The Thriller Genre

Methods & Themes Crime thrillersCommon methods and themes in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge and kidnappings.Mystery thrillers Common methods and themes in mystery thrillers are: investigations and the whodunnit technique.Psychological thrillersCommon methods and themes in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/death-traps, horror-of-personality, and obsession.Paranoid thrillers Common methods and themes in paranoid thrillers are fringe theories, false accusations and paranoia.Spy thrillersCommon methods and themes in spy thrillers are threats to entire countries, spies, espionage, conspiracies, assassins and electronic surveillance.

The primary elements • The protagonist faces either their own death or somebody else's.• The force of antagonism should at first be stronger than the

protagonist's.• The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a

character who cannot be put down.• The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.• The protagonist's point of view dominates the film's narrative

construction.• The two major themes usually found in the thrillers are the desire

for justice and the morality of individuals.• The protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) may battle, themselves and

each other, not just physically, but mentally also.• Either by accident or their own curiousity, characters are dragged

into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve.

Character typesCharacters include:Criminals, innocent victims (often on the run), menaced women

Characters with deep dark pasts:Psychotic individuals, serial killers, sociopaths, agents, terrorists, cops and escaped convicts, private eyes, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men& women

The themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracies, pursuit or romantic triangles leading to murder.The protagonists are usually ordinary citizens unaccustomed to danger, although commonly in crime thrillers, they may also be "hard men" accustomed to danger such as police officers and detectives. While protagonists of thrillers have traditionally been men, women lead characters are increasingly common. In psychological thrillers, the protagonists rely on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with the antagonist or by battling for equilibrium in their own mind. The suspense often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive 'mind games' with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.

Story • Thriller plots involve characters who come into conflict with each other or

with outside forces – the threat is sometimes abstract or unseen. An atmosphere of creepy menace and sudden violence, such as crime and murder, characterize thrillers. Thrillers often present the world and society as dark and corrupt, but evil is usually overcome in an upbeat ending. The tension usually arises when the character(s) is placed in a menacing situation, a mystery or a trap from which escaping seems impossible. Life is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspectingly or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation.

• Thrillers emphasize the puzzle aspect of the plot. There are clues and the viewer/reader should be able to determine the solution at about the same times as the main character. In thrillers the compelling questions isn’t necessarily who did it but whether the villain will be caught before committing another crime. Hitchcock's films often placed an innocent victim (an average, responsible person) into a strange, life-threatening or terrorizing situation, in a case of mistaken identity, misidentification or wrongful accusation.

Setting • Thrillers take place mostly in ordinary suburbs and cities,

although sometimes they may take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or the high seas. Usually the tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country or the stability of the free world. Often in a thriller the protagonist is faced with what seem to be insurmountable problems in his mission, carried out against a ticking clock, the stakes are high and although resourceful they face personal dilemmas along the way forcing them to make sacrifices for others.

Setting • Thrillers take place mostly in ordinary suburbs and cities,

although sometimes they may take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or the high seas. Usually the tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country or the stability of the free world. Often in a thriller the protagonist is faced with what seem to be insurmountable problems in his mission, carried out against a ticking clock, the stakes are high and although resourceful they face personal dilemmas along the way forcing them to make sacrifices for others.