I need to come up with a plot/story for my film before I can plan out my film opening. In order to think more creatively, I will look more into certain types of thrillers and common tropes to get some inspiration on the plot I will create. *Following tropes would be unoriginal, this is only for inspiration and to start thinking more creatively.
First off, there are many types of thrillers:
But I would like to complete further research on mystery, suspense, psychological, heist, and conspiracy.
Mystery: In these thrillers, a puzzle is being solved, usually to discover the truth about something. There are many twists and reveals while the protagonist(s) try to uncover the truth.
Rear Window (1954), a bored photographer passes time by watching his neighbors and begins to suspect one of them of murder.
Suspense: This one creates tension, uncertainty, fear, and dread as a protagonist(s) goes through dangerous and mysterious situations. The audience here is clueless as to what will happen next.
The Fugitive (1993), Dr. Richard Kimble was unjustly accused of murdering his wife and must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt.
Psychological: This one explores the human mind and also creates lots of tension and suspense. The protagonist character in psychological thrillers is very diverse. They could be an ordinary person in a not-so-ordinary situation or a criminal mastermind.
Vertigo (1958), a former detective is conflicted as he deals with his personal issues and is becoming obsessed with a beautiful woman he has to track down.
Heist: A heist thriller is all about characters trying to pull off a robbery. Along the way, there are many twists and reveals.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), a wealthy, successful playboy steals artwork but begins falling in love with an investigator hired to catch him.
Conspiracy: These ones have complex plots, like of political conspiracies or other dark secrets. There is usually a protagonist who tries to uncover secrets and a mystery in order to find the hidden truth.
The Da Vinci Code (2006), murder and clues in paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery.
After detailing exactly what makes a certain thriller, I feel like I am leaning more into suspense and mystery. Psychological and conspiracy seem to be a bit complex and difficult to come up with. A heist thriller seems like fun to do, and I would love to do it, but I feel like it will be difficult to get creative with since it is always surrounded by the idea of stealing something. The other two, on the contrary, seem fun, exciting, and not-so-hard to create a plot for. Now, I am going to dive deeper by looking into the common tropes of these two types of thrillers.
There are many tropes when it comes to thriller films. It can be about suspects, revenge, lies, mysterious strangers, a stalker, or a powerful protagonist.
Yet each type of thriller has its own unique trope:
Suspense: Suspense thrillers commonly follow the lines of an isolated local, mysterious stranger, missing person, or a stalker. These tropes put the audience on the edge of their seat. They also create a sense of danger and fear, like will they be okay? or force out a shocking reaction. This genre is great when the filmmaker wants to create suspense and uncertainty.
Mystery: Common tropes for mystery thrillers include anonymous killer narrator, closed circle, the end... or is it, puzzle thriller, or hidden villain. All these include a sense of mystery, like how did this all happen? who are they?, while creating suspense and big reveals (will they make it out? what will happen next?). These are only a few mystery thriller tropes, and they all work well to combine a sense of mystery and tension in a film.
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Reflection: This research helped me gain so much more clarity, not only about the stories that make up a thriller genre, but about what idea I would like to focus on for my plot. A mystery type of thriller seems to be the best choice for me. It allows me to get creative, and, after all, who doesn't like a mystery? Doing a mystery thriller will be best to create uncertainty and tension, while also incorporating some suspense. I really do think it is my best bet when planning the plot for my film!
Extra Resource:
Citations:
- 20 kinds of thrillers. (n.d.). https://www.storybuzz.com/blog/thrillers-20-kinds
- Screen Bites. (2014, November 6). Opening sequence | Rear window | Screen bites [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3uo8sd_xBc
- Rear Window (1954) ⭐ 8.5 | Drama, mystery, thriller. (1954, September 1). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/
- Movie clips channel. (2025, March 17). The Fugitive 1993 Opening scene [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9DH-ajhDZo
- The Fugitive (1993) ⭐ 7.8 | Action, crime, drama. (1993, August 6). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106977/
- Dr. Allison Rittmayer. (2014, September 20). Vertigo opening scene [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uyxAwxkHNw
- Vertigo (1958) ⭐ 8.2 | Mystery, romance, thriller. (1958, May 28). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052357/
- Queroladas: OST & Scenes. (2025, October 8). The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - Opening scene + Titles [1080p] [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5xjRVhmBEY
- The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) ⭐ 6.9 | Crime, romance, thriller. (1999, August 6). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155267/
- Tim Smith Media. (2016, October 29). The DaVinci code opening scene [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDGW8WrM7Qc
- The Da Vinci Code (2006) ⭐ 6.6 | Mystery, thriller. (2006b, May 19). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382625/
- Brewer, R. L. (2024, January 27). 21 Popular Thriller Tropes for Writers. Writer'S Digest. https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/popular-thriller-tropes-for-writers
- Mystery Tropes. (n.d.). TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MysteryTropes
- Caper Crew. (n.d.). https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaperCrew. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaperCrew
Yours Truly,
Macie 💗
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