Types of Thrillers

In the genre, thriller, there are also many sub genres.  These include Political thrillers, medical thrillers, spy thrillers etc.

In a political thriller the hero must ensure the stability of the government that has employed them.  This is seen in such films as Seven Days in May and The Manchurian candidate, a more resent example would be Agency.

Medical thrillers are when the hero is a doctor/personnel who is working to solve an expanding medical problem.  Well known films for this are The Hot Zone by Richard Preston.  Famous actors that are involved in this sub genre are Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Micheal Crichton and Gary Braver.

A Spy thriller is when the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or terrorists. Famous examples of this are The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum and television series Mission:Impossible and 24.

Well known sub genres are psychological thrillers which are when the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical.  Examples of this are Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion, Shadow of  a Doubt and Strangers on a train.  Also including, The Good son which stars Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin.

There are also religious thrillers in which the plot is closely connected to religious objects, institutions and questions.  While suspense stories have always shown significant affinity for religion and philosophical issues Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has led to a current boom in religiously oriented thrillers.