Like any other year, thrillers will have a considerable screen presence in 2018 as well.

If trade pundits are anything to go by, thrillers have their own niche and no matter how big or small a film is, they usually find audiences.

“Thriller is a genre which has a huge potential and audiences are always up for it. They eventually watch it, be it big or small scale. They like the adrenaline rush and if it is well packaged with masala and entertainment, it is bound to do well. The advantage of making thrillers is that you don’t need big stars always. Good actors can easily make a mark at the box office with a well-made thriller. The story and its treatment is the backbone,” said film trade analyst Girish Johar.

Thrillers are, however, sometimes risky compared to other genres because of the advent of social platforms.

“Some notorious elements can reveal the plot on social media and the suspense maybe lost. So one has to be very careful. Year 2018 looks thrilling as far as thrillers are concerned but filmmakers have to ensure that the movie is an edge-of-the-seat experience. The minute details should be kept under wraps,” said trade analyst Atul Mohan.

When director of Vodka Diaries Kushal Srivastav was asked why he chose a thriller for his next, he said: “I don’t like straight films, like completely romantic or comedy. I like complex films. Hence I chose this genre. People are open to new genres, new subjects, new stories. They are watching more of international cinema, so what you make can be any subject but it should be done differently.

“I think people are going to welcome different genres. Thriller is one of them. There’s a lot of space for something that hasn’t happened in the past. People are bored of romantic-comedies. This is the best time for experimental cinema. Audiences are watching a lot of stuff through Netflix and the taste is changing and getting better. ”

Here’s a list of thrillers which are set to hit the screens, or have already hit the screens, this year. Keep the suspense alive!

THE 2018 PACK

My Birthday Song

Director: Sameer Soni

Cast: Sanjay Suri, Nora Fatehi and Zenia Starr

Producer: Sanjay Suri and Sameer Soni

Release: January 19

Nirdosh

Director: Pradeep Rangwani and Subroto Paul

Cast: Arbaaz Khan, Manjari Phadnis, Ashmit Patel and Mahek Chahal

Producer: Pradeep Rangwani

Release: January 19

3 Storeys

Director: Arjun Mukherjee

Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Sharman Joshi, Richa Chaddha, Renuka Shahane, Masumeh Makhija, introducing Aisha Ahmed and Ankit Rathi

Producer: B4U Motion Pictures, Excel Entertainment and Priya Shreedharan

Release: February 16

Daas Dev

Director: Sudhir Mishra

Producer: Saptrishi Cinevision

Cast: Rahul Bhat, Richa Chadha and Aditi Rao Hydari

Release: February 16

Pari

Director: Prosit Roy

Producer: KriArj Entertainment and Clean Slate Entertainment

Cast: Anushka Sharma and Parambrata Chatterjee

Release: March 2

Hate Story 4

Director: Vishal Pandya

Producer: T-Series

Cast: Urvashi Rautela, Karan Wahi and Ilhana Dhillon

Release: March 9

Raazi

Director: Meghna Gulzar

Producer: Karan Johar and Vineet Jain

Cast: Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal

Release: May 11

Race 3

Director: Remo D'Souza

Cast: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah and Saqib Salem

Producer: Salman Khan Films and Tips

Release: Id

Unnamed Vishal Bhardwaj Film

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Producer: Vishal Bhardwaj, KriArj Entertainment

Cast: Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone

Release: October 2