"There is no terror in the bang, only the anticipation of it."
— Alfred Hitchcock

Adrenaline, anxiety, tension—if you're pinned to the edge of your seat, chances are you're watching a thriller. Because this genre thrives on the chilling sense that "this could happen to you," the thriller protagonist is almost always someone just like you or your parents—someone with whom the audience can identify. The action starts when this unsuspecting victim is thrust into circumstances beyond their control, often by being accused of a crime, being witness to a crime, or through a case of mistaken identity. Threatened by the law, the Mob, or a shadowy villain, thriller protagonists often have little choice but to go on the run.

Of course, the greater the danger, the more likely it is that no one believes the main character's story. Forget the police; thriller protagonists must save themselves, usually through their own detective work, and by eventually unmasking and confronting the antagonist. Can they triumph against such menacing forces and return to the normal world presented at the beginning of the story? That's the question that'll keep your audience biting their nails until the very end.