What is a Thriller?A Thriller film is one which has a lot of excitement and high levels of both suspense and anticipation. The characters within the Thriller films often have feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, expectation and feel extreme levels of tension.
Other genres linked with Thrillers:
There are other genres that are often linked with Thriller films. Many sub genres can be created from merging the Thriller with other types of film, some of these sub genres are listed below.
Action Thriller ('James Bond')
Crime Thriller ('Seven')
Conspiracy Thriller ('The Conversation')
Disaster Thriller ('Earthquake')
Spy Thriller ('Mission-Impossible)
Religious Thriller ('The Da Vinci Code')
Erotic Thriller ('Fatal Attraction')
Psychological Thriller ('Strangers on a Train')
Medical Thriller ('Awake')
Problems with examining the Thriller genre: Thrillers are often hybrids, which means that there are other genres incoporated in the film. This means that the films are not simply thrillers and this could lead to discrepancies with analysis. The Thriller being studied may be more closely related to a horror than a thriller. This would mean that the results of the analysis would not be accurate for a Thriller film, but would be for a Horror film. If the genre is unclear, some people may have different opinions about how to catergorise the film.
Features of a Thriller film:
Thrillers often take place in exotic locations such as a foreign cities, polar regions, high seas or deserts. The heroes in thrillers are often men who are accustomed to danger and know exactly how to take control of a given situation. The types of men often involved include; Police officers, soldiers, spies or detectives. Heroes are generally men, however it is becoming increasingly common to have a female lead role. Horrors are often linked strongly to mysteries, the only difference in thrillers is that the hero tries to put a stop to the enemy's plans, rather than uncover who is responsible for an event that has already happened. A thriller climaxes when the hero overcomes the villain. Thrillers of recent years have become more associated with horror films, so very often the villain has a scary element which heightens tension.
Types of characters often found in Thrillers:Stalkers, assassins, innocent victims, terrorists, convicts, escaped cons, criminals, police, prison inmates, psychotic people, characters with a dark past, people involved in twisted relationships and more.
Frequent themes of Thrillers:Conspiracy, terrorism, love triangles leading to murder or pursuit.
Films AFI decided were most thrilling (top 3)1. Psycho
2. Jaws
3. The Excorcist
The Master of Suspense: 
The Master of Suspense is consdiered to be Alfred Hitchcock. He was given this title because he directed many successful thriller films and knew exactly what features were needed to generate a thrilling viewing experience for the audience. Some people even said he invented the thriller genre. 'The Pleasure Garden' was the first film that Alfred Hitchcock directed to completion (1925) The film was silent, which makes it very different from films of today. The conventions of Hitchcock films included: Innocent hero wrongly accused, Travel to famous landmarks, Heroes or villains with mother issues, witty or sarcastic dialogue to break up the suspense.
What these early Thrillers had in common in terms of victims:- Gaslight
- Laura
- Sorry, wrong number
- The spiral staircase
- The Lady from Shanghai
The victims of all these Thrillers are Women. Women are often perceived as weak and vulnerable. This makes them ideal targets for men in films.
