SECTION 1: THE THRILLER GENRE

Thriller Theories and Concepts


The term 'thriller' according to the dictionary is 'a loose genre term referring to any film that generates suspense and excitement as a major aspect of its narrative.'


G. K. Chesterton: The Transformed City
He was an early 20th century writer of thriller stories
He said that thrillers take urban settings and transform them into exciting locations for drama settings
An example of this would be Jaws, a small urban town which all changes when these shark attacks occur


Northrop Frye: Heroic Romance
He said that thrillers take ordinary people and put them in extraordinary situations
An example of this would be American Psycho as the man appears to be perfectly normal until he is behind closed doors where his true self is revealed


John Cawelti: The Exotic
He said that thrillers take the elements of an ordinary life and added an exotic element
An example of this is Shutter Island where Teddy is doing his job and a series of mysteries reveal themselves throughout the film, and he discovers something about himself


W.H. Matthews: Mazes and Labyrinths
He wrote about how humans are fascinated by puzzles and said that thrillers often use the idea of a mysterious quest in a confined location, feeling like a labyrinth
Although it is still uncertain what the genre of Inception is, i think that this would be an example of this thiller theory as it is based upon mind games and a quest set in a dream world. The idea of it being all in a dream gives the impression that there are no limits, when in fact there are when you're on a mission


Pascal Bonitzer: Partial Vision
He said that the audience is given a partial view of things and important details are obscured
Shutter Island also follows this thriller concept theory as the audience are often found to be confused until the very end


Noel Carroll: Question and Answer
He said that thrillers are based on creating questions that the audience is led to want to answer
Seven is an example of this thriller theory as it makes the audience suspect and assume certain things and then at the end you get your answer


Roland Barthes: Enigma Codes
He analysed all narratives in terms of codes that operate moment by moment. Enigma codes are moments in a narrative where the audience is led to ask a question, these tell the story and make it suspended and tense, the viewr is then to answer their own questions from an action, placing their own answer to it
This means that the audience will have their own interpritation of the film

I would say that my thriller abides by the concept of question and answers as in the opening sequence you are led to believe one thing and then a plot twist takes place and roles seem to switch and answers are revealed.