If it were, there would never be a genre film that garnered any sort of acclaim. For better or worse, a lot of filmmakers mistake a lack of originality with a necessary adherence to genre requirements. Films that are not generally considered to be thrillers in the strictest sense can still use this formula, but there are no thrillers I’m aware of that can exist without it.ĭespite the apparent rigidity of the genre, there are plenty of subgenres and variations, but this doesn’t change the fact that one generally knows what to expect when entering the theater. Essentially, for a thriller to function as it is intended, there must be an element of risk, with the final outcome of events suspended to create anxiety and/or excitement. Much like in horror films, there is an established set of “rules” to accomplish this, with room for variation on the basic formula. There are some that merely exist to entertain and thrill us, for lack of a better term. Not every thriller can be revolutionary though. Oldboy pushed what is considered acceptable in mainstream cinema, especially in terms of violence, to the extreme, while Black Swan managed to integrate surreal psychological manifestations into an otherwise believable and engaging story. Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (2003) and Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010) come to mind, albeit for different reasons. While thrillers are not generally my favorite kind of film, there are a number of very well-made and entertaining entries in the genre.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |