Thriller Codes and Conventions: Settings.

Thriller Codes and Conventions: Settings

Thrillers are often made to make their audiences feel ‘on edge’ as the plot leads towards a climax. Audiences of these films aren’t always wanting to watch these films to necessarily be scared, but to be entertained.  Furthermore, a thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. In our case, Grace has to overcome the fact that she has been drugged. So what are the usual settings for these films?

Usually, most thrillers are set in suburbs, which are ordinarily quite quiet. This is because it is easier for the director to create suspense for the audience. Furthermore, it is easier to hide a villain in a suburban area due to the population of the town being much smaller than major cities, this creates tension for the audience as you never really know where the villain is. Thrillers also tend to use locations such as abandoned locations such as houses, factories, woods, etc. It all depends on the storyline. These are very typical settings which allows for the audience to immediately recognise the genre of the film. If the villain wants to stay hidden then they would usually surround themselves in these locations rather than a major city – compared to a crime sub-genre which may take place in a large popular city, mainly New York City, London, Paris, etc. as these are locations people relate to businesses and wealth. Our film would take place within a small town and a bar, unusual locations for a thriller genre. However, the storyline suits the locations and would make sense to take place in an abandoned factory, unlike other thriller films. 

In some thriller films a city can be used because the characters do know what is coming, as in Now You See Me (Louis Leterrier, 2013) it is set in a city due to the sub genre. Now You See Me is a 2013 American heist thriller film which follows an FBI agent and an Interpol detective who track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money. The location of this thriller is set in the middle of a city, showing that not all thriller have to be set in abandoned locations. The trailer gives off a good impression of what the film is and shows off various locations within the film, implying the thriller genre. (Watch The Trailer Here)