Famous Thrillers

* Conventional Thrillers take place in the suburbs or a city; main characters are criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims and psychotic individuals to name a few. The themes of thrillers often include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit or relationships leading to murder.




1) The Godfather




• ‘The Godfather’ is a highly rated thriller, although it is a hybrid between a gangster/crime film and a thriller.



• The leading actors in ‘The Godfather’ were Al Pacino as Michael Corleone and Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone.


• Brief Synopsis:

The story of a New York Mafia family and their how they struggle protect their empire from rival families as the leadership is switched from the father to his youngest son.


• ‘The Godfather’s plot follows the conventions* of a thriller film as you can see below:


Main Characters - Gangsters (criminals)

Setting - New York (City)

Themes –Pursuit



2) Psycho




• ‘Psycho’ is considered to be one of the best thriller films made by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a hybrid between a horror and a thriller.



• The leading actors in the ‘Psycho’ are Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane.



• ‘Psycho’ is based on the crimes of the Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein.



• Brief Synopsis:

A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently meets a young motel owner under the domination of his mother.


• ‘Psycho’ follows the conventions* of a thriller film as you can see below:


Main Characters – Psychotic Individual

Setting – Suburbs

Themes – Pursuit, Victimisation and Voyeurism



3) Memento




• ‘Memento’ is the film Christopher Nolan was best known for before Inception was released in 2010. It’s a hybrid between a mystery film and a thriller.


• The leading actors in ‘Memento’ were Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby and Carrie-Anne Moss as Natalie.


• Brief Synopsis:

A man struggles with amnesia as he seeks vengeance on his wife's killers.


• ‘Memento’ follows the conventions* of a thriller film as you can see below:



Main Characters – Innocent Victim

Setting – Suburbs

Themes – Pursuit, Revenge, Self-deception and Grief


• ‘Memento’ unfolds in two separate, alternating narratives — one in colour, and the other in black and white. The one in black and white is in chronological order and the one in colour is in reverse chronological order as you can see in the official trailer below: