Conventions of a thriller film

To get a better understanding of the conventions in thriller films I watched ‘Batman Begins’ and the following is what learnt from this film.

·         Narrative- the main narrative for a thriller film is good versus evil, justice versus injustice. This is shown perfectly in Batman Begins as the storyline is Bruce Wayne/Batman trying to defeat crime in Gotham City in order to bring justice to the city. He does this by fighting Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow who wants to poison the city.

·         Storyline- the storyline of a thriller film is an event at the start of the film causes a lot of bad things to happen, with the good guy trying to get things back to normal. In the end this usually happens with peace and justice restored.  This happens in Batman Begins as at the start of the film Gotham City is a normal city but with a high crime rate, then this changes when Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow starts to poison people meaning that Bruce Wayne/Batman steps in to try and stop it. Things do get worse before they get better however by the end Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow is defeated. Also in a thriller film it’s very common for the story line to include a flashback so we can get a better understanding of the main characters past. This happens a lot in Batman Begins so we can see why batman wants to fight injustice.

·         Characters- the main character in a thriller film is the hero of the story. They are brave and fight against injustice or fight to save a female character. They do this out of revenge or anger. In Batman Begins Bruce Wayne/Batman is extremely brave when fighting the villain and the reason he becomes Batman is out of revenge/anger over his parent’s death. The villain in a thriller film will stop at nothing to get what they want. This makes them sick and twisted and not a ‘normal’ person. In Batman Begins Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow enjoys seeing other people suffer and wants power, therefore he wants to poison the city for his own pleasure.

·         Setting- the setting for a thriller film is usually an ordinary suburb/city but events that take place in it are usually unrealistic. In Batman Begins it is set in Gotham City which is a normal place other than the fact it has a very high crime rate.

·         Editing- a very common type of editing in a thriller is quick cuts, so the audience can see multiple events which are going on simultaneously. A scene that shows this well in Batman Begins is when Bruce Wayne/Batman fights members of ‘League of Shadows’, as he is fighting a lot of different people in a short amount of time; by having quick cuts the audience can really understand what’s going on.

·         Sound- in a thriller film non-diegetic music is played in crucial scenes, to help build suspense and create an atmosphere. A scene that does this in Batman Begins is when the poison is released into the city and Bruce Wayne/Batman has to work quickly to stop damage being done. Also there can be a lot of silence in thriller films as it is thought provoking and helps builds tension. A scene where this is shown in Batman Begins is when Bruce Wayne/Batman’s parents are killed.

·         Camerawork- high and low angles are often used in a thriller film as these show power and weakness. High angle shots are used often when Bruce Wayne is Batman to show he has power of crime and low angle shots are often used after Batman has defeated a bad guy as they lay on the floor showing that they are weak compared to Batman. Also in thriller films a lot of close ups are used on a character’s face so the audience can really see the pain of their emotions, this is done on Bruce Wayne/Batman throughout Batman Begins.

·         Props- the most commonly used props in a thriller are weapons including guns, knives and bombs, as they create the feeling of danger and show how serious the story is. In Batman Begins Bruce Wayne/Batman and the bad guys all carry some kind of weapon.