A thriller is a genre of film that plays on audiences’ fears through tense suspense, and unlike mystery or crime films, it focuses on danger and confrontation rather than solving the case. Established by masters such as Alfred Hitchcock, the genre uses threatening otherness to stir up anxiety while providing social insight, and its various subgenres offer a wide range of stories and psychological engagement.
What is a thriller movie?
A thriller is a narrative centered around a sense of urgency and suspense. Often derived from classic detective stories, it focuses less on the story of the crime (the past) and more on the story of the investigation (the present). The detective, either the protagonist or sub-protagonist, is caught up in the center of the case and faces imminent danger. The suspense of who the culprit might be or what will happen next drives the story. Thrillers are also movies or dramas that are designed to arouse fear in the audience, and include mystery films, crime films, and sometimes spy or adventure films. The story unfolds in a way that increases the sense of urgency by delaying the resolution of the problem and keeping the audience interested. Thrillers originated in movies and have been adapted for use in a variety of media, including theater, broadcast, and novels. They are broadly a type of suspense drama that often includes ghost stories, crime stories, and detective stories.
Differences between mysteries and thrillers
The difference between a mystery and a thriller is that the certainty and excitement of the mystery genre is absent in thrillers, and gory violence, crime, and immorality are key elements. The detective is deeply existentially involved in the events or situations he faces, and the process of unraveling secrets and solving problems reflects his existential determination or inner struggle. Thrillers overlap with mysteries, but whereas mystery protagonists uncover the hidden facts of a crime, thriller protagonists must thwart the villain’s criminal designs. Thrillers deal with large-scale events, and the crimes are either serialized or involve dramatic events such as genocide, terrorism, assassination, or government overthrow. Confrontation with danger and violence is a key element in this genre. If the solution of a mystery leads to a climax, a thriller is only resolved when the protagonist defeats the villain and saves his life.
Trends in thrillers
Influenced by pop culture horror or psychological horror, thrillers often use ominous and grotesque elements to maximize suspense. Monsters can be anything from highly intelligent but physically limited beings, characters with supernatural abilities, aliens, serial killers, microbes, and more. Thrillers are defined not by their subject matter, but by their approach. Many thrillers deal with spies or intelligence agents, but not all spy novels are thrillers. John le Carré’s spy novels, for example, deviate from the thriller tradition. On the contrary, many thrillers cross genres by combining elements of new genres. Famous authors in this genre include Alistair MacLaine, Hammond Innis, and Brian Callison.
Characteristics of thrillers
Thrillers feature a lot of violence and villains, along with a race against time. Guns, explosives, and action are staples, and a plausible setting is essential. There may also be elements of a mystery or crime movie, but these play a secondary role in a thriller. Think of the James Bond series, The Transporter, or the Jason Bourne series. The events take place in foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or on the high seas, and the protagonists are characters who are accustomed to danger. They are often police officers, investigators, spies, soldiers, sailors, airplane pilots, and others, but they can also be ordinary citizens who get caught up in the action. In the past, male protagonists have been the norm, but in recent years, female protagonists have been on the rise.
The social implications of thrillers
Thrillers serve to relieve anxiety and fear by representing the “otherness” that threatens the community order. Once the case is resolved, the audience feels relieved as the horrors inherent in real life are removed from the screen. This genre contains a conservative ideology of conformity to the ruling order and offers insight into the individual and society through clear themes of violence and evil, desire and justice.
Subgenres of thriller films
There are many subgenres of thrillers, including action thrillers, conspiracy thrillers, crime thrillers, disaster thrillers, drama thrillers, environmental thrillers, erotic thrillers, horror thrillers, legal thrillers, medical thrillers, political thrillers, psychological thrillers, spy thrillers, supernatural thrillers, techno-thrillers, and science fiction thrillers. Often, they are a mix of elements from all of these genres.
Alfred Hitchcock, the master of thrillers
Alfred Hitchcock was born in London, England, and studied art at the University of London. He joined the film industry in 1920, working as a screenwriter and art director before becoming a director in 1925. He rose to prominence with The Blackmailer (1929), which was made at the same time as the introduction of the planetary film. He created the “Hitchcockian touch” by establishing an original directorial method of inducing psychological anxiety in films such as House of Assassins (1934) and The 39 Steps (1935). In 1939, he moved to the United States and became a master of the thriller genre with Rebecca (1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), and Shadow of a Doubt (1943).
Hitchcock is considered the quintessential auteur of thrillers because of his ability to effectively portray the psychology of fear in ordinary, everyday situations. His films are not just outwardly shocking horror, like shockers, but they also shed light on deeply rooted psychological fears. Jean-Luc Godard said of him, “Like a great painter, he paints one picture after another, and each flower he paints becomes a story.” Hitchcock was at his best when he was able to rely on a highly organized studio, but was free to create without interference from producers. Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963) are all from this period.
These films feature male protagonists who are misunderstood, mentally disturbed, obsessed with their neighbors or women, and insane, often repressed by their mothers. Norman Bates in Psycho is a prime example. Among Hitchcock’s later works, Marnie (1964) has been rediscovered by later critics. In his book Conversations with Hitchcock, director François Truffaut characterized him as an artist of anxiety, along with Kafka, Dostoevsky, and Poe.
In 1974, Hitchcock was unable to attend a party hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center due to illness and sent a video of his prepared remarks instead. It would be his last public greeting.
“Good evening. They say that when you’re drowning, your whole life flashes before your eyes. I’m fortunate to have had a similar experience without getting my feet wet. The subject of my films has been murder, but most of the murders have taken place in domestic settings. I’m sure you will find murder fascinating and enjoyable. Even to the victims.”
Hitchcock’s emphasis on murders that take place in “domestic settings” is a way of expressing the horror of everyday spaces in his films. His characters are tormented in comfortable spaces, by people they know. It’s the tension of unease in this tranquil setting that makes Hitchcock’s films modern masterpieces.
