The document defines the thriller genre and discusses its key elements and history. It states that thrillers revolve around anticipation and suspense with the protagonist facing danger. Historically, Alfred Hitchcock pioneered the thriller in the 1920s-1980s using techniques like suspense and color. The document also lists and describes common thriller subgenres and compares thrillers to horror films. It provides examples of top thriller films, directors, and stars as well as typical conventions like music, lighting, and plot devices used to build tension.

1. THRILLER

2. DEFINITIONS OF THE THRILLER
GENRE:
• Thriller films is a genre that resolves around anticipation and suspense. Typically in a thriller
the protagonist in these films are set against a problem, an escape, a mission or a mystery.
Thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/Thriller
• The genre thriller has a goal to keep the audience cliff-hanging at the ‘edge of their seats’.
Thriller typically creates tension and the characters are normally in danger.
www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html.
• The thriller fiction genre, also known as suspense fictions is a genre of literature that typically
has a fast paste plot.
www.findmeanauthor.com/thriller-fiction-genre.htm.
• I believe that thriller is a genre that builds up fear and tries to make the audience feel nervous
and scared, which is the main idea of the genre to make sure the audience is scared as much as
the thriller can get them to be scared.

3. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF
THRILLER:
The history of the genre thriller was in the 1920s to the 1980s. Alfred Hitchcock's first
thriller was the silent movie. This film was a psychological thriller as it dealt with psycho
path murderer which was typical of a thriller genre. Hitchcock then recognised suspense
in the genre thriller in the 1940s. In the 1950s Alfred Hitchcock made a massive change
to the thriller genre. He added technicolor to his thrillers, they were no longer black and
white.
The-history-and-development-of-a-psychologist-thriller.
https://prezi.com/lsnbcdloa_l6/history-of-the-thriller-genre/

4. A LIST OF SUB-GENRES OF THRILLER:
• Conspiracy thriller
• Crime thriller
• Disaster thriller
• Forensic thriller
• Legal thriller
• Medical thriller
• Mystery thriller
• Political thriller
• Psychological thriller
• Religious thriller
• Romantic thriller
• Spy thriller
• Supernatural thriller
Kathrineroid.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/list-
of-thriller-subgenre/.
• Supernatural thriller: This is a subgenre
which includes elements such as ghost, Gods
and miracles. Supernatural films deal with
the unknown question of life.
The scriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/supernatrual.
• Psychological thriller: emphases on the characters
more than the plot. Suspense is created by
psychological thrillers as it often comes from two or
more characters by playing deceptive games with the
other character or by trying to demolish the other
characters mental state.
http://www.slideshare.net/tiffanyymchan/conventions-
of-a-psychological-thriller-12728719
• Political thriller: A political thriller is set against a
backdrop of some kind of political struggle. They could
be many plots and opponents as well as villains, but
only one hero. A political thriller typically should have
a hero, a villain and a realistic plot.
http://filmstudies.info/genres/political-thriller.html

5. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THRILLER AND HORROR?
Horror movies often feature a lot of supernatural elements such as ghost, monsters,
zombies,vampiers, demands and other supernatural creatures as well as an antagonist. Typically
in a horror film a villain would be a psychopath and serial killers. The setting has a fighting
atmosphere. Horror involves a lot of violence and gore.
http://pediaa.com/difference-between-horror-and-thriller/
The main difference between the genre horror and thriller is that horror fictions have more
elements of creatures being dead, fear , disgust and terror. Whereas thriller creates suspense,
excitement, anticipation and anxiety. Thriller films are generally aimed to thrill the audience, this
is why it easily makes the viewers sit at the edge of their seats. Compared to horror which is
designed to horrify the audience as it makes the audience scream and jump. Thriller films will give
more clues to the audience in comparison to a horror film which just makes the film improbable as
it would leave the audience spooked and horrified. Horror has more gore and more violence
whereas thriller is more problem solving and ambiguous.
http://www.differencebetween.net/language/words-language/difference-between-horror-and-
thriller/

6. KEY FILMS OF THRILLER:
• Arrival
• The Accountant
• The Girl On The Train
• Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
• Fast 8
• Shut In
• Don’t Breath
• Nerve
• Split
http://www.imdb.com/genre/thriller

7. KEY STARS OF THRILLER:
• Leonardo Dicaprio
• Robert De Niro
• Tom Hardy
• Jean Reno
• Matt Damon
• Natalie Portman
• Tommy Lee jones
• Morgan Freeman
• Brad Pitt
Tom Hardy
Brad
Pitt
Morgan
Freeman

8. KEY DIRECTORS OF THRILLER:
• Martin Scorsese
• Christopher Nolan
• Michael Mann
• Luc Besson
• Paul Greengrass
• Darren Aronfsky
• Ethan coen
• Tom Tykwer
• David Fincher
David
Fincher
Tom
Tykwer
Martin
Scorsese

9. TYPICAL CONVENTIONS OF
THRILLERS:
• Thrillers will normally have low key lighting, quick cuts and the music will tend to
increase, shadows and the paste would be fast.
• The protagonist is typically a brave male and the antagonist will have a hidden identity
to the audience. Often the antagonist goes out for revenge from a past even that would
be shown as a flash black.
• Close ups will be presented to show the protagonist and antagonist to portray their
emotions. Dialogue would be diegetic sound and typically music that would build
tension in a thriller film which would be knows as a non-diegetic sound. Action thriller
films usually have loud and jumpy fast paced music to make the audience feel excited
and engaged in the film.
Overall, I believe conventions are used to keep the audience engaged throughout the film
and to create a suspense of the film.

10. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN:
The Girl On The Train is a psychological thriller. We know this because the film confuses
with the audiences minds as people were in suspense to who killed the girl and it try to
engage the audience on to think who killed the girl. Also the girl was an alcoholic and was
easily manipulated as she had mental health problems. There was many mysterious clips
presented which was typical of a psychological thriller.