What makes a good thriller?  The film introduces us to Robert, the main character who is an English teacher struggling through his lonely life, and Jin, student who wants to learn English. As time goes on, as they develop a relationship lesson after lesson, Robert starts to change as he realizes what Jin has done to his life. The English Teacher is a great thriller because it uses many important elements like emotions, dramatic tension between characters, and an ironic point in the story. 

The English Teacher is about the unusual relationship between a private teacher and their student. As they grow comfortable, they soon realize the impact on each other. At the start of the short film, we are presented with a scene of a female figure riding a bike the sooner cutting to Robert who has just woken up in bed. As he opens his phone in the early morning, he receives an email from possibly a new student Jin, who wants to learn English for his college exams. Robert takes him in through multiple lessons, and we stick with Robert as he lives his life away from teaching looking empty, as if someone is missing in his life. We know very little about Jin, as he only appears in his lessons, and very little is revealed. Time goes and as we follow Robert, he looks like he’s missing something, a part of his life, or someone in his life. As he receives a video from Jin, Jin reveals that he had accidentally killed Robert’s wife. Jin’s intention was to learn English to deliver the message that he was responsible for the death of his wife. Robert grows angry and wants to confront Jin, but is unable to reach him. 

The two main characters, Robert and Jin stand out because they were originally strangers. They had a goal to have normal business with them and revealed very little about their emotions throughout the beginning of the story, but they slowly show us the reality, of how they felt about the situation. This is a key element for a thriller because their emotions help create dramatic tension. 

During one of the lessons, Jin asks Robert, “Are you Happy?”. Robert Answers, “Yes.” but we know he isn’t happy. He is going through a lonely era in his life and losing a significant other has damaged him. His way of separating himself from loneliness is teaching. This example of dramatic tension is important for the thriller because we are revealed the true emotions of the characters, Jin is worrying about Robert, and Robert doesn’t know if he is truly happy or not.

Another important element of a good thriller is an ironic point in the story. We know Robert is lonely in his life. We follow him throughout the majority of the film, but we fail to realize the truth. As Jin reveals that he had killed his wife in an accident., the film cuts back to the female figure riding a bike, and Jin driving. The female figure and Jin are both linked. From Jin admitting that he is responsible for the death, to the flashback on the accident are both 2 ironic parts of the story.