What is a thriller?
November 01, 2016
As obvious as it sounds, a 'thriller' film is meant to thrill its viewers, hence the name. The dictionary definition is 'a film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage.' and is said to give viewers 'heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Alfred Hitchcock is an example of a director well known for his successful thrillers such as Psycho and The Birds.
Other examples of thrillers include:
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Memento
- Shutter Island
- Inception
- The Sixth Sense
- The 'Jaws' films
A thriller normally tends to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, by including plot twists and withholding certain bits of information to keep the audience questioning what's going to happen. There tends to be a villain who drives the plot, and a 'hero' type character that needs to defeat said villain.
Many thrillers have elements or themes of horror, however there is a grey area as to where a film's genre can fall. The multiple sub-genres can help to distinguish a film, some of which are:
- Action
- Crime
- Disaster
- Forensic
- Psychological
- Supernatural
There are many more sub-genres which cover a wide range of films.
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