Thriller Conventions

With reference to Psycho and two other thrillers discuss the thriller genre and its terms and conventions

The genre of thriller deals with mystery, suspense and the dark sides of human nature and will often focus on internal suffering although in some cases such as The Others directed by Alejando Amenábar, here may have a supernatural element but it is never the focus of the plot line and as it is mostly concerned with the psychological tensions between the mother and daughter I believe that it fits the thriller genre. Thrillers are different to the horror genre for horror tends to deal with the external threats and sometimes the focus is mainly the supernatural. As with many other genres the on screen thriller uses various different aspects of the storyline and the film industry to get the desired response from the audience, some such aspects are the plot line, the music used, the presentation of the protagonist and how tension is shown.      

One of the main ways of showing suspense and tension within a thriller is by the way a character reacts to a certain situation for we as an audience take many hints from this. For example, in Alfred Hitchcock’s film Spellbound there is at first no cause for obvious tension but the character of Dr Edwards reacts strongly, tensing his body and appears to be fearful when Constance Peterson scratches lines into the table linen with her fork. This tells the audience that there is something wrong with that particular character especially from the reactions of the other psychiatrists at the table as though they do not say anything the audience is given a feeling of concern from how they behave towards him. The tension shown in this way therefore is even more acute as it is such a normal setting with no outwardly strange occurrences. This is in contrast to a scene in another of Hitchcock’s films Psycho where Norman Bates and Marian Crane are talking in the parlour of Norman Bates' office. Throughout the scene Bates says things that in the real world might give some people pause such as ‘a boy’s best friend is his mother’ and that his hobby is taxidermy. This is then coupled with the fact that he readily admits that though his mother is harmless she is sick in the head. Despite all these things being mentioned Miss Crane calmly eats her meal, showing no sign that there is anything to be concerned about. Therefore I believe that Hitchcock wanted to confuse the audience as though we can be led to consider that there is something odd about Norman Bates we are not guided in the same direction of thought by Miss Crane and therefore we may find ourselves apart from the scene although because of her reaction we are not entirely convinced that there is anything wrong at all. This is similar to a scene in Alejando Amenábar’s The Others where Grace shows her new servants around the house and as the audience they seem to be unconcerned. This is even more surprising as the rules of the house are explained, such as the fact that every door in the house must be locked before another is opened which is only explained at a later point when the children’s medical condition is revealed. Whereas we would find such rules extremely strange the servant’s remain calm and do not question though this could also be seen a politeness in society.

(Trailer for The Others)

Another aspect of most successful thrillers is to present a well developed protagonist through whose eyes the audience is comfortable looking, one quote from author Stuart Voytilla is

‘The Hero must be fully developed and grounded in our real world so we can relate to and sympathize with him in this high-stakes Journey of life and death.’

In Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock experiments with going against this idea however as for audience is made familiar with the woman they believe to be the main character only to have her die halfway through in the shower scene. This I believe is to shock the audience as before her death we are made comfortable with the idea that she will guide us through the story as up to that point we only know what she knows. This provides a ‘thrill’ for the audience in this film as the death of the main character is something you never think to expect. The idea of giving the audience a major character to relate to is also twisted somewhat in Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound as it could be said that the mysterious Dr Edwards or J.B is the major character if not the protagonist however he is difficult to relate to. This is because of the simple fact that the character is suffering from the guilt complex and has forgotten who he was before Dr Edwards died (which is quite like the predicament of Norman Bates in Psycho), as we are given very little information about the character other than how he behaves for the time being, we are shown a character who is not easily sympathised with. His guilt complex provides a strong tool to the thriller aspect as we are unsure what he is capable of although murder is suggested meaning that the character of J.B is not dissimilar to that of a live grenade. In Alejando Amenábar’s The Others we are given two main characters who stubbornly oppose each other. Grace and her young daughter Anne as we see through the eyes of both tension is provided as Anne continually scares her family with talk of ghosts and the fact that she is the only one in the household who talks about an incident years ago when her mother went mad and the fact that the old servants left them one day without giving notice. Like Grace her son Nicholas rebuffs Anne’s accusations and we are made to feel sympathetic towards both mother and daughter as they try to cope with each other. However we question what is wrong with the family as the information we are given is somtimes frustratingly slow to come out and widely spaced.

One of the main tools used in the film industry is the music for it can evoke particular feelings and emotions and it is especially useful in creating tension for with a build up of music as it grows faster and louder your imagination and heartbeats will often respond. Hitchcock’s Psycho uses a theme tune which has become iconic in creating suspense although most of the time there is no background noise but when the music is used it is very fast and the sounds used are made to sound off-key and is repetitive and evenly spaced although the music grows faster likening it to accelerating heartbeats. The music builds up in key aspects of the film such as when Norman Bates is about to commit murder and when Marian Crane is running from the law and as such the audience is not simply directed by the music but they will expect something both big and important in the film to occur simply through their experiences with the film. Hitchcock’s Spellbound uses a softer theme tune which may well be representative of the film being a romance as well as a thriller but the music is played slightly off-key and I believe that is so the audience might feel somewhat unnerved.

