What is a Thriller?

Thriller is defined as a novel, play or film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage and high melodrama. Thriller is a genre of literature and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements.

Characteristics of a Thriller

Characteristics of a thriller genre include a lone protagonist group or a small group of heroes often going up against a vastly superior enemy whilst trying to override a quest or objective. The threat of death or capture is usually present in thrillers as well as narrative used in science fgiction, mystery and horror. Other characteristics such as heavily stimulating the viewers moods, ultra heightened expectation and a high level of anticipation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. This genre in particular is usually adrenaline rushing, gritty and fast paced with lots of action.

Suspense is essential to a thriller genre. It allows the viewer a feeling of pleasurable fascination and excitement. These develop from unpredictable, mysterious and rousing events during the narrative, which makes the viewer, think about the actions. It also gives the viewer the ‘on the edge’ feeling.

The primary elements of a thriller include:

·      The protagonist faces death, either his or her or someone else
·      The force of the antagonist must initially be cleverer or stronger than the protagonists
·      The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest.
·      The main plotline focuses on a mystery that needs solving
·      The films narrative construction is dominated by the main characters point of view.
·      All action and characters are credibly realistic or natural
·      The two major themes are justice and morality
·      The protagonist and anatomist battle against each other.

 Characters usually include: stalker, assassins, innocent victims, menaced woman, characters with harsh backgrounds, psychotic indivudlas, spree killers, sociopaths, agents, terrorist, police, escaped cons,