Writing the Hollywood Thriller: A Look at Ten of the Best

Suspense is the name of the game in the thriller genre. Create a character that gets pulled into a life threatening situation then make sure every attempt he makes to get out only drives him deeper. Keep the audience busy trying to figure out how your character is going to get out of this situation while you lead them to an unexpected conclusion that fully satisfies their emotions. You’ll need a complex villain who isn’t easy to figure out for both the audience and your central character. What follows is a collection of some of the best thrillers ever produced.

A Madison Avenue advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of spies and is pulled into a series of misadventures as he’s pursued across the U.S. by the spies and government agents. It all starts when Roger Thornhill flags down a pageboy at the Plaza Hotel and two henchmen believe this identifies him as George Kaplan. The henchmen abduct Thornhill at gunpoint and escort him to a waiting car. After an interrogation by the spies facilitated by forcing him to drink a fifth of bourbon, Thornhill is scheduled to die by being sent off a cliff in a Mercedes, but he manages to get away and shares is ordeal with the police; however his drunken condition just makes him sound like a lunatic. This ordinary guy going about his business gets pulled into this quicksand of danger and every move he makes takes him deeper. This is the pattern of a good thriller.

A private detective who believes he’s been hired by the wife of the chief engineer for the Los Angeles Water Department to uncover his infidelity, discovers he was tricked by an imposter when the real wife shows up and threatens to sue him. The detective is pulled into a complex web of deceit, murder, incest, and government corruption. This Oscar winning screenplay by Robert Towne delivers the thriller in a unique soup of greed, cynicism and melancholy.

In this action/thriller, a New York City Detective travels to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his wife and gets dragged into a battle with 12 terrorists who are holding his wife and a group of hostages in a downtown office building. This story has all the gunfire and explosions needed for great action and all the complex suspense that drives a good thriller. Detective McClane, played by Bruce Willis, is challenged by the building, the terrorists, the S.W.A.T. team, the F.B.I., and his overwhelming goal to save his wife.

Mitch McDeere is a hot young attorney who gets seduced into working for a powerful law firm that showers him with money and gifts. What he doesn’t realize is this firm’s specialty is circumnavigating the law for some criminal elements. When Mitch is approached by the F.B.I for help, he realizes his life will be in jeopardy no matter which way he turns and decides to travel a path of his own choosing to extricate himself from this quagmire. The many plot twists and turns keep the audience guessing and ultimately deliver a satisfying ending.

This is an unusual thriller following the path of an insomniac who gets involved with a guy named Tyler Durden building underground fight clubs. The suspense grows out of the idea that these fight clubs can’t go on forever without trouble and of course things do start to get out of hand. This story becomes more complex as it travels to an ending that takes us deep into the mind of the central character. This is not your classic thriller, but is an excellent example of how to work the genre in a different way.

This very unique screenplay tells the story of an ex-insurance investigator who has lost the ability to build new memories. As he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, one story line moves forward while another travels back into the events that are under investigation. Unable to remember who his friends are, Leonard Shelby lives his life taking Polaroid’s and keeping copious notes. Some notes he tattoos to his body so they become permanent. This forward and reverse storytelling is wonderfully developed and leaves the audience feeling a bit like the central character – uncertain who the good guys are. This is a delightfully creative example of the thriller genre.

This is an action/thriller that tells the story of a man who has lost his memory and is on a quest to find out his true identity all the time being hunted by forces for reasons unknown. Bourne possesses some extraordinary fighting skills and a Swiss bank account which leads to a safe deposit box full of clues. The action never stops and the story continues to develop the kind of substance that drives a good thriller deep into the mind of the audience. Like the classic thriller, this is the story of a man pulled into circumstances seemingly not of his own choosing; however, ultimately Bourne may in fact be responsible once his real life is realized.

A cabbie becomes the hostage of a contract killer with a list of hits all to be carried out in one night. The suspense builds as the cab driver’s mother becomes a potential victim if the killer’s demands are not followed. This story does a good job keeping the audience thinking about ways the cab driver might escape or contact the police to end this nightmare. Will he ever get away, will he be able to stop the killer, or will he be killed in his efforts? All of these possibilities keep the audience connected to this deceptively simple screenplay.

This is the tale of an attorney who specializes in getting high-priced clients out of trouble. While trying to save the firm from another attorney who has gone off his meds, and is destroying a major client’s case, Michael Clayton finds himself in danger and scrambles to uncover the truth that will change his point of view and point him in a new direction. Not only is Michael Clayton trying to overcome the dangerous people around him, he is also overcoming the demons inside. This is social drama woven into the thriller genre and should be considered as an excellent example of creativity and screenwriting skill.

When the daughter of a retired C.I.A agent is taken by an Albanian gang of human traffickers, the suspense is placed in motion as the C.I.A. agent vows to find the kidnappers and kill them. The audience wants to believe this guy can get the job done but the odds are clearly stacked against him. What follows is an action/thriller that becomes an international cat-and-mouse chase. Anyone who has a loved one they care for deeply, will be emotionally affected by this story and that’s what makes it worth consideration as an example of what makes a good thriller appealing to an audience.

Naturally, this is not a comprehensive list. There are many more thrillers that could be listed but this is a nice cross section of ten that I believe offer insight into a deeper understanding of the genre and also creative ways to stretch the genre into your own creative interpretation. The thriller is basically a battle between justice and injustice. Audiences identify with victims and empathize with their difficulties. These elements drive the suspense of the thriller genre. Before you start writing your thriller, watch a few of these or some of your favorites and then read the screenplay as well. This exercise will marinate you in the genre and get you pointed in the right direction to begin your own suspenseful blockbuster.