(Theme music from Spellbound, music begins at 49 seconds)

The Others begins with soft violin music which gradually grows louder although it is still possible to forget that there is music playing in the background. It is possessed of a slightly shaky quality with may have been meant to suggest that the family is struggling to keep together, this music is maintained for most of the film.  However at times when the characters, especially Grace is put into a position of anger or fear the music becomes louder and fast until it is almost a constant drone, this music increases the tensions within the scenes as it becomes a deeper insight as to what the characters are feeling.

Another important aspect of a thriller is the mystery and the twists of the plot line, one quote from author Stuart Voytilla describing the plot line is

‘The Thriller plot runs like a roller coaster, with its build, sudden dips and breathers, and mounting anticipation that takes us to breathtaking conclusion.’

As the name suggests an audience expects to be thrilled by thriller and whilst there are many aspects to making this happen the effect would not be the same without a well thought out plot line that should surprise the audience. Hitchcock is notorious for shocking the audiences and this is no different with the plot line of Psycho and its twists. As I mentioned before the death of the woman we presume to be the main character is something that would shock as after that there are few ways in which the story can be picked up again. One of the main points that make the plot twists in my view extremely unexpected is that the lie of the sick mother is so well maintained by Hitchcock leaving little room to question whether the voice belonging to the mother and then we are constantly reminded by the other characters that they could see an old, sick woman sitting by the window.  The only time when you realise that something is wrong with the woman’s identity is when you learn that Mrs Bates and her second husband are dead. Despite this and the oddities of Norman Bates it is unclear that he is the source of danger. The plot line in Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound is different in the way that none of the major characters have any solid knowledge of what has happened concerning the death of Dr Edwards whereas in many thrillers it would be one of the main characters who could not be trusted, or at least who had a deeper understanding than the audience. In Spellbound though we learn with the characters and aside from the characters running from the police at the same time as trying to work out what had happened the real plot twists take place in the past. From the information that is given to us we could be forgiven for believing that J.B did in fact murder Dr Edwards and then in the guilt complex take on his identity in an effort to keep the doctor alive, a belief that is made all the more firm as the only one convinced of his innocence is Constance who is driven by love as much as anything else. I would imagine that the audience would be surprised by the truth of the matter in the fact that the kindly Dr Murchison, old Head of Green Manors, was in fact Dr Edwards' murderer as he resented the man for replacing him. For despite his helping the police during the film he is a minor character who was probably not be given much thought. Even his identity is hidden in the dream sequence for he as shown as a ‘masked figure.’

(Spellbound, Dr Murchison in the dream sequence. The wheel represents a revolver.)

The plot line of Alejando Amenábar’s The Others deals with the supernatural elements of a ghost story which is in contrast to the psychological torment and tensions that make this film a thriller, the plot line can also be included in the thriller genre for it presents various surprising twists to the story. Almost immediately it becomes clear that there is something  wrong with the house when Anne tells the new nanny about how the old servants had simply vanished one day and how something went wrong with their mother, the latter of which is met with frightened anger from her little brother Nicolas. Throughout the film there is the distinct feel of a ghost story with characters whom you hear but can’t see, curtains being flung upon, doors closing and Anne's stories and other such common devices. I believe that we as an audience are also made to dislike the others as they seem to be trying to hurt the children through their condition by tempting them outside to play and by taking the curtains down. When later Grace discovers from a picture of the dead that their new servants are ghosts the children are outside in a forgotten graveyard where the servants are walking which increases tension as you wonder what shall befall the children. The greatest plot twist of all however is the last when you discover the truth through a seance that it is Grace and her family who are dead and the mother’s unspoken madness that haunts Anne is when she smothered her children and on seeing what she had done shot herself explaining why the old servants left them so suddenly. I think that this would be the most thrilling plot twist as before we are lulled into the story being a conventional ghost story and that the majority of the audience would not think to question this.

In conclusion the thriller genre is one that seeks to shock, thrill and surprise through plot twists and the thoughts, actions and darker natures of the characters. One of the ways which thrillers will make an audience feel a certain emotion is through music especially when there is a build up of tension because we as an audience react so well to the music. The way a character reacts to a certain situation in the thriller genre is also an incredibly important tool as we often look to the characters to work out what our reaction should be and sometimes we are left lost as in Psycho where we are naturally alarmed unlike the characters which I feel adds to the tension of the story.