What is a Thriller.

Thrillers are a genre of literature, film, and television programming that use tension, suspense, and excitement as the main elements. Thrillers stimulate the viewer's moods  to high level of anticipation, uncertainty, anxiety, suspense, tension, excitement, and terror. Literary devices such as red herrings and cliffhangers are used. The cover-up of important information from the viewer, fight and chase scenes are commonly used in all thrillers.


Common methods in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings. More common in mystery thrillers are investigations and the audience trying to figure out who did it. Common elements in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement or deathtraps, and obsession. Elements such as fringe theories, false accusations and paranoia are common in paranoid thrillers.  


Thrillers cause a reaction from the audience being fear or suspense. Several characteristics help to define a thriller. Thrillers typically involve sudden plot twists and red herrings, like, keeping people unsure about what is going to happen. Thrillers also have a lot of action, which is often chaotic, and they typically feature resourceful heroes and exotic settings. The plots of thrillers can vary. Some are supernatural, e.g. centering on mystical antagonists. Others are scientific or medical, forcing their protagonists to contend with biological agents or mysterious scientific happenings. Some are simply straight mysteries with, horrific, or intriguing story lines, while others be focused on the inner workings of the legal system, environmental threats, technology, or natural disasters.