What is a Thriller?
Thriller is a type of film GENRE.
Genre is a class or category of artistic endeavour that has a particular form, content or technique.
Genre allows an audience to know what type of film they will be seeing. For example, if the genre is comedy the audience will expect the film to make them laugh. Therefore the genre allows an audience to have some knowledge of the main ideas of the film before they see it, as all films in the same genre have similar themes. Knowing the genre of a film and marketing it as that genre is important to film institutions. For instance, a film production will not market a horror film to a young audience, as they know that the genre is not suitable for young children. Consequently, film institutions market their film based on its genre, as they can more easily appeal to different segments of the market.
Although thriller is a genre in itself, there are many different types of thrillers. This is different from most other genres, because many thrillers look entirely different from each other. This contrasts with the Western genre for example, as the majority of Western films are very similar to each other. However, if you compare two thrillers you will find that they are very different.
For example, Shutter Island directed by Martin Scorsese is very different to Limitless directed by Neil Burger.
For example, Shutter Island directed by Martin Scorsese is very different to Limitless directed by Neil Burger.
Shutter Island is physiological thriller about the U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels who is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding nearby. The film leaves the audience in suspense, with the question of whether Teddy Daniels is actually insane, or if he has been turned insane. The film builds suspense throughout, and shocks the audience with the use of flashbacks and music.
On the other hand, Limitless is techno-thriller about a mysterious pill that enables the user to access 100 percent of his brain abilities. A struggling writer obtains the pill and becomes a financial wizard, but it also puts him in a new world with lots of dangers. In the end the writer ends up at the top, after beating all his enemies, but the question is raised at the end whether he is actually off the drug or whether it is just a front.
However, although the plots of these films are entirely different as well as the use of camera in them, on a basic level they are similar. As a thriller, they both create suspense as well as an exciting,unsettling and intense atmosphere.
A thriller is designed to keep the audience on the 'edge of their seats'. Usually tension arises, when the the main character of the film faces a mysterious or threatening situation. The menace is often unclear, adding to the suspense of the film as the audience are unsure of who to trust. A thriller often concludes with the main character winning and justice being served, but with a slight source of doubt on whether this is really the end.
Therefore, both the thrillers above follow this general idea of the thriller genre. So even though they seem entirely opposite they are bonded together by the basis of the word thriller. Even though the source of "thrill" is different in both films, both films create an intense atmosphere and suspense.
On the other hand, Limitless is techno-thriller about a mysterious pill that enables the user to access 100 percent of his brain abilities. A struggling writer obtains the pill and becomes a financial wizard, but it also puts him in a new world with lots of dangers. In the end the writer ends up at the top, after beating all his enemies, but the question is raised at the end whether he is actually off the drug or whether it is just a front.
However, although the plots of these films are entirely different as well as the use of camera in them, on a basic level they are similar. As a thriller, they both create suspense as well as an exciting,unsettling and intense atmosphere.
A thriller is designed to keep the audience on the 'edge of their seats'. Usually tension arises, when the the main character of the film faces a mysterious or threatening situation. The menace is often unclear, adding to the suspense of the film as the audience are unsure of who to trust. A thriller often concludes with the main character winning and justice being served, but with a slight source of doubt on whether this is really the end.
Therefore, both the thrillers above follow this general idea of the thriller genre. So even though they seem entirely opposite they are bonded together by the basis of the word thriller. Even though the source of "thrill" is different in both films, both films create an intense atmosphere and suspense.
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