What is a Thriller Film

A Thriller film is a film that defines the word tension. Thriller films are predominantly about a murder and a chase. they have several codes and conventions, some of these being: a hand held camera and point of view camera angles to give the audience a feel or realism and make them feel involved so that the tension is maximized; iconography which is props and weapons; killers and victims; a hidden identity to scare the audience and create an air of mystery; an isolated location so the audience knows there is no escape for the main character when they are held by the murderer, hit man or criminal.

The opening sequence of the film 'Saw' helps to describe a thriller film because it has a lot of the codes and conventions of a thriller film. the scene begins in a nearly pitch black room in an unknown location. the colour black is often associated with death and so frightens the audience before they have even met a character. the isolated location is typical of a thriller film as it adds to the mystery. We then hear a voice and someone has found a light, when the light comes on we see two men chained to either side of the room, the camera cuts to a point of view shot for each of the characters to increase the sense of realism and make the audience feel what is would be like to be in that situation as we can now relate to the characters because we have seen life from their point of view.

This is film is one that often comes to mind when we think of a thriller film because throughout the film we get nearly every single convention of a thriller film so we can use it as an example to perfectly describe a thriller film.