Thrillers are a strong, heavily layered genre which is usually accompanied by many sub-genres. In the film market we usually find many hybrid genre films, this is because being a “thriller” is just a guide line and does not mean every thriller has to include all of these things or it would just be boring. Since a thriller can usually be mixed with a horror or mystery, it creates different and interesting films that vary, showing a versatile range of films. These films and televised programs are easily recognised from their frequent action, suspense building and fast paced scenes. Thrillers usually focus on victims of crime, or on pursed or isolated criminals. The locations in thrillers are usually hard, desolate terrains. Whether it’s an uncontrollable city or a desert, the main role is usually a “hard man” either in an authority position like law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers and so forth. A thriller story line is usually where the main character, which is getting more multi sexual, has to prevent the happenings of serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments.
A Thriller usually climaxes when the hero defeats the bad guy, this can be different in some thrillers if the story line is twisted or from another person’s point of view. Twists like the hero having to sacrifice himself, or turning to the other side are what can make us love or hate a thriller. A good example of a thriller is “The Bourne Identity” which was adapted to a movie starring Matt Damon which used many of the thriller conventions of the plot. Though its sequels, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, these films are about an organisation of government that is trying catch our hero who is falsely accused and on the run.
Sub-genres such as crime thrillers (which include films like “seven”), erotic thrillers, conspiracy thrillers and allot more. There are many different sub-genres just like James Patterson once said “Thrillers provide such a rich literary feast. There are all kinds. The legal thriller, spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, police thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller. The list goes on and on, with new variations constantly being invented.” This shows us that there are endless possibilities for films as they can be any of these genres, or even a new one that the particular film itself could create. Real life can affect thrillers greatly. For example when the assassination of Kennedy happened in America political thriller and paranoid thriller films became much more popular with the public, so this shows that a life event can determine the popularity of a film and/or the audience it attracts.
So if this short essay has showed anything it is that the film genre of thrillers is a strong, suggestible one that can affect people of all background for many different reasons and it is probably going to carry on being this popular with people for a long time.
