Genre: Thriller

Thriller is "a broad genre, usually having a number of sub genres". Thriller films intend to create suspicion, excitement and anticipation. The danger of the protagonist tends to be the main emphasis in thriller films. Throughout a thriller, audience will be kept alert seeing the tension build leading to a highly stressful climax. This simgle-mided goal is relentlessly pursued throughout. Examples of thrillers are The Great Escape and The Silence of the Lambs.

Types of Characters in Thrillers

• Convicts
• Criminals
• Assassins
• Innocent victims
• Psychotic individuals
• Police officers
• Spies

Common themes of Thrillers

• Terrorism
• Political conspiracy
• Pursuit
• Romantic triangles
• These themes most often lead to murder.

One of the most famous directors/screenwriters/producers of thriller films was Alfred Hitchcock. Due to his films creating psychological suspense, he was nicknamed the "man of suspense".

Codes and Conventions of a Thriller

• Low key lighting
• Quick cuts
• Shadows
• Tension music
• Changes in the angle of shots
• Diegetic sound of breathing
• Montage of shots
• Protagonist  is the mercy of the Antagonist 

Editing

The director will include lots of jumps cuts because there will be things happening that the audience is unaware of but is essential for the film to make sense. Cross cutting is a key point in editing as it is used to build suspense which is essential for a thriller. Continues editing is used to help the audience the film better.

Sound
Music is essential in any film to understand the mood of the characters and hint at a significant part in the film. In a thriller it adds suspense and tension. It will often start at a slow pace and then build up to make the shots more dramatic for the audience.

Cinematography
There will be a lot of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist character. This is often to show their emotions and it can also be used to focus on props which will aid the narrative.
The shots of the antagonist character will be cut quickly and will aim to hide their identity, for example, a shot of their back, a low key shot showing their silhouette or their shadow.