Sub-genres

The thriller genre is incredibly large, and often overlaps with other genres, including;


- Drama; 'The illusionist', 'The interpreter', 'The prestige', 'Sleeping with the enemy'
In which the story consists of the elements of a thriller and drama film. These films are usually
slower paced and involves a great deal of character development along with plot twists.

- Erotic; 'Basic instinct', 'Dressed to kill', 'Fatal attraction', 'In the cut', 'Eyes wide shut' etc..
This consists of erotica and thriller. The genre became popular in the 1980's and the rise of
the VCR market penetration.

- Military; 'Bloody Sunday',

- Supernatural; 'What lies beneath'

- Horror; 'Vertige', 'Hurt'

- Religious; 'The Da Vinci Code'
In which the plot is closely connected to religious objects, institutions and questions. 'The Da
Vinci Code' has led to a current boom in religiously orientated thrillers.

- Action; 'James Bond' films, 'The Transporter', 'James Bourne' films
In which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an
obvious antagonist. These films often contain a large amount of guns, explosions, and large
elaborate set pieces for the action to take place. They often contain elements of crime/ mystery
films, but these elements take a backseat to the action.

- Romantic; 'Twisted', 'Crush'
Common plots are usually; Love me, thrill me, kill me.

- Political; 'Munich', 'All the presidents men'
A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of political power struggle. They usually involve various plots, rarely legal, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him from getting it. They can involve national or international political scenarios. World War II is a favorite scenario, as are US presidential elections.

- Medical; 'Awake'
In which the hero/heroine are medical doctors/personnel working to solve an expanding medical problem.

- Spy; 'The Bourne Identity', 'Mission: Impossible', '24', 'From Russia, With Love'
In which the hero/ine is generally a government agent who must take violent action action against agents of a rival government or terrorists.

- Physcological; 'The Good Son', 'Suspicion', 'Shadow of doubt', 'Strangers on a train'.
In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical.

- Crime; 'The Killing', 'Seven', 'Reservoir Dogs', 'The Asphalt Jungle'.
This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and double-crossers.

- Conspiracy; 'Three days of the Condor', 'Capricorn One', 'JKF'.
In which the hero/ine confronts a large, powerful group of enimies whose true extent only he/she recognises.

- Sci-fi; 'Jurassic Park', 'Sunshine'.
Stories that involve technology or scientific principles that contradict known laws of nature in a
thrilling manner.

- Animal; 'Jaws', 'Birds'
Usually involving a power struggle between the hero/ine and the predator.

- Comedy; 'Goodbye Lover', 'American Dreamer'
Includes dark humour and topics which are usually considered a taboo are treated in a comedic manner whilst maintaining their seriousness.

and the best part is most thrillers contain most of these genres which is what makes thrillers so special!

And how does this help us?
Knowing about different genres can help us discover our target audience. For example, we wanted to make our thriller a phsycological/drama thriller, which is good because it matches our target audience of female, young/adults; they were polled to enjoy this genre of thriller the most. We made sure we used the conventions of dramatic thrillers by involving character development of the kidnapper by using flashbacks to help the audience understand her as a person; this also links to the phsycological aspect as the audience can empathise with the character as one flashback features a graveyard which suggests why she is in the mental state to kidnap another child.