Thriller Sub-genres

Within each genre of film, there are a number of subcategories, or, more specifically, sub-genres.

For example, a Pre-teen Comedy is a sub-genre of Comedy, just like how Film Noir is a sub-genre of Crime. In these cases, Crime and Comedy are the 'umbrellas' in which a number of sub-genres, such as Film Noir and Pre-teen Comedies, fall under.

In terms of the Thriller genre, there are a plethora of sub-genres within. For example:

• Action Thriller - This genre is predominantly a thriller, but with a number of action iconography throughout, such as guns, explosions, and amazing set pieces. These films often feature a race-against-the-clock theme, lots of gritty violence, and often, although not always, a clear antagonist. Though they may involve elements of other genres/sub-genres, the two key aspects to these films are suspense and violence. As an example, a film of this sub-genre would be the 2006 film, 'Snakes on a Plane'.

• Comedy Thriller - Films of this sub-genre combine elements of humour and suspense to create an amalgamation of the genres of comedy and thriller. An example of this would be 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' (2005).

• Crime Thriller - Films of this genre tend to include serial killers, murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses. They are regularly high in tension and suspense (as per expected of the thriller genre) and usually focus on the life and events of a crime or criminal. ‘Silence of the Lambs’, made in 1991, is a good example of this type of genre.

• Psychological Thriller - In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. Characters, either by accident or their own curiousness, are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve, and are often not reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies, but rather their mental resources. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, as they try to demolish the other's mental state. The 2010 film ‘Black Swan’ fits into this particular sub-genre.

• Supernatural Thriller - Films of this genre bring in an otherworldly elements (such as fantasy and/or the supernatural) mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists. An example of this would be ‘Horns’ (2014).