What really is a THRILLER? - Hurtwood

A thriller is a movie that creates a feeling of suspense and mystery, as the famous ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ said ‘There is an intellectual process and an emotional process’ both of which are very separate. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between these two. Intellectual process is the ‘Who Dun It’, it’s the rational rather than the emotional, it’s appealing and engaging. Unlike the Emotional process where it’s the viewers reaction to the film.

When I asked some people what they thought a Thriller was, I had a mixture of responses however many of them used the same describing words.
Some of these are:
• Scary
• Worried
• Anxious
• Anticipation
• Tension
• Dramatic
• ………

As you can see they are all similar in a particular way. None of them are feelings that someone would necessarily choose to have on a day-to-day basis, even if they did they would soon adjust to these feelings and in turn not find particular things 'thrilling' which of course is my aim when it comes to creating our own clips.

In my thriller I Want the audience to feel those feelings, I'd like my viewer to feel like its had an impact on them in a particular way. Maybe it can impact different people in different ways for different reasons. It needs to be dynamic so that a range of people enjoy it, however of course sticking to my target audience is key.

Soon I will be thinking about incorporating these elements and points in more depth and hopefully produce a successful scene that people will enjoy watching!