The genre: Thriller

The genre of film that we are interested to use for our own film that we have looked into and researched is mystery thriller. By looking at our research of the definition of thriller, we realized that our film fitted this genre perfectly as the description was similar to the outcome we are hoping to achieve for our own film:

If the genre is to be defined strictly, a genuine thriller is a film that rentlessly pursues a single-minded goal - to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the main character(s) is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible. Life itself is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. Plots of thrillers involve characters, which come into conflict with each other, or with outside forces - the menace is sometimes abstract or shadowy.

The history of Thriller

No list of suspense or thriller films can be complete without mention of English film-maker/director Alfred Hitchcock.He helped to shape the modern-day thriller genre, beginning with his early silent film The Lodger (1926), a suspenseful Jack-the-Ripper story, followed by his next thriller Blackmail (1929), his first sound film (but also released in a silent version). Hitchcock would make a signature cameo appearance in his feature films, beginning with his third film The Lodger (1926), although his record was spotty at first. After 1940, he appeared in every one, except for The Wrong Man (1956). Although nominated five times as Best Director (from 1940-1960), Hitchcock never won an Academy Award.

This director helped to inspire us on the genre of the film and give us different ideas that we could use in our own film. For example: Hitchcock's films often placed an innocent victim (an average, responsible person) into a strange, life-threatening or terrorizing situation, in a case of mistaken identity, misidentification or wrongful accusation. We have decided in our film that we will focus on one main character throughout, where the narrative shows their life story including their past. In some scenes this character will be seen as a victim, which will help to create suspense for the audience however a twist will be revealed further into the film.

Here are a few films that serve up thrilling tales of terror, intrigue, menace, revenge, obsession and insanity that were influenced by Hitchcock and also influenced our group:

•    the film-noirish and intriguing Niagara (1953) by Henry
  Hathaway, with Marilyn Monroe as the voluptuous and trashy
  femme fatale who schemes to kill her unstable husband (Joseph
  Cotten)

•    director Robert Aldrich's violent and fast-paced film noirish
  thriller Kiss Me Deadly (1955) featured Ralph Meeker as a hard
  nosed detective amidst fears of nuclear apocalypse.

•    The Night of the Hunter (1955), director Charles Laughton's
  sole film, brilliantly-played with Robert Mitchum as a Bible
  thumping, homicidal preacher victimizing two young children
  with a secret about the location of stolen money.

•    director Orson Welles' unique crime thriller, Touch Of Evil
  (1958) with a pre-Psycho Janet Leigh as a terrorized wife,
  Charlton Heston as a Mexican-American narcotics agent, and the
  director himself as an evil border-town cop

•    director Michael Powell's perverse, tense and reviled Peeping
  Tom(1960), with Carl Boehm as a psychopathic, reclusive
  cameraman – the film was released prior to Hitchcock's Psycho
  (1960), and helped pave its way.

Twists

During and after the 1970's, major motion pictures began to "play tricks" more regularly on audiences, partly in homage to the "Master of Suspense" Alfred Hitchcock, but also after the re-discovery and appreciation of acclaimed B-films - film noirs in particular that used plot twists fairly regularly - and found that audiences reacted well to them. For example, Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) was one of the first films to caution audiences to not reveal the "shocking secrets" - other films were to follow.

Spoilers may generally include the revelation of the criminal or culprit, some other secret identity, or some other major plot event that changes the entire direction or perception of the film. Plot twists often help to make film-viewing a renewed experience, because a lot of the hints and red herrings in the film (that were missed during the first viewing) take on new meaning during a second screening. Spoilers: When narrative elements, usually reserved for late in a film's plot development, are divulged to others who have not yet seen the film, they are termed spoilers. It is usually considered malicious, unfair and a major faux pas to reveal 'spoilers' without a warning, because their publication can 'spoil' or ruin the enjoyment of experiencing a film's twists and surprises for oneself - without advance warning. However, some advance marketing of teasers and other ads have often revealed a film's entire plot. Film critics often fastidiously avoid providing spoilers in their reviews, in order to not offend their readership.

In our film we have chosen to have many twists and turns throughout to leave our audience on the edge of their seats and excited to what is going to happen next. We have chosen to do this by having unknown culprits and a non-predictable ending to shock our audience and create tension. 

http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html