What is a Thriller?

We have gone through the codes and conventions of a typical thriller and as a genre the audience has certain expectations. Certain themes are commonplace within thrillers, violence, action, mystery and an intricate story line which surprises the audience when the plot is unravelled. Through analysing semiotics, we

discovered that all of these were present in the film The Usual Suspects.
Mise en scene is realistic in horror/thrillers and often composed of muted colours in terms of lighting and backgrounds. This is due to the focus on the characters, plot and their development. Costume often follows this trend but will sometimes be different to accentuate a character. For example, in The Usual Suspects Keaton wears a bright cream suit to make him stick out on the poster and to give the impression he the main character.
However, more common conventions of a horror/thriller are the inclusion of weapons such as guns and knives. There is usually blood in the films also.

Moreover, the films usually include some sort of force, for example the police. There are many thrillers that are almost entirely based on this, for example the Bourne Identity, and its sequels. The Usual Suspects could be considered as this as the film is based around the interview of one small time criminal by the police in order to find out what really happened.
The differences between a horror and a thriller is that a horror is intending to scare the audience and make them feel uneasy, whereas a thriller is more like a mystery. However there are cases where these genres cross over into one film. An example of this would be I Am Legend, which follows the story of the last man in New York City after most of it's population has been 'infected' and turned into zombies.