What are Action Thriller movies?
Action thriller movies, also known as action movies, are among the most popular genres for young audiences. According to statista.com, 88% of individuals surveyed stated that action/thriller movies were their favorite genre. Some of the most famed directors of these sorts of movies are John Woo, Tony Scott, and James Cameron, who have directed movies from The Matrix to Avatar.
Action thriller movies typically have specific factors and features. These usually include an obvious villain, hero, and victim. The story's plot often revolves around the hero stopping the villain to save the victim, who is often a love interest. There is an obvious division of power and weapons such as guns and bombs are normally included. Typically, the end of the movie will result in a victory for the hero in both the battle, but also the heart. Action thrillers also are known for creating suspense throughout the movie. Audiences often will not know what the next part of the movie will be. To create some of these tones, low-key lighting may be used as well as lots of cuts to keep the scenes progressing. Camera movements such as pans or tilts are often used as well.
Action thriller sets are best known for consisting of lots of layers and detail. They are typically very bright and exciting to look at, and may or may not represent real settings. The costume design is very fun and excites the viewers through unique colors, designs, and capes. The costume design helps to appeal to the target audience by using their assumed interest in video games and fast-paced movies. They include special effects like the explosions in The Dark Knight.
The marketing that action thrillers undertake relies heavily on bright colors and exciting posters. This technique is used in order to attract the target audience of teen males aged 15-25. Below is a perfect example of a poster for the movie Bullet Train. This poster embodies the action thriller marketing ideals by containing bright colors, as well as action happening within the poster (the train plowing fast.)
The poster draws in the audience by giving little hints of what the movie will be about, but also providing some mystery as the audience has no idea who the characters are, except that something dangerous is brewing. Bullet Train has already grossed more than three times the budget for the movie, proving that this marketing method does indeed work.
Marketing for action thrillers also heavily involves the use of social media. Since the target audience is young people, who have a habit of using social media a lot, having a major social media presence is huge for marketing. Companies will use posts, stories, and reels to showcase clips of their movie to excite their audience. One great example of this is Marvel Studios. Marvel posts around 3 times a day and has a following of over 35 million.
The first movie example of these factors all mixed together is the Hunger Games movie. The target audience of teenagers to young adults aligns with the target audience for action thrillers. . There is a long list of weapons used but primarily they use bows and arrows. The hero is Katniss Everdeen, the villain is President Snow, and there are many victims which are all very easily identifiable. There are numerous explosions and a variety of other special effects to keep the interest of the audience as well as plenty of camera movements along with many cuts and a sense of suspense. The separation of power between the capitol residents and district residents is shown with their wardrobes. The rich have excessive and over-the-top costumes while the poor dress simply with slim to no color or expression in their outfits as shown below:
Another example is Jurrasic World, directed by Steven Spielberg. The target audience is teenagers to young adults and the same for the action thriller category. The weapons used are mainly shotguns and rifles. The villain is Lewis Dodgson, the hero is Alan Grant, and the victims are all the lives lost throughout the film and the other tourists visiting the park in the car. The special effects make the whole movie - there are literal dinosaurs created from CGI. Not to mention the many explosions and other cool effects used in the entire movie. The division of power is shown through each individual character, there are children, a rich guy, a worker, and many other different levels of power in each character. At the end of the movie, the day is saved when the T-Rex appears and saves the remaining people. Although the efforts of the protagonist allowed for their lives to be saved, the plot twists when the humans end up getting saved by the thing they were trying to escape from.
Some other great action thriller movies are listed down below, with links for each movie.
