Bullseye Productions: Crime Thriller Research: Characters and Iconography

Iconography in Crime Thriller

Iconography in thriller films include:

Guns
Knives
Money
Blood
Shadows
Fast Cars
Crime Scene Tape
Confined Spaces
Dark Clothing
Wood Location
Running water
Street Lights
Bars on Windows
Police or Investigators

Knives are a typical symbol associated with a thriller as they have connotations of blood, death, pain and brutality. A typical representation of this would be in the famous knife scene from Hitchcock's film 'Psycho'. Knives are often used to show that somebody is going to get killed and thus it acts a common device to keep the audience engaged.

Silhouettes and shadows are what give a thriller the enigma and mystery for the audience. Shadows are a common piece of iconography associated with the thriller genre because they build up fear in the audience, by instigating that the protagonist is being watch by a human being or some kind of animal or monster. The protagonist is often oblivious to this but can often sense that something isn't right, which leads them on their journey. They often induce thoughts of fear and darkness for the audience as well as giving them clues and they ask questions out of suspense. A character with a silhouette is most likely to be the antagonist, which usually isn't revealed until the end of the film. An example of a shadow used in a thriller film on the antagonist would be 'It' (Dir. Andy Muschietti, 2017).

The use of confined spaces in a thriller also makes the audience feels as though they are too trapped. Being in a confined space often leads the protagonist to start breathing heavily and panting to inform how they are trapped and cannot escape, or it often leads to the start of their struggle as they try to break free. 3% of the population are claustrophobic, so to use this as a way to terrorise the audience is particularly effective. An example of a thriller film which has a iconographic confined space would be 'Kill Bill 2' (Dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2004).

Woods are locations often used for thrillers. This is because they create a sense of being lost as the characters find themselves trying to figure out how to escape. Woods are often isolated too, which creates a sense of vulnerability and it seems inevitable that the characters will ever find any help. There may be one house in the woods which often turns out to be the antagonist. An example of a thriller film which uses the woods is 'Cabin in The Woods' (Dir. Drew Goddard, 2012).

Running water is often a symbol of death as it suggests the draining of life or it is often associated with blood dripping and suggests that the characters are in danger. Running water can represent the draining of life and can keep the audience on edge as to use something as ordinary as running water and to put it into an environment where it is made sinister, it breaks the boundary of comfort for the audience. A few examples of thriller films which use running water include:

Street lights at night are often used in thrillers and at are an effective part of mise-en-scene to keep the emphasis and focus on the protagonist and the fact that there is almost complete darkness surrounding them, apart from the spotlight from the lamp. This further accentuates the fact that the protagonist is alone in the dark and creates fear for the audience as they do not know what might be underlying in the darkness and therefore a tense atmosphere is created. Furthermore, the fact that there is plainly a spotlight on the protagonist could show isolation which is particularly effective the audience as it could engage them too, making them also feel alone as there isn't much else more to focus on.

Bars on windows are used to show imprisonment and isolation, which links to the conventional thriller. Having the blockade of freedom for a character creates the sense of imprisonment and entrapment, not just for the character but for the audience also. The audience becomes so engaged with the character in regards to sympathy that they start to empathise with the character and then begin to feel what they feel. Fences consisting of razor barbed wire also suggest that the characters are imprisoned and have no way of getting out which shows how they are detached from the outside world and therefore conforms to the convention of isolation in thrillers.

Characters in Thriller Films

Protagonist and antagonist are the archetypal characters always present in a thriller film. The protagonist is often a brave male who seeks to restore the equilibrium and be the hero. The protagonist is the central character who is the focal point of a story who is forced to get involved in a struggle with the antagonist who opposes him. The protagonist has the sympathy of the audience who want to see or learn about his victory over the antagonist. The protagonist is usually a human being whereas antagonist can also be a circumstance, natural calamity, or even an animal force. Mostly the antagonist is the villain who places obstacles in the path of the protagonist and will sometimes have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film progresses. Conventionally, the antagonist goes out for revenge from a past event involving the protagonist.

An example of a conventional character of the thriller genre is Ester from the film 'Orphan' (Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra, 2009). The film has a sub-genre of mystery which is yet again conventional to have in a thriller genre. Throughout the film the audience sees a seemingly angelic orphan named Esther. However, she exhibits an unforeseen devilish streak shortly after arriving at her new home. Once she's welcomed into a new family home, she begins to display some deeply unsettling behaviour and shows that she is pure evil.