What Are the Qualities of a Successful Thriller and How Are They Exploited?

Many films have been reviewed as brilliant thrillers but strive for original special effects. A good thriller director uses camera shots, music and sounds, imagery and colours, false alarms and many other techniques to keep the viewer tense and on the edge of their seat. A successful thriller should include a variety of techniques to achieve the thrill desired. I believe that what we hear and see in a film effects the outcome of how much we like it. Whilst watching a film the senses available are only sight and sound. Without all of our natural senses to make something completely realistic the director will need to engage us fully with the ones available. The sounds we hear, whether soft or heavy should have a dynamic effect on us. Any visual effects should include the maximum contrast from a peaceful setting to an extreme one. So a thriller needs contrasting sound and vision whist should be horrific and suspenseful in all ways but still including reality and an edgy factor. ‘Jaws’, one excellent example of this, proved that you can produce a horrific and suspenseful thriller that has some base on reality. From very early on in the film we are left with no doubt about how gruesome and frightening the movie will be, shown by an awesome entrance of the initial shark attack. ‘What lies beneath’, another accomplished thriller begins completely in the opposite manner. It begins with a rather mellow entrance, but the viewer is brought to attention as the film builds up to a thriller full of adrenaline. Some people believe that sound is not a significant factor in a film, in this case a thriller. A thriller fan wants to feel engaged in what they see. They like to witness the atmosphere of panic, feel jumpy, see brilliant contrasts, feel a rush and become hypnotised into the build up that creates a structure and basis of the thriller. I believe you can feel all this in music. If one were to watch a thriller without sound, they would find it rather hard to become