Hitchcock had various different ideas and theories that he incorporated into his productions that enabled defining elements to be created for the 'Thriller' genre.
The 'Ticking Time Bomb' theory
Alfred Hitchcock believed that within every good thriller production, there has to be elements of the audience being left in the dark. He believed that, in terms of film, it wasn't the explosion that created the optimum amount of tension for the audience, but it was the threat of an explosion that made the viewing unnerving. He also quoted himself that: "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it". When an audience is viewing a thriller production, if they are unaware of what is happening within the plot, they tend to fill in the gaps with the use of their own imagination. From doing this, what they invent themselves is usually far more horrific than what the director actually has in store. It is this that enables Hitchcock's theory to be favourable, and it also enables the allocation of 'thriller's' tense and electrifying stereotype.
In our own production, we incorporated Hitchcock's theory to promote a sense of confusion for the audience, as it is initially very hazy when considering what has happened to the young girl, and the audience would tend to jump to the worst possible conclusion when weighing up the possibilities, at least this is what we were aiming for.
Suspense vs. Surprise
Within Hitchcock's productions, it is clear to see that he prefers using the element of suspense over the element of surprise. The element of surprise derives from the director assaulting the viewer with thrilling/frightening events, this method of production is usually recognised in Horror films rather than Thriller films, where there are 'jumpy' and unexpected events. However, the element of suspense is one easily favoured by Hitchcock. This particular element derives from the director informing the audience of aspects of the production that the characters are not aware of, it promotes a sense of dramatic irony. Once the audience are custom with knowledge on upcoming events, the director artfully creates tension about what will happen when the characters within the production eventually learn the truth. This particular element of suspense is used eloquently by Hitchcock in the iconic 'shower scene' in his world class production 'Psycho', where the character 'Marion Crane' played by elegant Janet Leigh, is unaware of the mysterious figure approaching her from behind the shower curtain. 
Blondes make the best victims
Hitchcock believes that within film productions, blonde females or males always make the best victim. He believes that "they're virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints". When analysing his work it is clear to see that he follows this theory when allocating the victim roles within his productions, for example, Janet Leigh playing the part of the damsel in distress in 'Psycho'. We followed this notion of Hitchcock's when directing our own thriller film, we purposefully chose a young girl with blonde hair, to add to the innocence and to create a vulnerable sort of image.
Narrative style
Hitchcock usually used unrestricted narrative within his productions; where the characters don't know what is going to happen to them but the audience do, it creates dramatic irony. However, with this particular element we chose not to follow in the footsteps of Hitchcock, we chose to use a restricted narrative, as we wanted to production to be really ambiguous so the audiences would have to use their own imagination to attempt to derive what happens, this is how we were aiming to gain our 'thrilling aspects' as it is the fear of the unknown that is promoted.
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