Typical Storylines of Thrillers

There are many different types of movies that are all classified as thrillers.

Movies are called thrillers as a result of the feelings they emote, such as suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety.

Most thriller movies are designed to keep the audience engaged throughout whilst building towards a climax with many plot twists along the way.

Whilst most traditional movie genres are driven by the protagonist, thrillers are generally driven by and centre around the antagonist.

Common themes used in thrillers are: ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge and kidnappings.

The movie 'Taken' is a great example of a typical thriller storyline.

Storyline of 'Taken':

Bryan Mills, a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his daughter, Kim. Then his worst fears become real when sex slavers abduct Kim and her friend shortly after they arrive in Paris for vacation. With just four days until Kim will be auctioned off, Bryan must call on every skill he learned in black ops to rescue her.

Storylines of thrillers generally go as so,

• The audience is introduced to the protagonists, and everything is fine. However, there is an overarching sense that something is not quite right or something terrible is about to happen.
• The first action then happens which causes the problem that the protagonist will be trying to overcome throughout the movie.
• The plot will then likely build towards a confrontation between the antagonist and protagonist, generally ending well for the protagonist and not so well (usually death or imprisonment) for the antagonist.