Generic Conventions of a Thriller - Insidious

Generic Conventions of a Thriller – Insidious

Insidious is a thriller where a little boy and his father both get possessed by the devil, as the audience we question who has possessed these characters and whether they will get out of it. The Genre is made clear by the music and slow edits in the film opening, the setting also helps us to establish the genre as it is located in an empty house being a convention of the horror game. The protagonist of this clip is the little boy as he is the one who is possessed and eventually rescued.

 The title ‘Insidious’ relates to the boys weakness as there are harmful effects before we see the situation he is in, low angles are used to show his weakness in many scenes. The title also appears in red letters which reflects the demon/devil like behaviour.

The antagonist is the devil which possesses the little boy, the antagonist (the devil) ensures that the protagonist (the boy) is weak, isolated and unable to communicate, the boys family start to feel helpless as they have tried everything to discover what is going on, and try to help.

 Insidious starts off as a usual happy family, until there is a switch where extraordinary things happen, the young  boy begins to act strange, by doing things such as drawing devils on the walls and the mother begins to hear strange noises coming from the boys bedroom, we then start to notice continuous extraordinary situations occurring. 

In scenes where suspense is built, more than one micro area is used, the sound becomes more intense and the close ups are used to show the fear that the family are feeling; the lighting becomes more dull, as this reflects the mood of the scene. The prop of the grandfather clock was featured a lot in the opening, showing its importance, it also fits the conventions of a thriller movie.

Throughout Insidious there is no mistaken identity, but we see signs of insomnia as strange things seem to occur during the night.

The enigma of the scenes makes the audience think about questions such as why is the house empty, why is the grandfather clock important and what is going to happen to the family. This keeps the audience engaged throughout, until these questions are revealed at different points within the film.