the brainwashing techniques, the enemy being a massive corporation, Manchurian Global, and instead of Shaw being the step-son of a vice-presidency candidate, he is the candidate. Also, the end is different, instead of Shaw being in charge of the rifle, Marco himself is brainwashed into doing so, in this case Shaw and his mother are killed by Marco, although the former knew it was going to happen, also Marco doesn't shoot himself, the FBI, and potential love interest, shoots him in the shoulder to stop him from doing so.

One thriller element in this film is the suspense. One example of this is when Marco is aiming the rifle. The audience is in complete suspense, anticipating who he will shoot. Will, he shoot the opposition, will he shoot Shaw's mother? Will he shoot Shaw?. The way he hovers is scope over the opposition makes us feel as if he is going to shoot him, however, when he hovers over both Shaw and his mother, we wonder if he is going to shoot him.

Another thriller element in this film is the protagonist overcoming an obstacle which could make endanger the outcome of his mission. An example of this when Marco is in federal custody and he manages to sneak out the micro-chip he bit out of Shaw's back. After having his bags searched etc he gets home and pulls it out of his mouth, where had concealed it, as he believed that the government would confiscate eveything he had for his investigation.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate is a political thriller directed by John Frankenheimer. It stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh. The screenplay was written by George Axelrod, which was based on the novel, of the same name, written by Richard Condon.

The plot revolves around Laurence Harvey's character, Raymond Shaw, being awarded the Medal of Honour upon his return to America from the Korean War. However, other members of the squad start having nightmares about their experiences in the Korean war, including Frank Sinatra's character, Ben Marco. After a while, by doing some investigation they learn that none of it even happened, they were brainwashed to believe that Shaw had saved them from the enemy and to that Marco was brainwashed into recommending him for the Medal of Honour. In fact, the entire squad was kidnapped and taken to Manchuria, where Marco and Shaw were made to kill two of their squad members. It is later revealed that through the use of the Queen of Diamonds playing card, Shaw can be controlled and told to do whatever his master tells him to do. However, Marco outwits the enemies and manages to stop Shaw from committing to the enemies final goal, and kills both his handler, and himself.

One element of a thriller is when Sinatra's character, Marco, outwits the enemies after discovering the Queen of Diamonds is Shaw's trigger. Therefore, upon meeting Shaw, he suggests playing a game of cards, and the first card he shows them is the queen of diamonds. After telling Shaw to reveal his plan, and that he is no longer under the Conspirators control, he reveals it is a 'packed deck', with 52 Queens of  Diamonds in the deck.


Another element of a thriller in this film is the suspense. A very good example is at the end of the film, when Shaw is aiming his rifle over the electorates, the audience are on the edge of their seats, in anticipation of what he is going to do. Is he going to kill the electorate running opposite his step-father or not? In the end, he actually goes completely against his handler's commands (his mother), and kills both his step-father, Senator Iselin and his mother.

The Birds

The Birds

The Birds (1963) is a thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Tippi Hendren, Rod Taylor and  Jessica Tandy. The screen play was written by Evan Hunter, which is loosely based on the 1952 story 'The Birds' by 'Daphne du Maurier'. The majority of the film is set in Bodega Bay, California where, for an unknown reason, birds have begun to attack to the people residing there.

The plot resolves around Tippi Hendren & Rod Taylor's characters. After a rather weird encounter in a bird shop, Hendren chooses to track down Taylor and lands in Bodega Bay. If somebody did not previously know which genre the film was before watching, they would initially believe it to be a mystery/romance, however, the bird attacks change the mood. The MacGuffin in this film is the question or attempt to discover 'why the birds are attacking'

One element of a thriller in this film is the frequent action. Repeatedly, through out the film, the birds attack the people, and these attacks get more intense each time.

An interesting fact is that during the scene when Tippi Hedren is attacked by the birds in the room, her reaction was real. She was not aware that Hitchcock was actually going to use real birds, she was genuinly frightened. She mentioned, later in her life, that she required therapy to get over the traumatic experience Hitchock had forced her into!

Conventions of a Thriller

Conventions of a Thriller

There are many conventions of thrillers which we see in the majority of thriller films, although these are not specifically rules, they do define the thriller film genre. However, some thriller films do disregard some of these conventions for the sake of making the thriller film a bit different.

The main plot of most thriller films is the idea of good vs bad or justice vs injustice. There is also commonly a thin line between the acts of 'the good' and 'the bad', both killing people or manipulating others to help them reach their goal. Also, there is commonly a plot twist in the story. Also, mysteries, and Red Herrings (a device used to mislead the audience, into believing something which is false about the plot, which is later revealed to be false.) Also, some thriller films end on cliff hangers, where the film ends just before something is revealed, for example in The Italian Job, it ends with the bus full of gold, literally, hanging over a cliff.

