Aspects of a Thriller

1. Aspects of a Thriller

2. Aims of a Thriller
• The main aim of a thriller is to keep the audience on
the edge of their seats and to keep them
guessing, What’s he doing? What’s he going to do
next? WHY’S HE HOLDING A KNIFE?!
• The Protagonist should also be faced with a problem
or mission, this normally determines the sub-genre
of the film.
• The tension should also have a lot of work put into
it, building up to a tense climax should be one of the
writers primary aims.

3. Characters + Settings!
• The characters of a Thriller should have a nasty or Vice side
e.g. Psychotic, Hitmen, Stalkers, Cons, Cops, Serial Killers,
Robots sent back from the future to kill John Connor.
• The setting can be anywhere, as long as it helps obtain some
suspense and a feeling of insecurity, a haunted house or a
busy city street can be ideal settings – The film ‘Phonebooth’
is shot mostly around a phonebox and works perfectly for a
thriller.

4. Sub-Genres
• The margin for sub-genres in Thrillers is vast, as nearly any other idea can
be tied in with it.
• Political, Erotic, Crime, Action,
• Sci-Fi, Spy, Supernatural
• Historical, Medical, Adventure
• Religious, Disaster
• All of these can be a sub-genre of a Thriller. However I think that the most
popular and my favourite seem to be Crime thrillers such ‘The Bourne
Series’.