HISTORY OF THE GENRE

By Travis Quailey

What is a Thriller? A film is represented as a thriller when the storyline gives the audience thrills, and keeps them on

the ’edge of their seats’ as the plot builds up towards the climax. The tension is usually built up by a character being placed in a life frightening situation, a mystery, or a trap which seems impossible to escape. There is also use of life threatened during a thriller film, as the main character is usually accidentally or mistakenly involved in an extremely dangerous situation. The common plots in crime thrillers are ransoms, revenge and kidnappings, which are elaborated on for the effect on the audience. In mystery thrillers, the common methods are investigations and the ‘whodunit’ technique. This is technique when there is a complex plot of a detective story where the audience is provided with clues of the identity of the criminal. The elements which are usually shown in a psychological thriller are mind games, stalking, death traps, obsession. These elements are generally combined to a certain extent, where it creates a complex plot which creates thrills the audience

The Thriller fiction genre, sometimes called suspense fiction, is a genre of literature that typically entails fast-paced plots, numerous action scenes, and limited character development. One example is that: the hero, who may even be an ordinary citizen drawn into danger and intrigue by circumstances beyond their control faces danger alone or in the company of a small band of companions. The protagonist may be a law enforcement agent, a journalist, or a soldier, but typically he or she is cut off from the resources of "their" organization.Thriller is a genre of fiction in which tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world. Part of the allure of thrillers comes from not only what their stories are about, but also how they are told. High stakes, non-stop action, plot twists that both surprise and excite, settings that are both vibrant and exotic, and an intense pace that never lets up until the adrenalin packed climax.

Thriller Genre A Thriller is used in film and television to create suspense, excitement and tension. The

most common use of this subgenre to thriller are mystery, crime and psychological thrillers, however there are also many other subgenres. Thriller is also very closely matched with the horror genre, To which both use suspense and atmosphere to cause feelings of terror in their audiences. The genre of thriller film developed from well known novels. Then later these novels were studied and modified and later copied into a thriller film. The atmosphere in a thriller film is also improved through the lighting and use of music. An example of this is from the opening of the film ‘Alien’ by Ridley Scott in 1979. In the opening of this film, the lighting is minimal and dull, this creates the atmosphere of doubt and mystery which links into the thriller genre.

One of the most well known and popular thriller films is ‘Psycho’ which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was produced during 1960. This film is a psychological thriller based on the American 1960‘s time period. The film was modified from the1959 novel which was written by Robert Bloch also called ‘psycho‘. Both the film and novel are based on the cases on convicted serial killer Ed Gein, this therefore allowed the directors of the film to secondary the film with other genres such as horror, drama and mystery, as well as the thriller. Overall, the genre of thriller is used in various ways to create an atmosphere which excites, thrills and entices the audience to carry on watching a film. This is done in several ways, such as through the use of lighting, mise-en-scene and also with the added use of non diegetic and diegetic music. The thriller genre was a common genre during the past fifty years and is still gradually popular within the industry today.　

1960-80’s The atmosphere in a thriller film is also enhanced through the lighting and use

of music. An example of this is from the opening of the film ‘Alien’ by Ridley Scott in 1979. In the opening of this film, the lighting is minimal and dull, this creates the atmosphere of suspense and mystery which links into the thriller genre.

One of the most well known and popular thriller films is ‘Psycho’ which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was produced during 1960. This film is a psychological thriller based on the American 1960‘s time period. The film was adapted from the1959 novel which was written by Robert Bloch also called ‘psycho‘. Both the film and novel are based on the cases on convicted serial killer Ed Gein, this therefore allowed the directors of the film to associate the film with other genres such as horror, drama and mystery, as well as the thriller.

Overall, the genre of thriller is used in various ways to create an atmosphere which excites, thrills and entices the audience to carry on watching a film. This is done in several ways, such as through the use of lighting, mise-en-scene and also with the added use of non diegetic and diegetic music. The thriller genre was a popular genre during the past fifty years and is still increasingly popular within the industry today

1990’s-2000’s The decade started with Rob Reiner's Misery (1990), based on the book by Stephen King, with Kathy

Bates as an disturbed fan named Annie who terrorizes, in her care, an incapacitated author named Paul (James Caan); in one horrifying scene, she 'hobbles' his ankles so that he can't escape, a battered wife who left her sadistic husband to find a better life was vengefully pursued in Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), Curtis Hanson's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), with Rebecca De Mornay as a nanny intent on seeking revenge against her dead obstetrician husband's patient (Annabella Sciorra), Unlawful Entry (1992) with Ray Liotta as cop being obsessed with a woman he saved, Barbet Schroeder's suspenseful Single White Female (1992), with Bridget Fonda and her obsessed roommate-from-hell Jennifer Jason Leigh, Harold Becker's Malice (1993) with Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman, and lastly Anthony Minghella's psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) with Matt Damon being obsessed with, and then assuming the identity of, Jude Law.However, despite how common the obsession theme was in this decade, there was another popular theme of the thriller genre – detectives/FBI agents hunting down a serial killer.

The famous was Jonathan Demme's highly-acclaimed Best Picture-winning crime thriller The Silence of the Lambs (1991) where a young FBI agent Jodie Foster in a psychological war against a cannibalistic psychiatrist named Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), while tracking down transgender serial killer Buffalo Bill and David Fincher's crime thriller Se7en (1995), which was about the search for a serial killer who re-enacts the seven deadly sins. Until today, thrillers do borrow themes and elements from those in the past decades. However, to cut the repetitiveness, there are a number of recent thrillers that maintain the aspects of the horror genre; having more gore/sadistic violence, brutality, terror and body counts. The recent thrillers which took this approach include Eden Lake (2008), The Last House on the Left (2009), P2 (2007), Captivity (2007) and Funny Games (2008). Even action scenes have gotten more elaborate in thriller films within the past 10 years, especially in spy thrillers. Thrillers such as Joy Ride (2001), Unknown (2011), Hostage (2005), Cellular (2006), A History of Violence (2005) and Firewall (2006) were borderline-action.

Thrillers