Age
1) 15-18 19-25 26-40 40-50 50+
Ethnicity
2) White British Asian Black African Black Caribbean White other Other
(optional)
Gender
3) Female Male
About Film Genres
4) From the Thriller genre what is your favourite film?
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5) Why is this your favourite?
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6) What do you expect from this particular genre?
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7) What do you like about this particular genre?
- The Thrill
- Captivating plots
- Characters
- Particular film institutions/directors
- Actors/actresses
- Other ....................
8) What particular plot lines do you enjoy watching?
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9) Do you enjoy watching cliched films with stereotypical characters?
- Yes
- No
10) If yes, why does this appeal to you?
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Questionnaire Summary
15-18 year old females and males enjoyed thrillers because of the storylines that included suspense, captivation and twistedness. This is also what they expected to see when watching a film from this genre. They enjoyed watching storylines that entailed police looking for serial killers and they also liked the fact that some storylines were relatable to their age group.
Favourite films from the thriller genre were Silence of the Lambs, Kidulthood and The Day After Tomorrow.
No one from this age group liked cliched films or stereotypical characters.
19-25 year old females and males enjoyed thrillers because of the good storylines, suspense and twists which occur in the plot. They also liked the idea of that some things make you believe in some films of this genre and that they can be quite realistic. Film examples included Silence of the Lambs.
From this genre this age group expected to be hanging off the edge of their seat, to be kept in suspense, good acting and good storylines.
They enjoy watching plots that are violent, have murder scenes, trying to figure out who the killer was and plot twists.
Their favourite films from this genre was Seven, Silence of the Lambs and Deja Vu.
No one liked watching cliched films or stereotypical characters.
26-40 year old females enjoyed watching thrillers for tension, action and plotlines. From the genre they expected good plots, chase sequences, villians and unpredictability.
They enjoyed watching plots which contained murder. This age group has no interest in watching cliched films or stereotypical characters and their favourite films from this genre were What Lies Beneath and The Bourne Identity.
40-50 year old females and males enjoyed watching thrilles for the storylines, suspense, realism and acting. From the genre they expected suspense, twists, intelligent plots and good characters.
They enjoyed watching plots which involved fraud, deception, murder, kidnap and hostage.
Favourite films from this genre were Hitchcock, Long Good Friday and View From a Window.
No one liked watching cliched films or stereotypical characters.
50+ year olds enjoyed watching thrillers due to the good action, real life and the idea of the unknown. From this genre they expected suspense and murder.
They enjoyed watching plots which invloved kidnap, hostage and murder. Favourite films from this genre were Man on Fire, Jagged Edge and The Birds.
No one from this age group enjoyed watching cliched films or stereotypical characters.
Popularity of the Thriller Genre
In 2007 the cinema and box office admissions saw an increase in the number of films that were viewed within the UK. Cinema admissions increased by 4% whilst the box office share of UK films went from 19% in 2006 to 29% in 2007.
However, even though most media attention is mainly focused towards film it is not always necessarily viewed by audiences at the cinema. Within the UK in 2007 the the number of people was recorded who opted to watch films on the television as opposed to at the cinema. The total figure for the audiences who watched films on television was 3.1 billion, which was 19 times larger than an audience who preferred to watch films at the cinema.
According to the UK Film Council's statistics, young people nearly half under the age of 25 mainly watched films at the cinema. However, in recent years there has been a substantial increase in the older audience such as people aged 45 and over which accounts for 19% of cinema visits.
The UK Film Council has recorded thw top 20 films released within the UK in 2007. Films of the thriller genre that appeared within this list were I Am Legend, The Bourne Ultimatum, Die Hard 4.0 and Ocean's Thirteen. I Am Legend was shown in 440 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 25.52 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 11.01.
The Bourne Ultimatum was shown in 458 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 23.72 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 6.55.
Die Hard 4.0 was shown in 458 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 13.89 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 5.00.
Ocean's Thirteen was shown in 475 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 13.15 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 3.02.
The Bourne Ultimatum made it to number 1 in the weekend box office charts on 17th August 2007, where it stayed for 3 weeks. The weekend gross (£ million) was 6.6.
In the UK in 2007, there were 28 (5.4%) films released of the thriller genre. The gross box office (£ million) was 67.6 (7.2%). The top performing title was The Bourne Ultimatum.
However, audiences favourite genre was comedy with 127 (24.6) released films in 2007, and the gross box office (£ million) was 206.6 (22.1%). The top performing title was Mr Bean's Holiday.
