As we were inspired by successful thriller movies, we also borrowed, developed and challenged some conventions of the thriller genre, in order to increase the professionalism of our project.
Conventions are typical characteristics, traits and elements of the particular genre of film. In terms of thriller genre, some conventions include:
• Unknown killers that are not revealed until the end of the film
• Non-linear timelines, which means events have been put into a non-chronological order to confuse the viewers about what's happening when
• Circular narratives- when the film starts as it ends
• The use of flashbacks to scramble the story line
• the killer protagonists have flaws or some type of physical or mental illness
The most relevant convention that we had to ensure we used in order for our movie to be considered as the thriller, was the plot complexity. We developed our plot into a non-linear timeline to make the audience uncertain of what is happening. The complex story line that is full of mysteries is a primary element of many thriller movies.
Our story also consists of unknown factors and the viewer has to concentrate to try and reveal them. However, in our film we have challenged one of the main conventions by revealing our killer right at the beginning of our film, which breaks the convention of many thrillers as they usually keep the killer unknown until the final stage. In our starting sequence, we built up tension by showing some parts of the villain and functions he does whilst preparing for his killing e.g. having shower, dressing up, packing, waking up. Due to our non-linear time sequence this comes after we have revealed the killer, but the audience does not know who he is killing or when it fits in the timeline. Because the killer has been revealed early on, so the we need to leave other aspects unknown to keep the audience watching and interested until the end. These reasons for keeping the audience interested is to find out why he is killing his victims, what happens after and if he gets caught. This is similar to some of the Hannibal films which also challenges this convention.
The killer in our film wears a suit which is also a regularly used convention by many directors while presenting their killers. The costume of a suit is a symbol of a male strength and dominance, many popular protagonists
like: James bond (007 series), Hitman (Hitman), Sloan (Wanted) or Joker (batman) are presented as wearing suits to appear more serious and professional. This costume also gives the killer a plain and calculative aspect that doesn't give much away.
In thriller films victims are never shown as strong, powerful and dangerous. They are always rather vulnerable and weak, highlighting the superiority of the killer creating a contrast and involving more feelings of sympathy. We have used this convention in our film by making our victim a vulnerable teenage girl who is in her house alone. Some other factors that made her vulnerable were that she had just woken up so she is still wearing white pyjamas which makes her seem unaware that anything is wrong. She is wearing fur slippers that are very childlike and also add to the contrast between the formally dressed killer and the casually dressed victim. We also used a high angle when the victim is lying dead on the floor as even though she is dead she still look vulnerable, leaving the audience thinking the killer is dominant and powerful.
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