Many movies are classified as both horror and thriller, which can be confusing because they are actually different genres. But since these stories have so much in common, it can be hard to tell them apart and see what they all have to offer. It’s interesting to think about what makes a thriller story different from a horror movie, especially since both are so popular and new releases keep coming out in each genre.
When it comes to choosing a terrifying horror movie and what is considered a thriller, it can seem like the types of movies have a lot in common. But it is possible to find some interesting differences between the films.
It seems fair to say that while horror movies can contain mysteries, every thriller needs a central mystery and a main character investigating something. Thrillers are different from horror movies because they have a problem that the main character is going to solve. They may be directly involved when a best friend or partner goes missing or is murdered, or they are working on a case related to their job (or that they hope will take them where they want to go in career).
The popular Netflix movie the gray man is a good example of a thriller. Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) used to work for the CIA and is asked to find “Sierra Six” (Ryan Gosling). One character investigates a mysterious situation, and while it’s scary, it’s not horror.
Both thriller and horror movies have gore, gore, and violence, but you could say that characters don’t have to die for something to be considered a thriller. However, it’s hard to think of a horror movie where characters aren’t killed, be it a terrifying horror movie ghost or even the worst horror movie villains. There is often a death toll in these types of movies, with some disturbing death scenes or, if it’s a horror comedy, the moments are played out for laughs and don’t feel so scary.
A protagonist in a thriller can be in grave danger, such as James Caan’s author Paul Sheldon in Stephen King’s Trouble, which is so good it deserves a remake. But while Kathy Bates’ character Annie Wilkes kidnaps and hurts her idol, she doesn’t kill him. if Trouble was a slasher of pure horror, it looks like she could kill him. But the film is often classified as a psychological thriller, and the film certainly focuses on the journey and how scared and repulsive Paul is. He fears for his life, but Annie doesn’t go out to kill multiple people, so the death toll doesn’t increase by the end of the film.
Anything else that’s different about horror movies? There is a wide variety of subgenres. Although there may be thrillers that are funny, like Blades offand there can be action-packed stories like the ones mentioned earlier the gray man, they are all still called thrillers and are about a core mystery. Horror sub-genres include the supernatural, slashers, teen horror, zombie horror, gothic horror, science fiction, body horror, and found footage. There are also horror movies about everything under the sun, from ghosts to monsters to twins. There are even neo-noir films. Fans don’t see that many different types of thrillers so this seems to differentiate both types of movies as there are simply countless types of horror to choose from.
It’s possible to argue that horror movies have mysteries just like thrillers, but the mystery isn’t the whole point of the movie, which is an important distinction. When fans think about scream, it is impossible to classify it as a thriller. Although Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) investigates the mystery of who the Ghostface killers are, that mystery isn’t the end of the entire movie. Sidney is also in a relationship with her passionate boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), a best friend in Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), and mourns the loss of her mother.
scream also pokes fun at horror movies and has a meta vibe with lots of funny quotes. Just focusing on Ghostface’s identity would miss so much of the fun of the story. But if you watch a thriller like Blades offit’s hard not to want to know who the killer is and why the family doesn’t seem to trust each other.
While there are differences between horror and thriller movies, sometimes people classify the same movies as belonging to both genres, and it can be difficult to really tell them apart. At the end of the day, audiences are looking for strong characters, recognizable dialogue, and funny or scary moments, depending on what’s going on. Both thriller and horror movies are so popular because they evoke a sense of dread in those who watch them and prove that even the most innocent of situations can change scary and quickly.
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