Thriller Sub Genres

Within the thriller genre there are other genres which include fundamentals of other genres.

Conspiricy Thriller

This thriller includes a hero/heroine who challanges a large group of enemies whose true extent on he/or knows. Films such as Awake, Enemy of State and the Da Vinci Code are all conspiricy thrilers. 

Crime Thriller

This sub genre is a mixture of crime and thriller that gives a suspensful version suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers often highlight action. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses. Some examples of crime thrillers involving murderers include, Seven, No Country for Old Men and Silence of the Lambs.

Erotic Thriller

This thriller consists of erotica and thriller. It has become popular since the 1980s and the rise of VCR market diffusion. The genre includes such films as Basic Instinct, Color of Night and Dressed to Kill.

Legal Thriller

In  leagal thrillers the lawyer heros or heroines challange enemies outside the courtroom as well as inside. The lawyers are in danger of loosing their court case and their lives. Examples of legal thrillers are The Runaway Jury, The Client and Fracture.  

Political Thriller

In this thriller the hero/heroine has to garantee the solidity of the government who has employed him/her. Examples of successful political thrillers are  Seven Days in May (1962) by Fletcher Knebel, The Day of the Jackal (1971) by Frederick Forsyth, and The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon.

Psychological Thriller

In this thriller the battle or struggle between the characters are mental and emotional, rather than physical. Usually characters are forced into dangerous, sometimes life threatening situations by accident, because of their curiousness. As the charcters in this thriller are not able to resolve the situation they try to rely on their mental ability. In the suspence used in psychological thrillers are often attacking one others mind, either by playing isllusive mind games or by trying to destroy their mental states. Popular examples of psychological thrillers are the Alfred Hitchcock films Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, and Strangers on a Train and David Lynch's bizarre and influential Blue Velvet are notable examples of the type, as are The Talented Mr Ripley, The Machinist, Trapped, Flightplan, Shutter Island, Phone Booth, Panic Room, The Good Son and Funny Games.