Thriller is a genre of film, which has an aim to provide the audience with the feeling of suspense, mystery and tension. This is created using codes and conventions such as back and white shots, mirrors, low key lighting, quick shots and shadows. Thriller allows the audience to behave actively to the storyline, getting you to think and pick up clues along the way. Whereas the audiences for horror act more passively without having to think about the storyline too much.

 

Although the genres may appear similar, with similar codes and conventions such as low key lighting and shadows, in contrast, the two genres have different aims. The aim of the horror genre is to scare the audience. Horrors intend to include themes such as tend supernatural, beyond death and zombie apocalypse which are not very common in thriller films. Also, the settings tend to be the same. For example, thriller films tend to be set in urban settings like cities whereas horrors tend to be in haunted houses in deserted locations.

 

There are also thriller films that may have horror aspects to it or the other way round which can cause further confusion between the two genres. This comes across in films such as Orphan.