Conventions of Thriller

The Secret Window

The opening for the film the secret window is able to show key conventions to put across to the audience the genre of 'Thriller'. The film starts with a long shot of an old derelict cabin in the middle of a woodland area surrounded by a large lake. This shows isolation to the audience creating a tense setting which is common in the genre. Slow orchestral music begins to play as the camera begins to get closer cabin revealing that lights are on inside telling the audience that someone does live there. The music is also very quite allowing the diegetic sounds to be heard for example the wind blowing through the trees and the sound of the water hitting the casters which hold the cabin above the lake. This again shows isolation and loneliness which creates good tension which is a main feature of the thriller genre.

Within a Thriller the hero/protagonist is usually isolated, who is usually a brave male who is usually mentally unstable. Johnny Depp taking the role within this film.