Codes & Conventions of Thriller - Settings.

Codes & Conventions of Thriller – Settings

Settings and locations are an important factor in creating a good thriller film. In order to create the right atmosphere and convey the correct effects to the audience settings need to be well thought out and differ throughout the film. There should be potentially around four or five settings at least that are able to suggest to the audience that the character is somewhere safe, dangerous, isolated etc.
Below is a list of settings that are typically involved in thrillers:

Woods:
The woods are one of the most typical settings to be included in a thriller. Straight away the audience will begin to realise that something is going to happen (the antagonist may be waiting for the protagonist or the protagonist may be lost etc), whatever it is, the woods is a great setting to easily build up tension and suspense. Low key lighting could be used to create dark shots that represent danger and death, while either non-diegetic or diegetic sound can be used to scare either just the audience (by adding in creepy music during the editing process) or both the characters and audience together by adding in screams and rustling trees etc. An example of the woods being used as a setting in a thriller is in The Blair Witch Project when three characters travel to a small town in order to research into the story that surrounds the witch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Hw4bAUj8A

Suburban House:
A suburban family home is often a great setting to begin a thriller film. It suggests that the characters involved are normal people who haven’t experienced anything out of the ordinary yet. Therefore, this may encourage the audience to feel connected to the characters and want to protect them which in turn influences them to carry on watching so they are able to see the fate of the characters. Another reason why I think suburban homes present an effective setting is because your home is supposed to be a place of comfort and safety, so to have something terrible or scary happen there is almost like someone’s worst nightmare. An example of this type of story being typically represented is in Insidious when a married couple and their three children begin to experience paranormal events after one of their sons falls from a ladder after seeing a ghostly figure and then inexplicably falls into a coma the next day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuZnRUcoWos

Towns & Cities:
Towns and cities are a good option to use as a setting for a thriller. Generally, most characters in the town or city don’t know what is about to happen and the audience are unsuspecting at first as everything seems ordinary. This means that when something does finally happen, the audience have a more extreme reaction to it. An example of this is in the film Cloverfield when a group of friends are attending someone’s farewell party. Nothing is wrong at first, the characters are all drinking and socialising until the first warning that something isn’t quite right. An apparent earthquake strikes that leaves the city without power – however, unbeknown to them it is in fact aliens that have descended on Cloverfield. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQFpMZ6glTo

However, in certain thriller films towns and cities are a good setting because the characters do in fact know what is coming. This is apparent in The Purge when every year the United States revokes the law for 24 hours and murder and violence become legal. During the film, the audience sees violent acts and murders committed in the streets as well as seeing heroes saving people from the ones wishing to cause them harm. The streets of Los Angeles are the main setting during this film and the audience are able to see absolute carnage take over the city. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0LLaybEuzA