Crime

A crime thriller's protagonist is usually a spy, personal detective or former agent of a organisation. These thrillers are usually based around a problem that the protagonist has to solve by piecing together clues and certain circumstances to eventually solve the crime. One usual item seen in a crime thriller is guns or other forms of weaponry. Weapons suggest an element of danger is going to be seen in the movie and can also bring some suspense when wondering if a character will die or not. This suspense is also put together with the use of blood. In modern day crime thriller movie making, crimes that are usually seen to be attempted or achieved are the sale of drugs, murder, rape or sometimes theft. Examples of crime thrillers include Taken, Batman and Pulp Fiction.

Action

An action thriller is usually a more fast paced movie that includes a lot of fight scenes which intensifies the movie. This type of thriller aims to keep the viewer entertained and on the edge mostly with explosions and can include plot twists and ambiguity which would lead to a sequel. Action thrillers are often realistic in their plot and in modern days films use enemies such as Middle Eastern terrorists or Asians usually thought to be from North Korea or maybe China, but the use of the Russian or Eastern European villain is still seen today despite it being post Cold War times. In that way they reflect reality as the enemy is quite often seen to be an individual or group of individual that is seen as an enemy of the Western world in today's time. However use of super humans is also commonly seen in action thrillers. Examples of action thrillers can be The Avengers, Munich, Olympus has fallen, Salt.


Supernatural
A supernatural thriller is usually set within the house of the main character. The antagonist is usually some form of spirit or ghost that has unfinished business in this world. It usual includes this deity haunting a person or area until it is either finished with its business or is put to rest by some other character who usually has experience in that area. However supernatural thrillers plot lines can also revolve around a mysterious person or event and the protagonist trying to find out the truth. Supernatural thrillers are usually based on the unknown areas of life so therefore can use some sort of religious aspect. Due to it being about unknown areas of life suspense is often created. The audience in supernatural thrillers are often in anticipation for an unknown event to occur. Examples include The Others, Drag me to Hell and Ghost Rider. 

Psychological Thriller

In psychological thrillers the conflict is mainly mental rather than physical. It includes the protagonist almost going what seems to be, mentally insane as the result of either a circumstance or an antagonists doings. The protagonist then uses his mental strength to overcome this difficulty.  For the Mis en scene one prop that is commonly used is mirrors as this can usually show the darker side of a character. Flashbacks are also common in psychological thrillers as they reveal parts of a characters past which may be needed to piece together the characters current state. Examples of a psychological thriller are Inception, Shutter Island, the Great Gatsby and most other Leonardo Di Caprio films. 




Sci-Fi Thriller
Sci-Fi thrillers are usually set in either a future time or an alternative reality. They usually include the development or creation of some form of new technology, or new scientific principle. The conflict between good and bad is often seen as well and sci-fi films are often set up in either a utopian or dystopian world which show that society will either get better or worse in the future. Examples include Prometheus, District 9 and Star Trek. 

Medical Thriller

This sub genre often includes using something often used for medical use, as a deadly weapon. Often it is a virus that is leaked out to the public. There is not always an antagonist but if so they are usually the one who let the virus out or can be the one who has the antidote and will only give it away with a catch. The protagonist can be a doctor looking to find a cure or just a normal civilian who is either effected by the virus, has a family member effected by the virus or is trying to protect an individual or group of individuals from the virus. Examples would include Contagion, Cloverfield and I am Legend.