Codes and conventions of a thriller

Thrillers are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety and nerve-wrecking tension.

The conventions of the thriller are to d with sound and editing:
eg, quick cuts and camera angle changes, music that gives tension and is passey when appropriate. It can be to do with lightng, especially the use of shadow, along with mirrors and stairs.

If the genre is to be strictly defined, a genuine thriller is a film that relentlessly pursues a single-minded goal to provide thrills and keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arisies when the main character (s) is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which the escape seems impossible. Life is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. (Plots
of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with oustide forces--the menace is sometimes abstract or shadowy.

They often take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, Polar regions or high seas. Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots.

Sub genres of a thriller are:

• Action thriller - in which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence and an obvious antagonist.
• Spy thriller - in which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or terrorists.