Sub-Genres of Thriller Movies

Sub-Genres of Thriller Movies

In many movies there is always another genre that can tie along with it because of the element of that genre that the movie shows. Thriller movies usually have another element because this is what adds to the building of tension and suspense throughout the thriller. this hybrid mix benefits the movie because it adds to the edge of the seat effect that the movie already has. Sub-genres are a very effective mix to have, this is because it can attract a larger target audience, Several of the sub-genres are:

• Action - Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Skyfall (2012)

Action -thrillers are a very effective because it not only packed with exciting fighting scenes but because of the thriller element it will include parts they may have a plot twist mixed in. Furthermore this comes off like double the tension, making the fighting scenes even more jaw dropping.

• Conspiracy - Enemy of The State (1998), Antitrust (2001), Vantage Point (2008)

Personally, i am not the most educated on Conspiracy-thrillers as I have not seen any. However from this mix, you can see that it is effective because it uses things that people may believe and added more suspense to keep the target audience questioning if the conspiracy is really true.

• Crime - Scarface (1983), Sincity (2005), Training (2001)

Now this type of hybrid is amazing, in Crime-thrillers, they purposefully have you wondering who has committed the crime, they may show you the dead victim and how they died but the actual murderer would have his face covered and gloves on to hide his identity from the audience.

• Disaster - I Am Legend (2007), San Andreas (2015), The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

• Horror - The Conjuring 2 (2016), Sinister (2012), Hostel (2005)

• Supernatural - The Babadook (2014), Drag Me To Hell (2009), White Noise (2005)

Many people get horror films and thrillers confused because of how similar they can be but every horror film has the element of thriller to really give it that last bit of heart-stopping suspense. Adding a supernatural element to it give it a more real effect because they do happen to people.   

Here is the rest of the list for the sub-genres of a thriller movie:

• Spy - Casino Royale (2006), True Lies (1994), The Man From U.N.C.L.E (2015)
• Medical - Side Effects (2013), Awake (2007), Pathology (2008)
• Mystery - 88 Minutes (2007), Hannibal (2001), Identify (2003)
• Political - Munich (2005), JFK (1991), Spy Game (2001)
• Legal - The Firm (1993), The Client (1994), Fracture (2007)
• Psychological - Fight Club (1999),  Shutter Island (2010), Zodiac (2007)
• Disaster - I Am Legend (2007), San Andreas (2015), The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Intro To AS Media

Hello my name is Tyrelle and this is my AS Media blog, I will be posting things to do with media that predominantly come under the thriller genre but may be some that have hints of other genres.


Codes and Conventions of a Thriller:

• Quick Cuts in a scene
• A lot of shot and angle changes
• Sounds of heavy breathing/panting
• some type of crime (it can often be murder)
• a good and complex narrative
• paranoia
• scenes that include a chase
• plot twist
• investigations
• escape
• first person camera shots
• handheld camera

These codes and conventions can be seen throughout many different movies that come under the genre, thriller. they're used very effectively to create suspense and tension to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. one of the conventions that I will explain is the fact in some thrillers it looks to be a handheld camera. this is used to give the thriller a gritty realism because of the way the camera is held, giving the target audience the sense that the film may actually be based on a true story. this is used in The Blair Witch Project effectively throughout to build suspense.
Another example of a film is conjuring 2, where plot twist is continuously used, especially coming towards the end. Finally, another movie that has many of the conventions above in Inception (2010), this is a very confusing movie many people have watched at least 3 times just to go back and start properly understanding the film.