Analysing Existing Thriller Film Names/Titles

Analysing Existing Thriller/Mystery Film Names/Titles

In this post I am going to be looking at many different film titles from thriller/mystery films to help get an idea of what conventions should be in my own.

'Hell Ride'

'Gravity'

'Run Lola Run'

'Sunshine'

'Memento'

'Disturbia'

'Mulholland Drive'

'Stay'

'Identity'

'Dark Places'

'Prisoners'

'The Silencing'

'Mystic River'

'Oldboy'

'Hell or High Water'

'Point Blank'

'Ripley's Game'

'The Guilty'

'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest'

'Cop Car'

'The Gift'

'The Handmaiden'

'You Were Never Really Here'

'Pulp Fiction'

'Kill Bill'

Now having looked through all these title names I have noticed the following similarities:

• Many of the titles are quite short but use dramatic words to make them stand out and bring attention to what the films genre could be, creating a sense of mystery ('The Guilty', 'Stay', 'Prisoners'). Often the title contains only a single word.
• The titles also use words connecting to death which makes them sound more haunting ('Hell Ride', 'Hell or High Water', 'Dark Places', 'Kill Bill').
• The use of locations are in many of the titles ('Mulholland Drive', 'Mystic River').
• The title is often mysterious, but relates to the plot of the film.

I am likely to choose a single word for my title, one which relates to what takes place in my narrative but one which also creates enigma for the audience.