Codes and Convention of Thrillers - Joe Gore

Suspense

⇡

    Tension    ↖          Excitement

                           ↗

Anxiety ←   Thriller Genre  →  Cliffhangers

              ↓             ➘

                           Anticipation         Uncertainty

The Thriller Genre normally may feature the following setting

• Terrorism, Political Conspiracy
• Crime and Murder
• Supernatural Events.  

Thrillers normally have low lighting, the lighting adds effect and builds suspense. Many thrillers also feature some sort of chase scene, in those you will hear fast-paced music. This also builds effect and makes the audience genuinely worry for our hero.

The characters are in trouble most often, whether that be a criminal, anarchist etc.

Life is usually threatened, however the hero/main-character never normally dies or is critically injured, there are some exceptions however.