Genre Research

Genre - Thriller

Sub Genre - Psychological

A thriller aims to keep an audience intrigued in the film with suspense and tension. A thriller can split into many sub genres, for example ours psychological thriller which focuses on a characters battle with their emotional state as well as mental state.

Generic Conventions
1.  Hallucinations are a frequent convention used in psychological thrillers as they indicate a characters physical and mental state. This could indicate a characters state of mind or traumatic experience for example 'Shutter Island' a hallucination occurs where the character is picturing himself cuddling his wife who then turns to ash in his arms showing this characters emotional state and makes the audience feel uneasy and see hoe the characters mental state is.

2. Flashbacks are a frequent convention within this genre, as they convey time and space             disorientation and gives confusion in the viewer. This adds ambiguity to the film, as they could be real or simply a hallucination.

3. Shadows and Dark Lighting are a key convention in these films as it implies danger or un easy atmosphere which creates suspense for the audience. Shadows and dark lighting often present loneliness and isolation from the world also helping portray the character.

4. Props such as mirrors are used to portray a characters reflection of his 'other side' it shows a characters split personality or other known as dark side.

5. Location is a key convention as it shows a characters isolation to the world and a characters personalty through where he lives and the state of the location.