Thriller Genre

A genre is type of film which is dictated by thematic codes and conventions.


Thriller films is a type of genre. Thrillers are not only films, but come in the form of books, television and radio. This genre is known to promote intense excitment for its viewer, a high level of suspense and aniticipation, uncertainty, anxiety and nerve wrecking tension. A wide range of people find thrillers enjoyable due to their very complex plots that are used in the entire film making it addicting for the onlooker.

A typical convention of a thriller is its sudden plot twists creating suspense amongst the audience which can become unbearable in a long scene or a television series. Another characteristic of this genre is the heavy load of action which is dominated by a protagonist and antagonist. The thriller genre is a film that pursuses a specific goal which provides thrills which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. This is usually achieved when the protagonist is placed in difficult situation, often which is highly dangerous and escape would be seen to be impossible. Most of these situations involve the protagonist battling against a skilled, clever or horrific antagonist. However other missions could include environmental threats, technology or natural disasters. The heroes in most of the films are predominately men who are frequently "hard" and accustomed to danger. However, this may not always be the case as ordinary citizens are sometimes drawn into danger. While such heroes have traditionally been men, it is not unrecognisable for a women to be a lead character in a thriller which is becoming increasingly popular, such as the Lara Croft films, by Angelina Jolie.



Some thrillers are of a very high quality. These can be extremely interlectual and sophisticated, encouraging well educated people to watch and enjoy them. Such thrillers have a psychological aspect which forces the viewer to look closely at the characters incentive to gather a better understanding of the plot. Others are much more simplistic and do not need as much examination from the audience to figure out the plot of the film.