The 'thriller' genre

'Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, television, and gaming that includes numerous and often overlapping sub-genres.'

The genre 'thriller' contains many characteristics specific to it. It can encompass many sub-genres: medical ('Awake'), war ('The Hurt Locker'), crime ('Seven'), science-fiction ('Donnie Darko'), religious ('The DaVinci Code) and many more. As my final piece is to be the opening to a thriller I will have to research the conventions of them in order to fully understand the genre and make my piece as effective as possible.

• Thrillers often take place in exotic or foreign settings. This makes the action seem more fantastical, providing a sense of escapism for the viewer and making the film more dramatic. An example of this is 'Taken' which is set in various locations throughout Europe whilst Liam Neeson's character is on a mission to find his kidnapped daughter.
  
• Tension and suspense are key features in thrillers, these are often acheived through the use of dramatic/eerie music, quick cuts, camera angle changes and the use of features such as shadows, mirrors and darkness.
  
• Violence is often used in thrillers, as is the inclusion of various shocking events and images of horror, for example dead bodies.
  
• The protaganist is often a man of action or a "hard man", often a spy, assassin, police officer, gangster, detective or other government operative. Examples of this are 'The Bourne Identity' where Matt Damon plays assassin Jason Bourne and the 'James Bond' films where many actors over the years have played spy James Bond who aims to defeat the infamous 'Bond villains' and their evil plans.
  
• The main character often endeavers to defeat the villain or the evil of the situation to allow good to prosper.
  
• The storylines of thrillers, no matter how different they seem, mostly have a similar structure. The protaganist starts off in a regular situation just living his or her life, when an event happens which plunges them into an extraordinary situation. Following this, there are always many twists and turns designed to keep the audience guessing until the very end when the main character eventually returns to a normal life.
  
• Thrillers often start by setting up the story straight away, by beginning at a crime scene or in the midst of a dramatic event. This intruiges the viewer and keeps them hooked from the very first scene.