PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER 
A Psychological Thriller is one of the more popular sub-genres 
inside the Thriller scene. It involves mental and psychological 
conflict between the main characters rather than physical. This 
means that the film will rely a lot less on violence to keep the 
audience in their seats. This often used when the story 
predominantly involves the main characters solving or involved in 
a mystery. 
An example of this is he 1960 film “Psycho” which involves a group 
of people attempting to solve the murder of a woman at a small 
Motel. This is a good example because it includes next to no 
violence and relies more on the audience trying to piece together 
the story. Also, the film focusses slightly on the relationship 
between the main character and his mother which results in us 
learning of his mental issues.
SPY THRILLER 
A Spy Thriller is a sub-genre which usually revolves round a 
Government agent who must take action against a rival government or 
group. These films usually deal with the subject of fictional espionage 
in realistic ways. Main Conventions in Spy Thrillers are: 
• The protagonist must stop the antagonist or something devastating 
will happen. 
• The mystery of who the antagonist is. 
• How will the protagonist stop them. 
An example of this is the 2011 film “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” which 
follows the search for a Russian Mole inside the British Secret Service 
during the Cold War. I used this because it is able to be a great spy 
thriller without turning into an all out action movie like the James Bond 
Franchise does.
TECHNO THRILLER 
A Techno Thriller is a sub-genre which the story revolves around 
the manipulation of new technologies and explores what would 
happen if these new technologies went wrong. This merges the 
characteristics of action and science fiction films whilst still 
staying in the realm of thriller. 
An example of this is the 1993 “Jurassic Park” which sees a large 
corporation using new technologies and scientific discoveries 
to create dinosaurs for a theme park island. Most people do not 
see this as a thriller but as a family film, however it in fact is a 
thriller due to it’s use of tension and suspense as these people 
fight for survival on an island filled with mean eating dinosaurs.

Sub genre/Hybrid research

  • 2.
    PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER APsychological Thriller is one of the more popular sub-genres inside the Thriller scene. It involves mental and psychological conflict between the main characters rather than physical. This means that the film will rely a lot less on violence to keep the audience in their seats. This often used when the story predominantly involves the main characters solving or involved in a mystery. An example of this is he 1960 film “Psycho” which involves a group of people attempting to solve the murder of a woman at a small Motel. This is a good example because it includes next to no violence and relies more on the audience trying to piece together the story. Also, the film focusses slightly on the relationship between the main character and his mother which results in us learning of his mental issues.
  • 3.
    SPY THRILLER ASpy Thriller is a sub-genre which usually revolves round a Government agent who must take action against a rival government or group. These films usually deal with the subject of fictional espionage in realistic ways. Main Conventions in Spy Thrillers are: • The protagonist must stop the antagonist or something devastating will happen. • The mystery of who the antagonist is. • How will the protagonist stop them. An example of this is the 2011 film “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” which follows the search for a Russian Mole inside the British Secret Service during the Cold War. I used this because it is able to be a great spy thriller without turning into an all out action movie like the James Bond Franchise does.
  • 4.
    TECHNO THRILLER ATechno Thriller is a sub-genre which the story revolves around the manipulation of new technologies and explores what would happen if these new technologies went wrong. This merges the characteristics of action and science fiction films whilst still staying in the realm of thriller. An example of this is the 1993 “Jurassic Park” which sees a large corporation using new technologies and scientific discoveries to create dinosaurs for a theme park island. Most people do not see this as a thriller but as a family film, however it in fact is a thriller due to it’s use of tension and suspense as these people fight for survival on an island filled with mean eating dinosaurs.