Section 1: Background to the thriller genre

Thriller film conventions.

In our class we dicussed thriller film conventions and came up with a few ideas that are in typical thriller films which are:

• Plot twists
• Tension
• Suspense- Audience knowledge (Anixous what is going to happen next)
• Main character(Hero)- Villian usually a male-mysterious, females in distress
• Mystery- Audience is in the dark about important information-(Secreats revealed)
• Deception
• Sinister plot
• Music to suit the mood of film
• Structure- Beginning-normal. Middle-disruption by characters. End- tension,climax,resolution.
• Typical narrative
  
  

Red eye.

In this essay I am going to be looking at how red eye follows the conventions of a thriller film and follows some of the theories that people have made about a thriller film and their views of what they think one is.

In the film studies dictionary the definition of a thriller is “Thriller is a loose genre term referring to any film that generates suspense and excitement as a major aspect of its narrative” this definition describes the film red eye in a very good way all throughout of the film there are many parts that create suspense and get the person watching the film nervous and excited to what is going to happen next. In the film a lot of music is played to suit the films mood like nervous, excitement and anxiety which is done in all typical thriller films so the suspense is created for the next scene. Also the film uses a plot twist when one thing is solved something else happens for example the girl makes the phone call to the other lady telling her what to do and then the phone cuts off which is a good thing as she pretends on her part of the plan but then the man realises and butts her this is a plot twist as she thought she was getting her way of not doing something but then is all goes to mush and doesn’t work in this film there is many of the same thing continually happening as any other thriller film would do.
Northrop Frye view is a heroic romance view which is: Frye argued that thrillers were stories that took ordinary people and threw them in extraordinary situations. In red eye this is a true statement as a normal girl is put into a hard situation where she doesn't know what to do and the film starts off in a kind of romantic way where the man helps her and talks about her favourite drink it looks as if they were going to go on a date and become more than friends but the he turns into something you wouldn’t except and she is put into an extremely hard situation.
Another thriller theory is W.H Matthews view of mazes and labyrinths: Matthews writes about how human beings fascination for physical puzzles- often seen in Mazes and labyrinths. Thrillers often use the idea of a character who is lost or trapped and needs to find away out of their situation, throughout red eye this theory is continuously portrayed as the female character becomes lost or trapped in the film, firstly the male character tells her what he wants to do and she becomes trapped as she cannot leave the plane and has to do his dirty work, then she becomes trapped in the toilet when he is attacking her there is no where for her to turn, at the end of the film she is trapped in the house running all around as if she is finding her way around a maze and she just keeps trying and trying.
The last theory show in red eye is Noel Carroll question and answer theory : Carroll argues that thrillers are structured around a series of questions for which the audience is led to want answers, in red aye a numerous amount of questions are raised and when they are answered another raised this happens all the way through the film.
In conclusion Red eye follows the conventions of a thriller film and illustrates many of the theories named.