The thriller genre appeals to different audiences depending on the sub-genre. Psychological thrillers and horror-thrillers tend to attract younger and more female audiences, while R-rated films like Silence of the Lambs appeal more to young adult males. Legal and crime thrillers target a mature audience. However, for a generic thriller film, the core demographic is typically young adults aged 18-25, as they enjoy intrigue, mystery and surprises.

1. Who is the Thriller Audience?
. It really depends on the kind of thriller film. Like all genres, there
are sub-genres and to really give an accurate answer one needs to
study these different sub-genres to properly determine who the right
thriller audience is.
. Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men are considered
the two best thrillers in recent memory... and they're rated R. Their
target audience was probably for the young male adults.
. Meanwhile, there are those thrillers that are borderline horror films,
such as M. Night Shyamalan films The Sixth Sense, Signs, The
Village. Since they're close to horror (and horror films target teenage
girls), the demographic would be slightly different... probably younger
and more female based.
. And then there are legal thrillers (Fracture, Runaway Jury) and crime
thrillers (Memento, Se7en) that target a more mature audience... and
classic thrillers (any Alfred Hitchcock film) that are rated PG, but are
intended for adults.
. But if you just need a target audience for a generic thriller film... It’s
clear to say the young adult demographic from 18-25, a young yet
appealing age, makes sense if they watch it.
. As well as that, the thriller audience are very much Someone into
intrigue and mystery with a tint of a twist someone who likes to try
and work things out for themselves but sometimes never quite gets
there, a person who never gives up trying and will always give it a
shot on working out what is happening, yet still loves the element of
surprise