There are many sub-genres of Thrillers such as: Psychological (Psycho), Political (Manchurian Candidate), Legal (Pelican Brief) etc.

There are many themes inside a thriller film such as: murder, mystery, paranoia etc.

Typically, the main character in a thriller film is trapped in a dangerous hunt, investigation, or game of 'cat & mouse' with the films antagonist/villain, and very often, it is not out of choice. they are either thrown into it by their superiors, end up involved accidently or driven into it by anger or redemption. 

Thrillers often have the audience on the edge of the seat due to the suspense of the film. This is due to the use of tension building music in scenes like chases, or dramatic battles in which we wonder if the hero is going to survive!

Also, the characters in a thriller film are usually very complex. Usually, the back story of the main characters is greatly developed though-out the film. Some thriller film heroes are less like the 'Shining Knight' type of hero, they are 'anti-heroes'. These characters have troubled pasts, or troubles with themselves. For example the character 'Leon' in 'Leon: The Professional'. He is the hero of the film, who looks after the young Matilda, however, he is visibly troubled. He is an assassin.

Also, the majority of thriller film show the society, of the city or state where the film is set, to be very dark and corrupt.

Kick-Ass Scene Review

Film: Kick-Ass
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Time: 1:27:00 – 1:29.50

In this scene, the character Hit-Girl interrupts the execution of her father, Big Daddy, and ally & protagonist Kick-Ass from the antagonist, Frank D’Amico’s, henchmen.

Previously, one of the executors had been shot in the head and the lights turned off. This is where this extract begins. This extract is a very good scene, because it has various different filming and editing techniques which are really enjoyable to the audience. The diegetic sounds in this scene are the gunshots, voices and props like the lighter etc. The non-diegetic sounds are the music.

 From a black screen, a ‘night vision’ HUD comes on the screen, this particular shot is a point of view/POV shot from Hit-Girl’s perspective. We can see her hands move as if we were her hands behind the night vision goggles. When the camera is like this, it moves rather quickly but steadily, which I presume was done via the use of steady-cam. Director Matthew Vaughn said that he wanted this bit to look like a first person video game, much like the game ‘Doom’. Also, the music begins, albeit very slowly and quietly whilst she walks around undetected with the goggles on, however, once she shoots and kills he first enemy, the music instantaneously increases in both tempo and volume, letting the audience know that now things are going to get more intense. This music is non-diegetic.

The night vision HUD from Hit-Girl's POV

The scene also switches between the night-vision and the dark room being lit up by gun fire. In these shots, the only source of light in the scene is the gunfire. From then on, the scene switches between shots of Hit-Girls POV and quick changing cuts of gunfire, which switch shot almost on time with every gunshot heard.

Now the music begins to decrease in volume, but you can hear faint voices from the enemies like, “Get the lighter” etc, then they set Big-Daddy on fire, and this creates a source of light for the scene, as Hit-Girl has now taken off her night vision goggles, it makes it easier for the audience to see what is happening on screen.

Now, another light source is introduced, it is a strobe light. This means that the lighting is frequently and extremely quickly being turned on and off. This is effective because it allows the audience to feel disorientated like the villains and this scene are, struggling to see exactly what is going on. After a few moments of switching between POV shots of the disorientated villains, tracking shots on Hit-Girl hidden behind a wall, and close ups of Big-Daddy on fire, a slow-motion shot takes place. In this moment, the music begins to slow down, matching the speed of the action, however it is rather calm and peaceful, very contrapuntal, but I feel that it is used to show that she is going to end her father’s suffering, and bring him to peace. In this shot, the strobe light is still in use, but due to it being in slow motion it is clearer to see exactly what is happening on screen, at first the shot takes place at this angle, her running up on her enemies and shooting mid-air (the shot seen below), and then the shot is switched to the POV of the camera recording the whole thing, again switching between being lit up and pitch black and switching back to the previous shot. Then an eye level shot is taken place as she looks at something and shoots it, and then we can see that it is the strobe light by switching shot. The shot switches to her placing a blanket over her flaming father, which kills the flame, and fades the screen to black. The camera then switches to a close up of the camera lense, which we can see her reflection in, then finally, we are switched to the POV of the camera recording the event. She walks up to the camera, says: “show’s over mother f-----s” and shoots the lense (or at the audience), breaking the camera and clearly ending the scene.

  

The slow-motion strobe light effect

Psycho

Psycho

Psycho (1960) is a thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Janet Leigh.The screen play is written by Joseph Stefano, which is based on a book with the same name by Robert Boch.

