Research Into Conventions Of Thrillers - Miss Miller

Conventions are what the audience expects when watching a certain type of film. For example, in thriller films we expect certain things, because the viewers have seen them used before. Some conventions of thriller films include blood, damsel in distress, silence, female victims, realistic settings, guns, and sinister music etc. I have decided to analyse a clip from the film 'The Purge'. The audience see a man who has been hurt lying on the stairs with his wife and son. The daughter then kills the villain. However, the viewers then see people coming in who have helped them, but, everything is not as it seems when they see that they were on the villain's side the whole time.


I have noticed a variety of conventions in 'The Purge' such as death. In 'The Purge' the main character is killed because he tried to protect his own family. In the thriller genre, death is one of the main factors making the film a thriller. Death is also a sign used in thrillers, it is normally used to show that the villain has won, and has made a mark. In thriller films, the death normally makes the film more interesting and is the reason for what happens later on. It is scary and it makes the audience release emotions that they wouldn't normally release whilst watching films. It affects the whole story in some way and this is how the viewers understand what is going on. The use of death within the film creates tension aswell as shock as the audience were not expecting the death of the character. However, in some films, the antagonist kills more than one person, which is why they may expect some of the murders to take place, This is conventional within the thriller genre because death is the symbol of evil. Therefore, showing the audience that the antagonist has won and shows them that they can easily do it again, making the audience fear them aswell as not know what they are capable of. Death is also conventional as it allows the audience to feel emotions when certain people are dead. This then makes it hard for the audience to build a relationship with that character following their death. However, they still feel sorry for him because they know that he was a good person and didn't deserve to die. They then build a relationship with the family as they feel sympathy for them, they also begin to imagine being placed in their shoes, which allows them to release their emotions.

In this scene another convention i have noticed is the plot twist.The viewers then see the blonde woman and other people enter the room and say that the family are 'theirs'. The faces of the remaining family members change as they realize what is going on. This is a plot twist because the audience as well as the characters didn't know that it was going to happen. This was unexpected to the story. Therefore, it creates the element of shock and surprise as the viewers must wait to see what happens next. They know that it will most likely end badly for the family because the audience are used to watching sad scenes as thrillers do not usually end well. The plot twist is conventional to the thriller genre because it makes the viewers feel shocked as they aswell as the characters feel betrayed because everything they have known in the film is a lie. The use of the plot twist against the family allows the audience to create a bond with them because they know that they don't deserve to be hurt or killed as they have done nothing wrong. The audience started to build a relationship with the other four people as they were 'helping' the family. However, as soon as the audience understood that they were decieved, they are unable to create a relationship with them due to the evilness that they have witnessed.

this picture the audience can clearly see that the main character, the father, has died. But, before this, the audience have noticed that there are four people who helped out the family by killing the people who were attacking them.

Screaming is another convention that it used in most thriller films.
The audience can see this when the families are separated by the shock antagonists. The screaming gives the audience a warning that something bad will happen, it is a way of communicating to the audience without actually speaking to them. I believe that screaming is a way of asking for help from the audience and it also shows vulnerability due to the fact that no one will be able to save them as they have all been captured. The makes the audience feel scared for them as they know it will be impossible for them to escape. The use of this convention creates shock and suspense as the audience must wait to see what happens next after hearing the screaming. Therefore, it also creates tension because the audience are impatient to find out what will happen. Screaming is conventional to the thriller genre because it makes the audience feel sympathy for that character, also, it makes the viewers want to help them, therefore allowing a relationship to be built because they do not feel as though the character deserves to be going through what is happening.

Another convention in this scene is the sinister music playing in the background. The audience can hear the music playing during the whole scene and this creates the effect that bad things are and will happen so that the audience can be prepared. The sinister music in the background creates a mood on the audience so that they feel scared before the film. The audience feel scared and this way know something bad is going to happen to the characters in the scene. From the music we can also connote that the possibility that it ends badly is high. The use of this convention creates suspense and tension as it is often used to promote the presence of the antagonist. Therefore, the audience know that something sinister will happen within the next scenes, this will make them feel fear as well as shock. Sinister music is almost always heard in thriller films and this is conventional to the thriller genre because it makes the viewers feel on edge about what they are seeing aswell as hearing on the screen. When hearing this, the audience feel suspense and tension, waiting for what is going to happen next, which is the aim of a thriller. A strength of using sinister music is that when it is played in the background, it will often start slow and build up, this creates the element of tension and also makes the shots more dramatic, leading up to what is going to happen next. Sinister music is often played when the character is hiding from the antagonist, and this therefore allows a relationship to be built with the victim as the audience feel sympathy towards that character. This is because they then picture themselves in the shoes of that person, making it harder to watch the upcoming scenes.

The last convention in this clip is low key lighting. The audience can clearly see that the lighting is dark in this scene. I believe that the use of the darkness allows the scene to feel 'evil'. For example, it can connote to the audience that there is a dark presence around, also, the use of the death within this scene is dark and scary, so the darkness can also highlight this to the viewers. I believe that this will make the viewers feel uneasy as it can warn the viewers that the 'evilness' is not over yet. As the scene progresses, the audience can then see that the plot twist occurs, where the friends of the wife 'Mary' turn against her and want to kill her family. This is a very dark scene, therefore the audience can understand why. Also, the use of the darkness can also connote that there was an evilness lurking in the shadows and the viewers were unable to see it because it was unexpected. The low key lighting is a convention to the thriller genre because it is a warning, therefore producers often use it to give the audience a hint that they are unable to see. This then creates shock and suspense as the viewers didn't see what they were supposed to in order to not be surprised in the next scenes. This makes the characters feel a bond with whoever is on the screen due to what they can see with the low key lighting because they know that as well as themselves, the characters will also not expect what is about to happen or has already happened.

In conclusion, i have learnt that i need to include things that are used in most thriller films so that the audience can predict what will happen in my opening sequence. I will include screaming, sinister music and other conventions in the thriller piece. This research has helped me understand conventions of the genre because i was able to see how and why they are used within the thriller genre. I was able to piece together similarities between various thriller films aswell as connote what they mean to the audience. There are a variety of inspirations i will take on board such as the use of screaming, as mentioned, i believe that this convention will really shock the viewers, making them feel on edge in their seats. I will also use sinister music in the background of my opening thriller sequence in order to make the audience feel suspense and tension as they wait to see what is going to happen next. For example, i will use this just as the murder scene is about to come up, therefore, the audience will see that something fearing is coming up.