Comparison and Contrast Essay

Thriller and Horror Movies
Thalia Noya
Thriller and horror movies might seem similar. People are often confused whether the movie they watch is
horror or thriller movie. Both thriller and horror movies can be terrifying that people are sometimes
mistaken a horror movie as a thriller movie or a thriller movie as a horror movie. However, thriller and
horror are different genres that define themselves for their own purposes. Here I am going to show you
some of the similiarities and differences between thriler and horrow movies according to the three aspects,
which are the purpose, plot, and the character.
A thriller movie often put the audience into an intense or stressful feeling when watching it. It also gives
them a strong feeling of excitement and anxiety at the same time. The story itself is often about solving a
crime and murdering. There are sub-genres of thriller which are psychological thriller, action thriller, crime
thriller, political thriller, mystery thriller, spy thriller, legal thriller, and science fiction thriller. A thriller
movie will keep you guessing until the end of the movie. There are some plot elements of a thriller. The
first one is the element of suspense, where the information are not much revealed to make the audience
interested to watch it more and more until the end to get all the information. This is why it keeps you
guessing until the end. The second one is a hero or the main character. This hero usually appears from the
incident that the other characters are facing. The third one is a sidekick. This is the secondary character
after the main character that usually appears as a helper for the hero or as a romantic interest. The fourth
one is a villain. This villain is the antagonist character that creates trouble for the hero. The fifth one is plot
twists. The plot twists of thriller movies are often unexpected to gain more of the audience’s interest. The
sixth one is red herrings which is a hint of the information for the audience that can be true or wrong. The
seventh one is cliffhangers. This one brings a big question in the climatic event to gives more excitement to
keep watching the movie. Finally, the last one is an exciting climax. This is when the hero or the main
character faces the toughest situation that audience slowly recall all the information that was untold.
A horror movie is intended to horrify the audience. The movie is full of any scary things such as scary
dolls, scary houses, and also scary places like graveyard or dark place. Horror movies involve some
supernatural activities and fantasy. The antagonist character itself is often a ghost, dead people that come
back to life, or any unnatural creatures that are trying to kill human. The genre itself is often include a
science fiction. There are elements that audience can find in horror movies that scare them. The first one is
the fear of death. This is the main fear that the characters in the movie face. The second one is the dark.
The darkness is one of the characteristics that audience will always find in horror movies. It is what make
the movie even scarier to watch. The third one is creepy or crawly things that occur in the darkness to
support the scary feeling to the audience such as rats and spiders. It can also be haunted doll such as
Annabelle doll that you find in “The Conjuring” movie. The fourth one is scary places like what I have
mentioned before such as basements or attics or any other dark places where the evil spirits usually hide.
The fifth one is disfigurement. This is what the audience will always find in the horror movies. This
disfigurement itself is the antagonist character that is trying to hurt the main character or other protagonist
characters. The sixth one is spooky music. This is one of the elements that make the horror movie even
scarier. This also can be shocking. The last one is lighting and thunder. These help the horror movies to be
even more frightening especially the sound of it which influences the most because many people are afraid
of that.
Both genres might make our heart rate increases. However, thriller is purposed to thrill, while horror is
purposed to entertain and horrify the audience. Thriller has plots that are unpredictable than horror which is
often predictable. Thriller also more realistic than horror. However, for the sake of healthiness, it is better
for those who have heart disease not to watch this kind of movie since it can possibly give them a heart
attack.

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Thriller and Horror Movies

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