The story starts with Janet Leigh's character stealing £40,000 from her work place. She decides to stay at a small motel far from the road. When she decides to give the money back however, she is killed killed by a mysterious killer at the motel. The audience are tricked into a false sense of security, thinking that Janet Leigh's character will be the main character in the film, however, she is quickly killed. This shocks the audience because she is such a big name, its unlikely that she would be killed off so early. The rest of the film focus' on trying to find out who the killer is, we soon find out that it is actually the motel keeper, Norman Bates, played by Anthony Hopkins. He turns out to be psychotic and has a split personality split between himself and his mother's personality, who he had previously killed.

One element of suspense in this film is the shower scene in which Janet Leigh is murdered, we can see the shadow of the killer in the curtains and the 'screeching violins' play as the shadow gets closer, and closer...then he kills her. Then her eye morphs into the shower plug. This is a graphic match.

However, this film breaks the conventions of a thriller. Typically, in a thriller film a less equipped hero has to defeat the antagonist/villain by outwitting or outsmartting him/her. However, this doesn't really happen as the main character gets killed off rather early in the film. There are a variety of characters that are introduced into the film which eventually cause the villain, Norman Bates to get caught. 

Daniel Craig's View on a Thriller Protagonist

"The worst situation you can have in a thriller is a lead who looks like he can handle himself."-Daniel Craig.

Here, Daniel Craig explains that in a thriller, the protagonist is supposed to be less competent than his nemesis. 

North by Northwest

North by NorthWest

North by Northwest (1959) is a thriller film, directed by Alfred Hitchock; featuring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The story was written by Ernest Lehman. 

The tale is a story of mistaken identity, in which our innocent protagonist, Cary Grant, is believed to be an American secret-agent called Kaplan, and he is pursued by a mysterious organisation as they believe he is trying to thwart their progress to smuggle out micro-film. (The micro film is the movie's MacGuffin)

There are many examples of suspense in this film, for example, when Cary Grant is being chases through the train station. As the audience, we are on the edge of our seat, hoping that he can out-run the guards! Here, we can also see him out-witting his assailants when he goes into the bathroom. He gets out of his stolen guard uniform and changes himself to look like an average man just shaving in the train station's bathroom.

Another example of him outwitting his enemies is when he is hiding in the villains house, and trying to catch the attention of the double agent Eva Marie Saint. He manages to write a message on a matchbox for her to read, without exposing himself to the rest of the villains in the house.

Also, there are so many elements of frequent action. One example is when he is being chased and shot out by the crop-duster plane. He manages to run, dive and hide, however they keep finding him. He manages to outwit his enemy and force the plane to crash into an oil truck, in which it explodes, killing his enemy.

What Is A Thriller?

What Is A Thriller?

A 'thriller' is a film, literature and television genre which involves lots of fast, frequent, action; plot twists and suspense.

It usually involves:

• a protagonist who has to outwit or overcome a much stronger or more advanced villain. 
• the main storyline is a quest or mission that the protagonist has to pass.
• fast paced, frequent action.
• suspense for the audience.
• the protagonist is dragged into a web of violence and action
• the protagonist and villain have a dramatic final battle.

An example of a famous thriller director, and 'father of modern thrillers', is Alfred Hitchcock. He is famous for making such films as: North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds and many, many more.

Coursework Brief

Course Outline AS
Media Studies AS

 -Assessed by coursework

-50% of AS level

-Two pieces of coursework

-Preliminary Exercise - short filmed sequence demonstrating basic understanding of film language.

-The titles and opening of a new fiction film in the thriller genre.

Key Media Concepts

 -Written Examination

-Two hours

-50% of AS Level

Section A-Textual analysis and represent
unseen extract of a television drama program.

Section B

 -Institutions and Audiences

-A case study of the British and US film industries

-Looking at films such as; avatar, shifty, The kings speech and looking for Eric

AS Coursework

 Marks are awarded for demonstrating excellence in the following criteria:

-Holding a shot steady

-Framing a shot

-Using a variety of shot distances

-Shooting material appropriate to the task set

Maguffin

Maguffin

A MacGuffin or Maguffin is a plot device which drives the film.

For many films the Maguffin is not explained in depth. For some films it is simply just money, but it is what drives the characters to do what they do in the film.

Examples of a Maguffin:

• the 'Micro-Film' in North-By-NorthWest - which the antagonists are trying to smuggle out of the country, and the CIA are trying to retrieve.
• The 'Micro-Processors' in The Departed - which Mob Boss Costello is going to sell to the chinese, which the police believe they will use to build missiles.
• The money in No Country For Old Men - which leads to many shootouts and deaths through-out the film.

About Me & This Blog

About me & my blog!

Hello, I'm Leon Lindsay-Ayres, and welcome to my blog. I am a 17 year old Sixth Form student at Robert Clack, studying Media, English Literature and Philosophy & Ethics. I will be using this blog to keep up to date with my class work in Media as well as take notes on films and techniques I can use for my coursework. This particular blog is going to be based around Thriller films.