Along came a spider (2001)

 
The 2001 Paramount pictures film starring Morgan Freeman depicts the classic elements of a thriller. In the opening scene we see a fast paced, busy scene where protaganist and detective Alex (Morgan Freeman) is in charge of an operation that went wrong in which his friend went undercover and died on the mission. A mini opening, seemingly separate from the traditional plot, is a common feature in the thriller genre. From the instant the film begins we see references towards the thriller genre from the title credits dropping down from the top of the screen like spiders to the diegetic sounds which portray bad signals, Muffled noises and heavy breathing. Alex’s point of view in the last part of the opening scene shows He is the most important person in that shot followed by the close up of Tracey in her last moments. The jump cuts of the scene also instantly show the viewer about the fast paced nature of a thriller film. We see an Eyeline match from Tracey to Alex before she dies showing the closeness of their relationship, and the cross cuts from the woman's body cam to Morgan Freeman's character reinforce the somewhat messy and haphazard nature of a thriller. A cross dissolve goes from the scene of Tracey dying to an establishing shot introducing a new story line. We instantly meet a new protagonist, 12 year old Meghan. Very quickly into the new scene we see a dramatic turn with Meghan being tranquilised by her ‘teacher’, Mr Soneji, and another woman being killed. Whilst there has already been around 4 deaths at this point there is a lack of gore which is a common convention of a thriller film. When the agent, Jezzie, is racing to Meghan the intense non diegetic music makes us hope she gets to the girl in time. The distorted voice notes/messages are a key aspect of identifying the theme as a thriller. It is constantly replayed. The boat that Meghan is in is constantly seen in the middle of nowhere containing hidden cameras, typical convention of a thriller. The non diegetic tense sound effects and music help the audience to see the tense nature of the situation including the screaming kettle which is a suggestive diegetic sound. Throughout the film there are constant changes to the plot, mainly who the villain is. There is also a scene where another child, Dimitri, is about to be kidnapped when Alex and Jezzie stop Soneji before he can take him. The shock reveal towards the end which is once Soneji is killed that the supposed head of security Ben Divine has now kidnapped Meghan and then the partner of Alex, Jezzie, is somewhat the mastermind of the operation is a key aspect of the storyline as well as a common aspect of a thriller as it constantly keeps the audience on the edge of their seats with every plot twist. The final scene comes down to a suspenseful scene between Jezzie and Alex. An intense eyeline match between the pair lines up the following moment where Alex shoots and kills Jezzie. Throughout the entire film there is constant background noise implying the busy nature of a thriller until the penultimate scene with Jezzie Vs Alex when there is complete silence other than the characters dialogue and then the gun shot. 
The final scene cuts to a long shot of Alex and Meghan walking out of the farm building whilst the non diegetic music plays overtop whilst end credits roll.