Conventions of a Thriller

The following are the conventions of a Thriller genre film:

• Exaggerated sound effects and music that builds suspense.
• Ambiguous plot/characters cause questions to arise in the mind of the audience.
• The narrative focus is often that of a crime.
• The editing is often more experimental than other genres, e.g. parallel editing, non-linear and montage.
• The film contains plot twists and mind games, psychological. Gets into the mind.
• The government often play a part in the background of hybrid genre action thrillers.
• Main characters are binary opposites, the protagonist and antagonist are very different in certain ways.
• The protagonist is often seen in times of peril and have a weakness which is exploited by the antagonist - which is sometimes referred to into the title of the film. Also, the protagonist is isolated be it literally or metaphorically.  
• The film has recurring themes of mirroring, illusions and mistaken identity. 
• Women are often objectified.
• The audience become a voyeur. 
• Plot is sometimes not underlined and is mysterious, plot only comes together towards the end.