2. Thriller is a genre of
literature, film, videogame
stories and television
programs that uses
suspense, tension, and
excitement as its main
elements. The aim of thrillers
is to stimulate and enhance
the viewer's sense of
anticipation, heightened
expectation, uncertainty,
surprise, anxiety, fear and
terror. To put it in a nutshell,
a thriller gives the viewer an
adrenalin boost, causing a
sudden rush of excitement,
and exhilaration.
3. Psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, erotic
thrillers, mystery thrillers, spy thrillers are common
subgenres of thrillers. Each subgenre of thriller
tries to keep the audience on the "edge of their
seats", similar to the sensation of hanging from a
cliff, as the plot builds towards a climax. The main
plot of most thrillers is usually a villain, whereby he
or she presents obstacles that the protagonist
must overcome. The protagonist of these films is
set against a problem which may be an escape, a
mission, or a mystery. The characters in the plots
come into conflict with each other or with abstract
or unseen forces, generating an atmosphere of
creepy menace and sudden violence. Thrillers often
present the world and society as dark, dangerous
and sinister, but in Hollywood, they usually feature
endings with good overcoming evil.
4. Suspense is a crucial characteristic
of the thriller genre. It is about
conflict, about the obstacles
between the hero and his goal. It
gives the viewer a feeling of
pleasurable fascination and
excitement mixed with
apprehension, uncertainty,
anticipation, tension, and anxiety
developed from an unpredictable,
mysterious, and rousing source of
entertainment. Suspense is what
gives a person the "on-edge"
feeling. Suspense builds in order to
make those final moments, the
climax, most memorable.
5. AS THE INTRODUCTION TO A MAJOR
ANTHOLOGY EXPLAINS:
Thrillers provide such a rich literary feast.
There are all kinds. The legal thriller, spy
thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical
thriller, police thriller, romantic thriller,
historical thriller, political thriller, religious
thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller.
The list goes on and on, with new variations
constantly being invented. In fact, this
openness to expansion is one of the genre's
most enduring characteristics.
6. But what gives the variety of thrillers a
common ground is the intensity of
emotions they create, particularly those of
apprehension and exhilaration, of
excitement and breathlessness, all designed
to generate that all-important thrill. By
definition, if a thriller doesn't thrill, it's not
doing its job.”
