thriller vs horror

Question

is there any difference between these two words?

Kangiten · Accepted Answer

Assuming you're referring to movie genres, I'd say that a thriller is a movie based on suspense, showing especially the victim's point of of view. To me, horror is more about showing "horrid" things on screen such as murders or torture. The suspense in a thriller does not necessarily result in gruesome acts.

Hilka · Answer

Hi,

This is what Wikipedia has to say about horror (film):

In film, the horror http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematic_genre is characterized by the attempt to make the viewer experience fright, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear#Terror, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disgust or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_%28emotion%29. Its plots often involve the intrusion of an http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil force, event, or personage, sometimes of origin, into the mundane world.

Some of the most common elements include http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie (and other forms of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undead), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf, ancient http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse, , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon and/or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_possession, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil-child_movies, 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slasher_film', vicious animals, inanimate objects brought to life by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_magic or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_scientist, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_house, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism, and malicious http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrials. The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_killer movie is sometimes regarded as part of the horror genre.

Specific stories and characters, often derived from classic literature, have also proven popular, and have inspired many http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remake, and copycats. These include http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mummy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_Man, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Jekyll_and_Mr._Hyde.

The horror film is often associated with low budgets and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_film, but major studios and well-respected http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_director have made intermittent forays into the genre. The genre's marginal status has caused it to receive much critical dismissal or moral condemnation over the course of film history. However, during the past few decades new generations of critics - more inclined to take popular genres seriously - have given horror substantial attention and analysis, especially with regard to its perceived subversive content. Over the same period, it has become more than ever a source of controversy, as its level of graphic violence has increased and accusations of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogyny have been leveled, especially by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist critics.

Some horror films owe a substantial amount to other genres, particularly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction_films, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_film, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_comedy and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_film. The lines between horror and these other categories are often a subject of debate among fans and critics.

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And here's thriller:

The thriller is a broad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film, and that includes numerous, often-overlapping sub-genres. Thrillers are typically characterized by fast pacing, frequent action scenes, and plots in which a small number of resourceful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero must thwart, often violently, the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villain. Thrillers typically emphasize plot over character development, and make extensive use of literary devices such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspense, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redherring%28plot_device%29, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhanger. They often take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, the polar regions, or the high seas. The heroes of modern thrillers are often "hard men" accustomed to danger: law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen, divers, or pilots. The heroes of earlier thrillers (especially those written before the 1980s) are more likely to be ordinary citizens drawn into dangerous circumstances by accident. They are almost inevitably men, though women are increasingly common as secondary characters.

Thrillers overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguised from mainstream mysteries by the structure of their plots. The thriller hero typically tries to thwart the plans of an enemy whose identity he already knows, rather than discover (after the fact) who is behind a crime already committed. The thriller villains typically plan crimes on the grand scale: serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Violent confrontations between the hero and the villain, though not uncommon in mystery stories, are standard in thrillers. Similar distinctions separate the thriller genre from others with which it overlaps: adventure, spy, legal, war, and maritime fiction, for example.

Thrillers are, ultimately, defined not by their subject matter but by their approach to it. Many thrillers (for example) involve spies and the business of espionage, but not all spy stories are thrillers. The spy novels of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_LeCarre, for example, explicitly and intentionally rejected the conventions of the thriller. Many thriller writers have written novels in related genres that have few or no thriller elements. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_MacLean, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_Innes, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Callison, for example, are best known for their thrillers but are also accomplished writers of straightforward man-against-nature sea stories.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

In terms of grammar, you'd say

I watched a thriller.

I watched a horror movie.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

0is there a difference between a horror movie and a thriller movie0-

Clive · Answer

0Hi,02br
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00Is is possible for you to read the earlier posts in this thread? If you do, you will find your answer.02br
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Anonymous · Answer

When thinking about films - my take on it would be that a "horror" is a film with pretty graphic scenes of violence or torture designed to elicit horror inthe watcher - there may or may not be a supernatural element. (Saw, for instance, has no supernatural element bus it very graphic and horrifying).
A thriller is more a film involving suspense and action - perhaps just as scary as the horror but not a "horrifying" (in other words - not as graphic).
Where the two blend is if the supernatural is added. A supernatural thriller is very close to a horror but again, not as graphic as the supernatural horror.

Anonymous · Answer

ur answer was a great rply

Anonymous · Answer

I am a screenwriter for tv shows and motion pictures, let me try to explain the differences and overlap of these genres.

Horror genre involves a protagonist dealing with terrifying situations or entities. It can include, but not limited to, their own psychological fears, creatures, aliens, ghosts, serial killers, inner fears, and more. The protagonist usually endures psychological or physical traumatic experiences that are unusually strange and/or frightening to them. The focus is on dark, twisted, and nightmarish fears of the protagonist. Horror does not necessarily involve graphic violence as this is a common misconception with the general public. A variety of examples include Black Swan, Halloween, Straw Dogs, The Machinist, Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, The Terminator, Requiem for a Dream, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, Jaws, Rear Window, and Alien. You may notice that all of these films involve struggling with something frightening and unusual, from the unknown or internally.

Thriller genre involves excitement and suspense and is often plot driven. You may notice that all of the movies mentioned above may also be considered thrillers since most horror movies are made to be exciting and suspsenseful. Originally, thrillers were reserved for crime, spy, mystery, or espionage. However, the term today has nearly lost its original meaning as the label of thriller has been applied to almost all films for marketing purposes. A varaity of examples include Borne Identity, Sherklock Holmes, Mission Impossible, Casino Royale, Oceans 11, The Fugitive, Memento, The 6th Day, Mystic River, Taken, The Maltese Falcon, Blood Simple, North by Northwest, and Blade Runner. You may notice all of these films are suspenseful, exciting, and involve solving a mystery, or executing clever plans.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

These terms are commonly used to describe movies.

Very generally speaking:
a thriller - makes you excited
a horror movie - revolts you and makes you scared

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

A horror story is designed to create a reaction of fear from the audience. A thriller is designed to create suspense. Sometimes thrillers may overlap with horror and vice versa (eg. The Silence of the Lambs), but if a movie has scary and frightening scenes it is a horror movie, if its plot is designed to create suspense without any frightening scenes, it is a thriller..

thriller vs horror

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