Target audience

(Some of the information was taken from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre) alongside my own personal response)

The target audience of thriller as a genre can vary; this is because many of the thriller films contain some sort of sub genre which can appeal to many different people and target audiences. The target audience for mainstream thrillers would be for male and female aged 15+ this is because the ratings on most films are 15 and over. The action and gangster thrillers would be more aimed at the males because of the imagery in them e.g. the guns, fighting, fast cars etc. whereas the erotic, disaster and comedy thrillers will be more aimed at the women who watch them. The thrillers rated 18 would be more aimed at the middle aged men, because it will be more graphic and more appealing to their age group and interests. also thrillers base themself on the more matrue themes to meet the age range of 18+ which are usually more complex and makes the audience think more, this is targeted for the 18+ becuase you will need some experience of life to understand the film.

Themes; 

The themes of thrillers is and are the big ideas that develop around Paranoia, Revenge, Conspiracies, Unsolved mysteries, Murder, Hostage Etc.  Each thriller can have a different theme which makes them interesting and people who watch thrillers may have a favourite theme e.g. a disaster thriller such as 2012, in my opinion, the theme of conspiracies and murder and hostage are what makes me enjoy thrillers, the suspense they create when watching. Also that awkward *cover eyes moment* which makes the film worthwhile. Paranormal activity is a good example of a thriller/horror and paranormal theme. It’s good at getting the scary atmosphere across and creating the suspense needed to thrill the audience.

Narrative; 

 the narrative is the story of the film. This will involve the plot and how the story line develops and creates suspense and the main story elements. Such as the shoots outs and maybe a car chase etc. 

the narrative is a complex twist where two stories could be going on at once, it is the key story elements such as tracking a killer, fights etc.     The Long Kiss Goodnight is a good example of narrative as the use of action in the trailer and how it develops, there is a car chase, gun shooting, explosions and an unknown identity so this trailer can 100% fit into the thriller genre. 

Setting; 

The setting of a film is the time and place in the film. E.g. where the film is set and what time. For a typical thriller it is most likely in a urban area and usually set at night. Setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and indicates the main backdrop and mood for a story. The characters used in thrillers are the people you would expect to see in this type of setting and time of the day.    The film "Taken" is a good example of setting, as it is very typical of the thriller genre. It is set in an urban area in dark places, most of the film is set at night which is typical for the thriller trailer and all of the action takes place at night also 

Iconography: 

Iconography is the visual elements that are used in the films. E.g. In a thriller there will be n expected amount of blood, also props such as guns knifes etc. Also fast cars, people that use a lot of money. Also drugs etc. Technical gadgets and urban clothing (usually dark colours and tough).       Enemy of the state shows iconography well as in the film there is allot of technology used. Little gadgets and guns as one of the characters turns into a spy, high tech gadgets are typical of thrillers based on the conspiracy idea of you are always being watched.  

Audio Visual Style; 

The audio visual style is the use of camera work in the film. E.g. the shots close up, mid shot. Also the use of a canted angle when something is going to happen or go wrong.  Also the use of editing and the use of sound e.g. dramatic fast passed music and special effects (SPX) e.g. Jurassic park, This film has good use of audio visual style, a range of shots are shown through different speeds, angles etc. The typical Jurassic park music is well known and used throughout each film, also the special effects used of the realistic dinosaur against the actor.

Characters; 

the characters that are in a typical thriller genre are the heroes. Villains and victims.  The victims are innocent and venerable in the films. The women in the films are usually seductive women "femme fatal".  There are assassins, hit men, detectives, special agents, also the criminals, psychotic killers and gangsters.  <!--[endif]-->

These are the characters that are usually seen in the thriller genre and this is a typical trailer of characters in a teen thriller. This means that they will be killed of one by one. Also the "sex equals death" rule comes into teen films as that is what they are based around.