Research into typical synopsis
Many thriller films follow quite a simple narrative structure. This structure usually involves the protagonist facing conflict from outside forces which puts the protagonists fatal flaw or weakness on show for the audience to see. The protagonists tend to be an average, every day citizen, this is so that the audience are able to relate or have something in common with the main character. The protagonist is then put in a difficult situation that they are not accustomed to. For example; Alfred Hitchcock's usually places an innocent citizen into a strange or life threatening situation, whether it be a mistaken identity or wrongful accusation. An example of this is his film "The Lodger: A Story of The London Fog" where the main character is wrongly accused as being  a 'Jack the Ripper' type serial killer.

In most thriller films the puzzle aspect of the plot is usually emphasised quite a lot. The is so that the audience are given clues during the film to enigmas which have been raised that the protagonist may be missing and try to unravel the mystery before they do. In a typical, conventional thriller, the protagonist typically has to stop the plans of the antagonist.committed. It is often that in thriller films the film is not focused on who committed the crime, instead it's focused on the protagonist trying to stop the antagonist committing another crime and to bring them to some form of justice.