Thrillers cannot be put into just one category. You could define a thriller as a genre of film that contains the following ingredients: mystery, suspense, high risks and action. Another way of defining a thriller would be a movie that is; fast-paced, with a high stakes crime story in which the protagonist is generally in danger at every turn, with the most danger coming in the final act. Over the years, the genre has changed and expanded, resulting in various different thriller sub-genres which each have their own codes and conventions. This is because “thriller” is a very loose term. It refers to any movie that creates excitement, tension and suspense as an integral part of the narrative. Listed below are all of the different types of thriller with example movie references.
Techno Thriller: This is a suspense movie in which special effects and technological manipulation are largely used. Movie example; Jurassic Park (1993, directed by Steven Spielberg)
Religious Thriller: A movie where the plot is largely connected to religious aspects. Movie example; The Da Vinci Code (2006, directed by Ron Howard)
Conspiracy Thriller: A film in which the protagonist must confront a group of powerful enemies, as only the main character knows of their true motives. Movie example; Marathon Man. (1976, directed by John Schlesinger)
Erotic Thriller: The title is quite self explanatory, this is a thriller which has erotic or sexual undertones and generally stars very attractive women or male protagonists. Movie example; Basic Instinct (1992, directed by Paul Verhoeven)
Crime Thriller: This a mix between two genres; crime films and thrillers. Usually, a crime thriller will focus on the criminals instead of the policeman, and tell the story of a crime. Crime thrillers generally centre around either serial killers/murderers or robberies. Movie example; Se7en (1995, directed by David Fincher)
Disaster Thriller: Usually, the suspense in a disaster thriller is created by the occurrence of a natural or artificial disaster, for example earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and volcanoes. Movie example; The Day After Tomorrow (2004, directed by Roland Emmerich)
Legal Thriller: Usually the majority of these types of thrillers are set inside the courtroom, but also show the dangers that the protagonist face outside the courtroom. The protagonist is usually a lawyer or sometimes a defendant who faces a dilemma, sometimes they risk losing their lives aswell as the case they’re involved in, and other times they must prove their innocence. Movie example; A Few Good Men (1992, directed by Rob Reiner)
Psychological Thriller: A psychological thriller will generally focus on characters who have mental/emotional problems instead of physical problems, yet they are known to usually have violent endings. Movie example; Strangers On A Train, (1951, directed by the renowned thriller director Alfred Hitchcock)
Supernatural Thriller: This type of thriller involves aspects of the “unknown”, e.g ghosts, psychics and so on. Movie example; Rosemary’s Baby (1968, directed by Roman Polanski)
Political Thriller: Centred around politics, the protagonist usually has to fight to keep their political party in the running, generally after a scandal or when things seem awry in the party. Movie example; The Manchurian Candidate (1959, directed by Richard Condon)
Medical Thriller: Medical thrillers focus on medical personnel who are trying to solve a medical problem/pandemic which is steadily growing. Movie example; Pathology (2008, directed by Marc Schölermann)
Rape and Revenge Thrillers: This may not be seen as a conventional sub-genre of the thriller section, however there have been many thrillers based around rape and revenge which create fast paced suspense and tension. Movie example; I Spit On Your Grave (1978, directed by Meir Zarchi)
Mystery Thriller: As the title says, this type of thriller centres around characters who are either attempting to solve a mystery, or are already involved in one. Movie example; Vertigo (1958, again directed by Alfred Hitchcock)
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