Thriller Recipe

The Thriller Recipe

What is a thriller?

Thrillers are films of suspense which are supposed to instill terror into the audience. Different types of thrillers are:

• Spy thrillers
• Political thrillers
• Conspiracy thrillers
• Legal thrillers 
• Psychological thrillers.

Aspect of a thriller
Key aspects of a thriller would be:

• Macguffin
• Enigmas
• Red herrings
• Cliffhangers

A macguffin is a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story but actually has little relevance to the story. An example of this would be the thing which they are after in 'North by Northwest' but you never really see this until towards the end. 

A enigma refers to something mysterious or some sort of difficult problem. In thrillers this is commonly something which is the protagonist has to try to find out or solve before the narrative is resolved and then the film finishes. This is usually shown in most thrillers.

A red herring is the name given to a device which intends to divert the audience from the truth or an item with actual significance. Red herrings also usually work with other devices like enigmas to create more suspense.

A cliffhanger isn't always used in a thriller but is still used quite a lot. Cliffhangers usually feature the main character in a difficult situation which will then entice the audience to keep watching in order to see how the situation resolves itself.