Setting/Location

The most important factor about choosing a location to film is that to ensure the setting is relevant and is suitable for the genre. For example when shooting the opening to a thriller film choosing a light hearted, comedic background such as a fun fair wouldn't be that appropriate to the purpose unless it was for juxtapositioning purposes, in that case the scene would be suggestive of some sort of evil source and eventually build up to a darker, more ominous location. An ideal location for a thriller film would be in a desolate woodland area, in an isolated manor or something as accessible as a graveyard. It's also important to be prepared that your location can change and look totally different depending on the time of day/year so it's important to do a test run to check the light levels are suitable for this time. 

Nicole Kidman-The Others

The director of 'The Others' Alejandro Amenabar chose a darkened old house for the location of this film. This is perfect as Nicole Kidman's children are photosensitive therefore fazed by natural light so very little is seen in this film which is ideal for a horror/thriller film.