Silence of the lambs

This Jonathan Demme thriller is about a top student at the FBI's training academy whose analyses of serial killers lands her a special assignment that will change her life forever. What this film does well is that, the opening of the film misleads the audience in the sense that it we are first introduced to a female character (Jodie Foster) who seems to be running from something, but as the scene develops, we realise she's training and works or the FBI. This technique engages the audience at the first glance. It then uses the orchestral non diegetic piece which contrasts the whole plot of the film to show represent the female character as perhaps the hero in the film. It also uses natural lighting outside and then uses higher lighting in the FBI building to highlight it as a safe area. It also shoots it from a low angle to show its superiority. It also visually shows themes i.e. hurt,agony and pain which is unusual in a lot of genres.
Overall, this movie is works wells as it uses effective conventions such as dramatic lighting usually low key lighting etc to create the an effect on the audience.

Paranormal Activity

 

 

This Oren Peli film is a classic psychological thriller which explores the supernatural and things that are just out of the norm e.g ghosts. A lot of thriller conventions are used to create the suspense and the tension needed,in order for the movie to be captivating and in the audience's interest. Above is the trailer of the movie which doesnt necessarily highlight the these conventions but show and highlight some of them. The dark lighting which is used represents darkness and the gothic theme some thrillers like to capture. Also it uses a lot of special effects to get the audience intrested in the film such the foot drag: where the female character is dragged by a robe but the person pulling the rope is wiped on the screen therefore gives the scene ghost like and sinister feel. This film is very different from other thrillers, as the two man characters shoot the film almost the whole film. They film themselves doing day to day activities and the camera is placed at an angle where the audience are able to see everything that goes on in the scene and this where all the special effects happen. This film is similar to others as it uses a lot of special effects, low key lighting and appropriate sound.

Overall, this film explores the different conventions in a thriller and also uses effective techniques to engage the audience.

Types of thrillers and examples

To start of my product research, I looked at the different types of thrillers and directors in order to to get a wide range of thrillers to choose from.
Some types of thrillers I found where:

• Action Thrillers: Batman: The Dark Knight Rises,Die Hard,Inception,James Bond films, Speed, The Transporter, and the Jason Bourne series.
• Crime Thriller: Pulp Fiction,Reservoir Dogs,Se7en,The Godfather, and The Killing.
• Erotic Thriller: Devil in the flesh,Body Heat, Bound,Body Double,The Last Seduction,Basic Instinct, Dressed to Kill, Color of the Night, Eyes Wide Shut, and Fatal Attraction
• Horror Thriller: The House Of Wax,Saw series, Psycho, and Silence of the Lambs.
• Techno-Thriller: Firefox
• Psychological Thriller: Paranormal activity, Seven,M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense and Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley.
• Supernatural Thriller: Stephen King's Carrie and M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable
• Political thriller: Seven Days in May, The Day of the Jackal, and The Manchurian Candidate
•  Disaster thriller: Deep Impact, Earthquake, and Armageddon.
   

The DaVinci Code

The DaVinci Code

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunted

The Hunted - Drama series on BBC1

The Hunted is an Action Thriller

 

 

First thing we notice that the main lead is a female, this is subverting the generic conventions of action and thrillers as we would expect the main protagonist. However, what this drama does exceptionally well at is, not only does it show Sam Hunter (the female lead) as the strong and intelligent hero, but it also takes the generic convention of the 'damsel in distress'. Though she may be the hero, she is also seen to be the victim which fulfils its convention.

 

 

Product Research- Inception.

Inception is a thriller, it uses most of the major generic conventions, it sets the concept of being a thriller automatically. Inception involves action and violence. It includes many close ups extracting fear and shock from the actors.
Hanah Eltaher.

Product Research- The hand that rocks the cradle.

The hand that rocks the cradle is a spectacular thriller film, that uses all the generic conventions of a thriller film. The setting is overly friendly, and makes it seem suspicious and mysterious. The music used is overtly cheerful using chimes etc. There are many over the shoulder shots which imply dialogue and conversation, could be an element of conflict. The trailer introduces a happy image of 'perfect' family, implying a settled life,  and it uses the typical idea of an 'intruder', that comes in a has an impact on the characters.
Hanah Eltaher.