Iconography of a Thriller-Jack Merren

Iconography simply means every prop that makes a genre what it is. It is an item that makes it clear to any audience what type of film it is. A Thrillers Iconography is one of the most easy to define as there are a wide range of items that tell is about this genre.
These are the typical types of props that define the Thriller genre;


The knife is the utmost famous symbol for a Thriller genre. Knives more sway towards the Thriller/Horror mark as they represent a brutal and gory death. Knives mostly have connotations of blood, gore, pain and death which again push it towards horror, although knives in Thrillers tend to show a less masochistic manner.

The gun is seen as the fast way to kill a person, this is strongly connected with gangster Thrillers, with the gun commonly a mobsters weapon of choice over a knife.

Silhouettes and shadows are what give a Thriller the enigma and mystery. They show actions given out by a character but shroud that character and the scene in inscrutability. They gather thoughts of fear and darkness as well as give the audience questions and clues. A character with a silhouette is most often the antagonist which normally wont be revealed until the end.

The feeling of claustrophobia is normally concealed in a Thriller. The sense of being in a confined space gives the audience feelings of being trapped and moribund. It can also evoke physical attributes such as heavy breathing and sweating.