Definition: A novel, play, or movie with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage. It builds up tension and suspension throughout the film to keep the watcher constantly on edge. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror.

Themes: There are many different types of themes for thrillers to be based on or around, for example:•Terrorism•Politics•Conspiracies •Pursuit•Romantic angles (stalkers)•Dysfunctional relationships

There are many actors commonly associated with thrillers.

Matt Damon is one, he was the lead in The Bourne identity, Good will hunting, The departed and True grit.

Then there is also Leonardo Di Caprio who stars in Inception, Catch me if you can, also in The departed with Matt Damon and Titanic. Other well known thriller actors include:•Janet Leigh•Harrison Ford•Tom Cruise•Cary Grant •And Jack Lemmon

Most of these actors only act in one type of thriller genre for instance Harrison Ford tends to stick to just action thrillers more than any other.

Thrillers use a number of techniques in order to keep their watchers on each and interested, as mentioned before tension and suspension play a big role in this. Then there is also things like sounds and pace which are key elements in a thriller because they are what usually builds up tension, for example the dialect and movement in a thriller would probably start off quite slow and start building up to the action. The same goes for the music, it would start softly and build up until something happened to shock the watcher or break the suspension.

A very well known Director of thrillers is Alfred Hitchcock , he directed such thrillers as; Psycho, Blackmail, North by northwest etc. He uses things like camera angles to engage the audience, the closer up to the actor the camera is the more emotion the audience feels. He also tends to use humour in his films to help build up the tension more.

Thrillers like any other genre of film always have set rules for the characters they have, in any thriller you will almost certainly find:•Criminals (stalkers, assasins)•The innocent victims•Mentally disturbed people (Psychos)•Terrorists•And the hero with a mysterious back story and a point to prove to a city, or family or themselves.