Thriller/Mystery Genre - Themes

Themes

Common themes in the thriller/mystery genre are associated with creating suspense. Suspense is very important in this genre as it is what makes the audience excited, fascinated, scared and creates lots of the tension and anticipation in the film. It makes the film unpredictable and enticing so the audience want to keep watching.

Often the narrative of a thriller will involve the main protagonist losing someone close to them (for example a partner or child) either because they have been kidnapped or killed. This leads to them seeking revenge on the people or organisations that have caused this loss. Often the protagonist is an ordinary person who must display extraordinary skills and courage to take revenge.

Identity is also a common theme as is creates the idea of what is real and what is not. The protagonist might have a mental illness making them believe things that are not real (creating paranoia), memory loss or the antagonist might be doing things to the protagonist to make them second guess themself. 

The character might also have a personality disorder, which means they would have multiple of them. This would create lots of confusion for the audience as one person would switch up and change into another in the same body.

The last theme in the thriller/mystery genre is a character trying to prove their innocence. The protagonist might have been framed for something they did not do and everyone is against them. They will need to find a way to prove their innocence and show they have done nothing wrong.