cast-attrition thriller 

A film sub-genre in which the characters are picked off one by one, often by a masked killer or malignant force. Salient examples: Friday the 13th (Jason); Final Destination (Death); Sunshine (the Sun).

Coined by Tasha Robinson of the AV Club to describe Danny Boyle's film "Sunshine"(2007).

Originating quote, from the review of "Sunshine"(2007) -
In many ways, Sunshine is a been-there-done-that cast-attrition thriller: Alien with an exterior monster instead of an interior one, Event Horizon with better effects and less gore, Pitch Black with the contrast turned way up. The cast members make wry jokes about getting eliminated one at a time, horror-movie style, but they still follow all the horror-movie procedures, even duly splitting up in a dangerous, unknown situation. It's like they've gracefully accepted that they're just hitting a series of predestined, genre-mandated marks. - Tasha Robinson, Onion A.V. Club

cast-attrition thriller by PhD (Pretentious hipster Douchebag) September 4, 2007