Horror was the 10th most favourite genre with 24 film releases in 2007, and romance was the 14th most favourite genre with 21 releases. Top performing titles from these genres was Saw 4 and P.S I Love You.
BBFC classifications are there to give audiences a general idea of what the film will contain and what type of audience will be suitable to view it. U (Universal) classifications are suitable for for all to watch, PG (Parental Guidance) is suitable for general viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children, 12A is suitable for no one younger than 12 years of age and this age groups cannot see a 12A in a cinema without being accompanied by an adult, 15 is suitable for no one younger than 15 years of age and 18 is suitable for no one younger than 18 years of age.
In 2007, one film from the thriller genre was given the 12A classification. This film was The Bourne Ultimatum, whereas all of the other films with this classification fell under the genre of comedy, romance and action.
Films with a classification of 15 were mainly from the genres comedy, action, sci-fi and drama. Two films from the thriller genre were given a 15 classification in 2007, these films being Blood Diamond and The Last King of Scotland.
Films with a classification of 18 were mainly from the genres crime, horror, thriller and action. Examples of these films in 2007 were American Gangster, Hannibal Rising, Eastern Promises, Outlaw and Apocalypto.
The UK Film Council has recored the top 10 institutions/distributors in the UK in 2007. The number one institution being Warner Brothers with 15.6% market share, box office gross (£ million) 141.5 and 32 released films in 2007 including there biggest hits Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I Am Legend, 300 and Ocean's Thirteen.
Paramount was the second best institution with 14.7% market share, a box office gross (£ million) of 133.7 and 31 released films in 2007 including Shrek the Third, Transformers and Stardust.
20th Century Fox was the third most rated institution with 13.9% market share, box office gross (£ million) 126.3 and 27 released films in 2007 including The Simpsons, Die Hard 4.0 and Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer.
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/pdf/1/p/2008.pdf
Thriller Convetions
Thriller is a broad category which includes sub-genres such as supernatural thrillers, political thrillers, spy thrillers and crime thrillers. Examples of films with these sub-genres are The Sixth Sense, Munich and The Bourne Identity.
However, the majority of thrillers revolves around the sub-genre of crime which are usually either planned, committed or thwarted.
During the 1990's and the early 2000's filmakers turned to making thrillers with a crime sub-genre as opposed to any other as they only use a few special effects and they are often set in contemporary urban locations.
The crime sub-genre is the centre of a thrillers main genre. This sub-genre mainly consists of three types of characters such as law-breakers, the forces of law and the innocent victims or by-standers.
"Film Art"- An Introduction Eighth Edition by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson.
Thriller or suspense films are created to heighten suspense, tension, anxiety and uncertainity within an audience. A film with a thriller genre has a main purpose which is to provide thrills and give the audience a cliff-hanger or make them feel like they are virtually on the 'edge of their seat'. Tension within a thriller usually arises when one of the main characters is placed in an awkward situation or when they are trying to escape from somebody or a particular situation.
Characters within thrillers are usually criminals, stalkers, convicts, assasins, terrorists, psychotic individuals and innocent victims.
Themes which often occur in thrillers include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit or romantic triangles which in many cases lead to murder.
http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html
Thrillers with a crime sub-genre uses narratives that progress more slowly as opposed to any other genre, and characterization is usually more complicated as there is no clear binary oppositions between the main protagonists in the film. Examples of thriller films that use this convention is Seven, when the narrative serial killings progress slowly and the main character has a logical approach to life suggesting that he is no different from most individuals in society.
Most crime thrillers use narratives which includes:
- The Set Up- The main problem which the characters will be faced with is set up or told within the first 5-8 minutes to the audience.
- The Complications- A series of small problems must be overcome by the characters. The problems become harder to solve or overcome as the story goes on.
- The Climax- The law breaker usually gets caught at this point, and scenes may involve car chases or intense confrontations.
- The Wrap Up- Any unsolved narrative plots are resolved for audience satisfaction. Any clues which are unfolded to the audience are reffered to as foreshadowing.
Another common narrative convention of the thriller genre is Portmanteau. This is where more than one narrative can be loosely tied together at the end of the film. Some films of the thriller genre use 'cross cutting' to keep the audience entertained between storylines. These plots come together at the end of the film and are used to keep the audience guessing and in suspense so that they feel rewarded when they figure out the full narrative.
http://sismedia.wetpaint.com/page/Psycho-thriller+-+Narrative
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