What is a Thriller?

Genre is a form of categorization in which media texts fall into. These are decided by the common conventions and narrative in which a certain type of text entails. We can use the idea of genre to gain information on the typical codes and conventions of a Thriller. This genre is incredibly large and due to this has a large number of sub genres, and so thrillers often overlap with pieces of work produced in other genres; mysteries, for example, are often thrillers. As a result of this it is rare to find a text singularly categorized as just a Thriller. This is often because of disagreements over the classification as a genre.

Thrillers often fit into one or more categories of genre. These are often know as sub-genres or hybrids - there are suspense-thrillers, action- or adventure- thrillers, sci-fi and supernatural thrillers (such as Alien (1979)), crime-caper thrillers (such as The French Connection (1971)), western-thrillers (such as High Noon (1952)), film-noir thrillers (such as Double Indemnity (1944)), even romantic comedy-thrillers (such as Safety Last (1923)). One long-established thriller genre is the spy thriller, featuring an often heroic and dashing spy who must confront whichever enemy happens to be popular at the moment.


A Thriller is a type of film known to endorse intense excitement and suspense. It has a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation and uncertainty. The anxiety and the idea of the unknown create a nerve-wracking tension throughout the film. Conventions of a thriller genre include the: narrative, characters, locations, use of technical codes and semiotics. The main convention and aim across all types of thriller is to give the audience ‘thrills’ and excitement. The director does this by creating suspense and tension to increase adrenaline levels and hence as a result the audience is left cliff-hanging, ‘on the edge of their seats’ leaving them wanting more and to continue watching.


If the genre is to be defined strictly, a genuine thriller is a film that pursues a single-minded goal - to provide thrills. Thrillers typically involve sudden plot twists that create suspense and tension and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax by keeping people unsure about what is going to happen. The tension usually arises when the main character(s) is positioned in a dangerous situation or an escape from something threatening.

Life itself is threatened in some thriller films, usually because the protagonist is unsuspecting or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. Plots of thrillers often involve characters which are in conflict with each other, and the menace “villain / bad person ”is often dark, mysterious and shadowy and is often not seen until the climax.