Types of Thriller

1. What Is A Thriller?
thrill·er
THrilər/ˈ - noun
a novel, play, or movie with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage.
a very exciting contest or experience.
"a 17–14 overtime thriller against Tampa Bay"

2. Action Thriller
e.g. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises
The conventional storyline for an
Action Thriller will include
continuous motion and action
including physical stunts, chases,
fights, battles and races. There will
usually be a level of conflict or
challenge - with the main bulk of
the film concentrating on the
protagonists battle/rise to where he
wants to be and the ending will
usually feature them reaching their
aim. However, with many modern
Action Thrillers, the star will have
to give up something else at the
end of the film in order to fully
reach their dream.

3. Crime Thriller
e.g. Kill Bill Volume. 2
The conventional storyline for a
Crime Thriller will incorporate the
suspenseful aspects of a thriller
with a crime film plot. It usually
centres on a serial killer, murderer,
robbery, or manhunt. As opposed
to traditional crime films, the
storyline focuses both around the
criminal and the protagonist. Crime
Thrillers use both action and
psychological aspects to build
tension and suspense.

4. Comedy Thriller
e.g. Rush Hour 2
Comedy Thrillers will include the
elements of suspense from the
thriller genre and comedic
moments – sometimes it will be the
comedy which breaks suspense.
Commonly, they draw subject
matters from spies, science-fiction,
horror and action. The amount of
humour they include is
disproportionate depending on the
title. Comedy Thrillers use action
and comedy to build suspense and
tension by playing with the
audience’s emotions.

5. Political Thriller
e.g. The Day of the Jackal
Political Thrillers generally revolve
around a storyline whereby political
relations or the whole government
is at stake – putting the protagonist
in a position to stop the problem.
Commonly, the protagonist may
have been a low-level character
before this new attracted attention.
The suspense and tension is
usually brought upon by the
political activity in subject.

6. Horror Thriller
e.g. The Babadook
In a Horror Thriller, there is usually
a conflict between the protagonist
and antagonist which sparks a
mental, physical and emotional
reaction from the audience. There
is almost always an element of fear
involved in order to scare and
‘horrify’ the audience – this is
usually achieved through the use
of suspense, to shock the
audience and ‘catch them off
guard’, as such. These will
generally appeal more to young
adults and teenagers because they
are usually seen as being more
‘rebellious’ movies.

7. Psychological Thriller
e.g. Shutter Island
Psychological Thrillers usually
involve more mental conflict than
physical. A common storyline
would involve the protagonist
becoming involved in a dangerous
situation which literally threatens
their sanity. They must use mental
prowess to overcome their
opponent, whether the battle is
inside their own head or it a battle
of wits. The suspense is create
from two or more characters
playing mind games. As they
usually require more intellectual
thinking they usually attract 25+
year olds.

8. Techno Thriller
e.g. RoboCop
Techno Thrillers include science-
fiction elements and maybe military
involvement. They usually involve
some form of technology that has
caused the situation. An example
of this is Die Hard 4.0 as the
terrorist situation is due to the
hacker being fired from the
government system because he
found how vulnerable the security
of the country was. He was able to
hack onto the government secrets
system on his laptop so they fired
him, tarnishing his reputation.

9. Supernatural Thriller
e.g. The Exorcism
Supernatural Thrillers bring a
supernatural element to the thriller
genre. They usually involve drastic
plot twists. The protagonist usually
has some sort of psychic ability.
There may be a slight overlap with
the horror-thriller genre – such as
with The Exorcism. Otherworldly
elements are introduced (may be
an antagonistic force) but the plot
line and feel are distinctly that of
thrillers.

10. Conspiracy Thriller
e.g. Salt
A conspiracy thriller often involves
a nobody (often the heroine or
hero of the story) who finds
something that then leads them
into a spiral of events unfolding
that they did not anticipate. There
is usually a link to a ‘higher source’
such as the government or ‘evil
entity’. There is often a character
previously thought to be good,
turning bad. Hear-say is usually a
feature of these films, incorporation
deception, lies and rumours which
will create the conspiracy.

11. Romantic Thriller
e.g. Ghost
The plot line of a Romantic Thriller
usually follows a typical thriller’s
tension, suspense and excitement
but a main element of the film is
focused on the growing
relationship between two
characters. This is quite a rare
subgenre of thrillers as many
studios find it hard to produce them
without confusing the audience too
much. Many Romantic Thrillers are
female-oriented.