Thriller Iconography

AESTHETICS
• SHADOWS
• COLOUR SCHEME
• DARK MOODY ATMOSPHERE
Films like Shutter Island, No Country for Old Men, and Donnie Darko have a dark and gloomy atmosphere which suits the narrative and also the audience.

CAMERA ANGLES
• EXTREME CLOSEUPS
• OVERHEAD SHOTS
• VARIETY OF SHOTS
• MIDSHOTS
• FULL BODY SHOTS
Films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moon, and Life of Pi include a variety of angles, some creating the dramatic feel of the film.

EDITING
• STILLS/SHARP CUTS
• DIEGETIC & NON-DIEGETIC SOUND
Films, including, Enemy of the State, Pulp Fiction, and Usual Suspects, use certain editing techniques that make it look professional and also keeping consistent, and do not under or over edit.

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Certain devices found in Thriller films are such like the following:

Knives - knives are a typical symbol associated with a thriller as they have connotations of blood, death, pain and brutality. A typical representation of this would be in the famous knife scene from Hitchcock's film 'Psycho'. Knives are often used to show that somebody is going to get killed and thus it acts a common device to keep the audience engaged.

Shadows - Silhouettes and shadows are what give a thriller the enigma and mystery for the audience. Shadows are a common piece of iconography associated with the thriller genre because they build up fear in the audience, by instigating that the protagonist is being watch by a human being or some kind of animal/monster. The protagonist is often oblivious to this but can often sense that something isn't right, which leads them on their journey. They often induce thoughts of fear and darkness for the audience as well as giving them clues and they ask questions out of suspense. A character with a silhouette is most likely to be the antagonist, which usually isn't revealed until the end of the film.

Confined Spaces - The use of confined spaces in a thriller also makes the audience feels as though they are too trapped. Being in a confined space often leads the protagonist to start breathing heavily and panting to inform how they are trapped and cannot escape, or it often leads to the start of their struggle as they try to break free.

Woods - Woods are locations often used for thrillers. This is because they create a sense of being lost as the characters find themselves trying to figure out how to escape. Woods are often isolated too, which creates a sense of vulnerability and it seems inevitable that the characters will ever find any help. There may be one house in the woods which often turns out to be the antagonist.

Running Water - Running water is often a symbol of death  as it suggests the draining of life or it is often associated with blood  dripping and suggests that the characters are in danger.

Street Lamps - Street lights at night are often used in thrillers to keep the emphasis and focus on the protagonist and the fact that there is almost complete darkness surrounding them, apart from the spotlight from the lamp. This further accentuates the fact that the protagonist is alone in the dark and creates fear for the audience as they do not know what might be underlying in the darkness and therefore a tense atmosphere is created.