Hello everyone, it’s me Sherjil, back with another blog! In my last post, I explored three different genres—Action, Science Fiction, and Horror—where I spent time discussing their purposes, meanings, and conventions. In the conclusion of my first blog, I mentioned that I would most likely choose a genre that leans toward horror and thriller for our film opening. After doing more research and discussing our ideas together, we decided that thriller would be the best choice for our project.
In the previous blog, the main focus was on genre conventions, but now that we have chosen a genre, we can move toward subgenre research. Subgenres help organize different styles within a genre and allow filmmakers to be more specific with tone, themes, and techniques. Thriller films have many subgenres, but the most common ones we will focus on are psychological thrillers, adventure thrillers, and horror thrillers.
Psychological Thriller
Psychological thrillers explore the darkest corners of the human mind. Narratives are often told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator or a psychologically stressed character. The genre usually features protagonists and antagonists who are driven by obsession or violence, with an emphasis on internal tension and conflict. Within every psychological thriller, the core mystery is crystallized by the inner workings of a disturbed mind. Examples of psychological thrillers include Memento (2000), directed by Christopher Nolan, and Gone Girl (2014), directed by David Fincher.
These films rely on suspense, narration, and plot twists to keep the audience engaged. If my group chose this subgenre, we would focus more on tension and storytelling rather than action. Using narration could build suspense by making the audience question whether events are happening in reality or inside the character’s mind. A similar technique appears in Thunderbolts, particularly in the interrogation-style scenes shown in the trailers, where characters are framed in tight close-ups and given limited information. This creates uncertainty about their motives and past actions. We could apply this technique in our film opening by using restricted framing and partial narration while showing incomplete or ambiguous visuals, forcing the audience to question the reliability of what they are seeing. Psychological thrillers usually have a dark and gloomy atmosphere, which matches the intense and mysterious feeling we would want to create in our film opening.
Adventure Thriller
Adventure thrillers usually place the protagonist in high-risk, life-threatening situations while they attempt to complete a mission, uncover the truth, or escape danger. Some popular examples of adventure thrillers include Jurassic World, The Hunger Games, and the Mission: Impossible franchise.
If we chose an adventure thriller, we would include more fast-paced shots to emphasize action, movement, and urgency, along with more outdoor settings. The opening would likely feature establishing shots of locations such as dark houses surrounded by woods or a beach to set the scene. Camera movement would consist of close-up shots showing the characters going through conflict between the protagonist and antagonists. We could apply point-of-view shots to show fast-paced sequences, such as a character fighting or running from danger from their own perspective. Editing would be fast-paced to create intensity and show that the protagonist is under pressure. A high-stakes moment such as a chase or escape could be used early on to immediately grab the audience’s attention.
Horror Thriller
Horror thrillers combine suspense and fear, making the audience feel anxious while also keeping them excited. These films often take place in isolated or unfamiliar locations, such as forests or abandoned areas, which makes the characters feel trapped and vulnerable. Examples of horror thrillers include Nope, Don’t Move, and Five Nights at Freddy’s, which is frequently discussed in industry coverage for its suspense-driven pacing and delayed reveals rather than instant jump scares.
Horror thrillers also utilize techniques such as slow camera movement, point-of-view shots, eerie sound design, and low lighting to make the audience feel uncomfortable. According to coverage from the British Film Institute and industry sources like Backstage, Five Nights at Freddy’s builds tension by allowing silence and confined spaces to dominate scenes before revealing threats. While watching Five Nights at Freddy’s, I found a scene that inspired an idea for my film opening. In this scene, the main character, who works at the pizza restaurant, falls asleep and dreams that he is in the woods. The woods represent an isolated setting, which creates suspense and suggests that he is in danger.
In the dream, he tries to stop the antagonist from harming his sister, but there is no response from the children around him. They remain silent and begin running, eventually attacking him with a knife. When he catches one of the children, he is suddenly bitten on the arm, resulting in a jump scare where blood is shown. When he wakes up, he finds himself locked in a chair with a machine moving closer to his face, attempting to kill him. This scene builds anticipation and mystery because the children remain silent and unresponsive. The editing and sound design emphasize diegetic silence, which increases the feeling of isolation and makes the jump scare more effective. The antagonists in these films are often relentless, and it becomes difficult to tell whether events—such as the dream sequences mentioned—are real or imagined. This focus on survival and psychological fear helps create a tense and memorable experience for viewers.
Conclusion
Overall, researching thriller subgenres helped me understand how suspense is created in different ways across psychological, adventure, and horror thrillers. Psychological thrillers rely on narration and unreliable perspectives, adventure thrillers build tension through fast pacing and high-stakes situations, and horror thrillers focus on atmosphere, isolation, and delayed reveals. After comparing these approaches, my group and I decided that a thriller genre blended with horror and psychological elements would best fit our film opening. This choice allows us to control tension through atmosphere and technique rather than constant action. In the next blog, I will focus on applying these thriller conventions in a technical way by discussing camera movement, framing, sound design, lighting, and editing to show how real suspense and fear can be created.
For now, I’ll see you guys in the next blog!
Sources:
British Film Institute. (n.d.). Five Nights at Freddy’s: Film analysis and production context. British Film Institute.
https://www.bfi.org.uk
Backstage. (2023). How horror films build suspense through sound and pacing.
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-horror-films-build-suspense-75119/
Fincher, D. (Director). (2014). Gone Girl [Film]. 20th Century Fox.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2267998/
Nolan, C. (Director). (2000). Memento [Film]. Newmarket Films.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/
Peele, J. (Director). (2022). Nope [Film]. Universal Pictures.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10954984/
Schindler, A., & Netto, B. (Directors). (2024). Don’t Move [Film]. Netflix.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29644941/
Tammi, E. (Director). (2023). Five Nights at Freddy’s [Film]. Universal Pictures.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4589218/
25 best psychological thrillers to watch now (2025, August 30). People. https://people.com/best-psychological-thrillers-movies-shows-watch-now-11800901
Defining the thriller genre in movies and TV. (n.d.). NoFilmSchool. Retrieved January 18, 2026, from https://nofilmschool.com/thriller-genre-definition
Dukes, J. (n.d.). What is a psychological thriller? Celadon Books. Retrieved January 18, 2026, from https://celadonbooks.com/what-is-a-psychological-thriller/
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