Thriller Questionnaire

The results from the questionnaire came back much more positive than our audience survey due to the fact that we asked more open questions. However, some people were indecisive about their answers which meant we ended up with negative feedback. Others were unsure of the difference between a ‘crime thriller’ and a ‘psychological thriller’ so this meant we had to help them understand it, which could have ended in us influencing their answers. 


With the 15/18 rated question most people said they preferred 18 rated films because it doesn’t restrict the content. Nevertheless, some said that 15 films were just as satisfying. Our audience also said they they wouldn't expect to see blood/gore in the first two minutes of a psychological crime thriller, so this means we should build up the tense atomsphere in the opening. 


Our feedback also said thrillers should be set in a normal home in which something unusual happens.  They said they didn't want it to be set in the woods as this is normally associated with thrillers. This could be because they find this technique boring as it is used too much. (familiarity, variation, repetition)


Our audience also said they preferred films that get you thinking and have the end resolved as this is more entertaining. Feedback also said that suspense, twist and danger are all the main points associated with a thriller and that the opening should start with a flashback. This means we need to include these points, in order to fulfill our audience's needs. What's more, by opening our thriller film with a flashback, it enables us to take up different ideas of story lines which can make us be creative as possible.


Additional comments from our survey was that people said that they don't like the characters talking about their thoughts and feeling during the film and that they associate the titles with black, white and red colours to connote danger, blood and clarity. For the protagonists and antagonists, they said they preferred to have a female protagonist and a male antagonist and this helps us decide a story line. They also said that their preferred typical protagonist looks healthy and attractive. They said that the antagonist should look normal to make the suspense more atmospheric as they could be anybody so you don’t suspect it. Most of our audience said they preferred modern films in colour that are different and original, but they must include the classic themes of thrillers too. By asking about their favourite thrillers, it enables us to go away and watch what they enjoy when it comes to thrillers films. This will help make us understand the conventions, plots and ideas to include in our thriller. 

Overall our questionnaire has given us good feedback to look at to use and create our opening, however we also had some disadvantages. Such as not getting full explanations to our questions which meant they were quite limiting.  To improve this we could record a group discussion with 15 and 18 year olds and go into more depth into what our audience likes and dislikes in thriller films.