The Key Features of A Thriller

Thrillers have certain troupes that are used. These features can include:

- Tension / Suspense

- A variety of camera shots and angles

- Effective and emotive music

- Use of Lighting

- The protagonist in some sort of predicament

- The protagonist usually achieves his goals

Examples of Thriller

Panic Room is a thriller that builds great tension throughout the film as the protagonist, Meg Altman, makes her way towards the Panic Room. There are several moments in the film that leads the audience to genuinely believe the the protagonist is about to die, but the danger is averted in an as realistic way as possible, which keeps the sense of threat alive.

Die Hard is a great example of a Thriller. In this Die Hard John McClane (Bruce Willis), was inexperience at combating the threat. This led to him being in sticky situations that left the audience on the edge of their seats and questioning whether he would end the film alive. Although as the Die Hard series progressed John McClane lost his underdog character type as he became almost invincible but this led to some of the thriller aspect being lost in the series.

Shutter Island is a psychological thriller that uses thriller troupes such as light and a variety of camera shots and angles. These troupes coupled with the very strange and cryptic story, keep the tension high and the audience unaware of what step the film may take.