Motifs in Thrillers, and how they can be used to create a certain atmosphere that is common to the genre

Motifs in Thrillers, and how they can be used to create a certain atmosphere that is common to the genre

Motifs in the Thriller genre can be very effective when used properly and at the right time, creating a sense of mystery or suspense. In the film Inception (2010) the main motif is Leonardo DiCaprio's spinning top, that plays an important role in the entire film. Every time Leonardo spins it, it creates a sense of suspense, because if it topples over, they are not dreaming, but if it stays spinning, they are in the dream world. This is very effective at certain points in the film due to the characters and the audience not knowing if Leonardo is in the dream or not. The tension of this is very clever, because the action of the spinning top is quite a drawn out process, meaning that the shot will be very long, so the audience will be on the edge of their seats, waiting for something to happen.    

Another example of a great motif in a Thriller film is the repeated shot of the envelope with money inside from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). This is near the start of the film, showing one of the characters named Marian, packing her suitcase in a hurry, but constantly glancing at the envelope of money that is on the side of her bed. Each time Marian looks at the money, the camera has a shot of the envelope, getting closer and closer before its right up close to it. The effect of this is that it gives the audience a sense of mystery, that is often related to Thriller films. The way that the shots are displayed in this scene, with the camera getting closer to the envelope, as well as Marian packing in a hurried fashion, builds up a large of tension that is effective because it shows us that the money could be a bad thing. This point I made is backed up when Marian keeps on glancing back at the envelope and seems to be trying to ignore its presence. This motif can be possibly be explaining that Marian has done something awful to earn this money, and that she is not proud of her actions to get it. Yet again this creates a sense of mystery of tension that is common to the Genre.