Audience expectations of a Thriller

There are many elements to a thriller the audience would expect to find within the film. People watch thrillers to receive a sense of mystery and suspense, therefore it is important they understand the concept within a thriller film. Within a thriller film, you should be expected to see the following:

• death; murder or natural
• stereotyped characters; villain and hero? or the stereotypical gang men
• some sense of romance
• mystery allowing the audience to think about what they may be watching
• location; dark nighttime scenes
• low key lighting/ shadows to give the audience less image creating mystery and suspense
• murder weapon
• eerie elements within the scene

When watching a thriller you will not find any supernatural beings; ghosts, zombies, devil, witch etc, as this genre is classified as a Horror, not thriller. Also, you will not find any scientific elements such as aliens or UFO's as this relates to the genre sci-fi. There are also no intended comedy aspects as this again is not a thriller, it is a comedy. There will not be any 'girl' elements of a 'chick' flick, as again this will not fit with the genre. 

Tahnee Marshall