Genre Investigation

As a group we have decided to make the genre of our short film a thriller with a sub genre of religion. A thriller has an exciting, suspenseful plot, and the use of religion will add another element throughout our short. The sub genre will provide us with ideas for a setting, suggest certain props we could use within our short, and also help us to create a tagline for our ancillary products.

We have investigated different films that have been classed as religious thrillers, and they include; The Devils Advocate and Invitation to Hell. (The full list can be seen at: IMDb) All of the titles of these films have religious connotations and as a group we will have to decide whether we shall use this when choosing a title for our film.

Religious films tend to have certain settings and or props, however the way they are used or portrayed to the audience depends on the main genre of the film. For example in a religious horror, they may decide to use a graveyard at night, and have many links to the devil. However, in a religious thriller, producers may choose to use props to exemplify the sub genre, for example the journey of a crucifix carried by the protagonist, or even the narrative may start in a religious setting like a church.

Here are two examples of existing films with a theme of religion:

• Doubt
• The Rite 

 We will be using these examples to help us with further research in other aspects of the course.