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Horror vs. Thriller: What's the difference?

A

Adamo C.

I'm almost finished my next script, a Horrror screenplay. I mean a Thriller. No, most likely a horror.

Can someone give me an industry definition between the two?

My script isn't horror like, say, "The Grudge", but it does contain supernatural elements.

Any help would be appreciated as I hesitate to cross-pollenate and use the cop out "horrror / thriller"
 
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For horror distributors/buyers, you call it a horror. For non-horror distributors/buyers, you call it a thriller. You get the picture. Target your film or screenplay.
 
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Interesting discussion...

Adamo C. said:
I'm almost finished my next script, a Horrror screenplay. I mean a Thriller. No, most likely a horror.

Can someone give me an industry definition between the two?

My script isn't horror like, say, "The Grudge", but it does contain supernatural elements.

Any help would be appreciated as I hesitate to cross-pollenate and use the cop out "horrror / thriller"
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Well, this might get a debate going but here's what Hollywood says... I say Hollywood because I've talked to many many people in the industry and asked for their opinions and it always comes down to this...

Thrillers are REALITY based and Horrors are FANTASY or SUPERNATURALLY based. They can in fact include many if not all of the same structure and writing elements but the above is where they split into one another.

It is well known that the line has become super blurred... HALLOWEEN, HOSTEL and WOLFCREEK are classified as horror films yet in reality, they are thrillers because they are reality based. It's interesting to note however, that HALLOWEEN had just a "touch" of the supernatural element in it to make it a horror film i.e., Michael Myers never died...

THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is a real horror because of its supernatural element i.e., Freddy invading the dreams of teenagers.

Normally, when a film involves elements that can only be explained through the supernatural, it becomes a horror film...

Now that the line is so blurred these days... Everyone uses Horror/Thriller to explain their film IF the film is like HOSTEL or WOLFCREEK and is reality based.

A thriller is still a thriller and normally most of the best thrillers involve someone running away i.e., NORTH BY NORTHWEST or more recently, THE BOURNE IDENTITY although this line too has become super blurred...

Just like with computers and hardware, this stuff changes all the time as filmmakers create new hybrids... Take a look at GHOST... A love story/thriller/horror.

These days, it's perfectly okay to call it a "horror thriller."

filmy
 
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I agree with indietalk. There are no "industry standard" definitions. Genre is a very fluid concept. Basically, how you classify your own film depends on what you or the person reading it feels like calling it.
 
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To me, a thriller is more about action. There may be horrific or terrifying elements within the movie...but the action of the scenes is what is used to fuel the anxiety in the audience. Horror, in my opinion does not have to be based on some supernatural/fantasy concept. It simply has to convey a sense of doom, dread, or fear.
 
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FilmJumper said:
Normally, when a film involves elements that can only be explained through the supernatural, it becomes a horror film...
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I dunno. Look at one of the most famous of horror movies: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That had nothing supernatural in it. In fact, the realism of it made it seem even more horror-ish.
 
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Robert said:
I dunno. Look at one of the most famous of horror movies: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That had nothing supernatural in it. In fact, the realism of it made it seem even more horror-ish.
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Well no offense but the question was:

Can someone give me an industry definition between the two?
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Keyword phrase here... Industry definition.

Not what we "feel" is correct and not what horror films have evolved into. While I wholeheartedly agree that mainstream horror films have developed more into reality based foundations, there is a touch of the supernatural to even THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.

Definition of supernatural:

1. Of or relating to existence outside the natural world.
2. Attributed to a power that seems to violate or go beyond natural forces.
3. Of or relating to a deity.
4. Of or relating to the immediate exercise of divine power; miraculous.
5. Of or relating to the miraculous.

Supernatural doesn't have to mean ghosts, demons, etc... Supernatural is pretty much anything we experience OUTSIDE our normal, natural world.

I don't live next door to a family of cannibals... If I did, that could easily be considered supernatural. When killers keep coming back for more even though we've knifed them, shot them, etc., that's supernatural.

Hence, supernatural elements... Anything outside the norm or natural...

But again, I'm simply answering the original question which was the "industry definition" of horror and thriller as they apply to screenplays...

filmy
 
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A thriller is a horror film, reclassified once it makes money. Think about it-The Sixth Sense...is that reality based? Nope. It's a horror film where a little boy sees dead people. But it made so much money, it turned into a suspense thriller to attract people who don't like (and frankly don't understand) horror. Same with Silence of the Lambs-that's a great HORROR film, but you would never know it. The Other's? Gee, we used to call that Gothic Horror. Not anymore. To hollywood, horror is either a brutal survival flcik or a slasher. And that's not right.
 
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There are industry definitions, but I don't think filmmakers have to worry about it. Most of us don't like to label our films, anyway. My film played as a comedy in some fests, and a drama in others. Ask me which one it is, and I won't give you a straight answer. When someone asks, and you know what they are looking for, then you give them a label.
 
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FilmJumper said:
Well, I won't debate it with you but trust me...
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I don't have to trust you. I work in the industry. And you'll find about as many different definitions of genres as you do on this board, with no more or less authority on the subject.

There is no central committee to decide these things. It's up to the individual viewer and the individual film. WB might market a film as a thriller that Paramount markets as a horror.

Again, there is no industry standard definition.
 
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Screenplays...

Beeblebrox said:
I don't have to trust you. I work in the industry. And you'll find about as many different definitions of genres as you do on this board, with no more or less authority on the subject.

There is no central committee to decide these things. It's up to the individual viewer and the individual film. WB might market a film as a thriller that Paramount markets as a horror.

Again, there is no industry standard definition.
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Wow... I'm talking about screenwriting and screenplays here and NOT films as THAT was the original question...

You don't have to trust me but if you write a screenplay and eventually have a meeting with an executive to talk about it, you'd better be prepared to discuss the genre AT LENGTH.

If you say it's a horror script, be prepared to discuss the supernatural elements.

If you say it's a thriller, be prepared to discuss how your screenplay will evoke anxiety and tension from an audience.

If you say it's a "horror thriller" be prepared to discuss both the above.

Don't take my word for it though... Just trying to help.

filmy
 
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FilmJumper said:
You don't have to trust me but if you write a screenplay and eventually have a meeting with an executive to talk about it, you'd better be prepared to discuss the genre AT LENGTH.
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I've BEEN in discussions with executives, producers, agents, managers. When the genre of the script did come up, it certainly wasn't discussed at length.

No one has EVER asked me to justify the genre of the film. That's borderline absurd. And one of my meetings involved a script that I would call a "thriller" with supernatural elements in it.
 
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At the screenwriting stage, I would think the genre definition would be very important. If you're commissioned to write a horror, you should know exactly what they want without asking what they mean by horror.
 
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