- The Narrative - centres around a crime eg. a theft or a murder.
- The protagonist - is fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' that is exploited by the antagonist.
- The title of the thriller may relate to this weakness eg Vertigo and Insomnia.
- The protagonist will be seen 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the resolution.
- The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless.
- The narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen.
- Micro elements combine in a build up of suspense. ( Micro means film elements like camerawork, sound, narrative, genre, mise-en-scene, lighting, costumes, actors and facial expressions, etc.)
- Themes of identity are common: mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia.
- Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives, visual McGuffins, and optical illusions are common.
- The audience of a thriller is placed in the ambiguous position of voyeur.Voyeurism can also be a theme and the objectification of female characters is common especially in earlier thrillers.
- A series of/ one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.