Different Genre's of Thriller

Thriller is a vast genre which covers many sub-genres aswell. Here are some examples of sub-genres for a thriller:

(information is from wikipedia)

• Action thriller: Usually are very fast paced and involve large amounts of explosions, violence, guns, stunts, car chases, and many different types of gadgets. There is often a race against time for the protagonist and the antagonist is made very clear to the audience. Example's of this genre include "Die Hard", "The Fast and the Furious", and the James Bond films.


• Medical thriller: The hero/heroine are medical doctors working to solve an expanding medical problem, there are often several twists in the narrative and suspense is built throughout the film. An example includes the film Awake.


• Psychological thriller: The conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical, until the resolution as that is usually violent. The conflict is usually an effort to understand what is happening to them, these conflicts are made clearer to the audience in a physical form and as the character figures out the mystery so do the audience, which makes them feel more involved in the film. This sub-genre sets out to "play" around with the audience's mind but once the mystery is solved the audience may feel a sense of satisfaction because they can piece together the mystery. Examples of this sub-genre include "The Ring", "Flightplan", "The Number 23" and "The Sixth Sense".


• Crime thriller: It can involve failed or successful crimes as a basis for the narrative and often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. The most common narratives for crime thriller involve murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, and double-crosses. Examples of crime thriller include, "Collateral" and "Sin City".


• Spy thriller: The hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. Examples include "The Bourne Identity", "Mission: Impossible", and TV series such as 24 (which breaks conventions as it is a mix of psychological and spy thrillers).


• Horror Thriller: Tends to be very physical and very gory, it also is meant to appear terrifying and horrific to watch. They usually include a central villian, however they don't always have a main hero to follow. Examples of this sub-genre include, "Cabin Fever", "Saw", and "28 Days Later".