The History of The Thriller

Genre

By Kirsty Griffiths

What is the thriller genre?• Thrillers are defined by the moods that they produce by giving

the audience feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation, and anxiety.

• The thriller genre generally keeps the audience on the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a peak.

• The cover-up of important information from the audience is a common part in thrillers. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers are used expansively.

• 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 which are commonly used 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, and obsession.

The ace of Hearts (Dir. Wallace Worsley,1921).

• A secret society holds a meeting to determine what to do about a dangerous man who they have been studying closely for the past three months. Two of the members, are both in love with the group's only female member. But the woman excepts neither of them, preferring to devote herself to the group's cause. When the group meets again and deals cards to all the members, one man draws the ace of hearts which means he will carry out the assassination, therefore the woman agrees to marry him to give him courage. But after their first night together, both of them begin to feel differently about what they have planned.

• The film starred Lon Chaney, Leatrice Joy, and John Bowers.

Murder! (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1930).

• The storyline focuses on a woman who is convicted of murder. However, one of the jurors who was selected to serve on the murder-trial jury believes the accused lady is innocent of the crime and takes it upon himself to catch the real killer and free the lady. • The film starred Herbert Marshall,

Norah Baring, and Phyllis Konstam.

The Lady Vanishes (Dir. Hitchcock, 1938).

• The film is about a English tourist travelling by train in mainland Europe who discovers that her elderly travelling companion appears to have disappeared from the train. After her fellow passengers deny ever having seen the elderly lady, the young woman is helped by a young musicologist. The two start to search the train for clues to the old lady's disappearance.

• Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YihbNGUNQmU

The Third man (Dir. Carol Reed, 1949).

• An American pulp writer arrives in post-WWII Vienna only to find that the friend who waited for him is killed under mysterious circumstances. The mystery entangles him in his friend's involvement in the black market, with the multinational police, and with his girlfriend.

• Scene from The Third Man - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xq_iB5p1OA

Psycho (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960).

• The film is based on the cases of a convicted serial killer, 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.

• Scene from Psycho - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me-VhC9ieh0

The Italian Job (Dir. Peter Collinson, 1969).

• The plot focuses on a man called Charlie and he has to complete a ‘job’. Having just left prison he finds one his of friends has attempted a high risk job in Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.

• Scene from The Italian job - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZCaSyid4m0

Jaws (Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1975).

• When, during the height of beach season, the town of Amity Island in Massachusetts is terrorized by attacks from a great white shark -- Martin Brody, the new chief of police must solve the problem. As the Mayor tries to avoid a panic which would deprive the town of its crucial tourist season, warnings to swimmers are avoided and more victims float to the surface. Brody eventually enlists the help of a young oceanographer and a sea-wary fisherman to hunt down and destroy the great white menace that has turned the Amity Island shore into a feeding ground.

• Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3nooXplS50

Fright Night (Dir. Tom Holland, 1985).

• For young Charlie Brewster, nothing could be better than an old horror movie late at night. Two men move in next door, and for Charlie with his horror movie experience, there can be no doubt that their strange behavior is explained by the fact that they are a vampire and his undead day guardian. The only one who can help him hunt them down is a washed-up actor, Peter Vincent, who hosts Charlie's favorite TV show, Fright Night. Vincent doesn't really believe that vampires exist, but does it for the money.

• Trailer - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089175/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Road House (Dir. Rowdy Herrington, 1989).

• Dalton is an expert barroom bouncer who can break up fights without getting himself killed in the process. The owner of the Double Deuce has hired Dalton away from a bar in New York City, because Tilghman needs someone who can handle the nightly outbreaks of violence and teach the rest of the Double Deuce's bouncers how to handle it. The band is led by Dalton's old friend Cody, who is blind. Dalton is injured on his first night on the job and is treated by Elizabeth, the local doctor. Dalton and Elizabeth soon fall in love with each other, and this angers Brad Wesley, a crime boss that Elizabeth was once involved with. Wesley is also responsible for a lot of the violence at the Double Deuce and is out to get rid of Dalton.

• Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TEgO4wjINE

The Silence of the Lambs (Dir. Demme, 1991).

• Demme’s frightening psychological thriller is about an FBI agent who tries picking the brain of an intelligent psychopath/cannibal in hopes of solving a series of grisly murders.

• A critical and commercial success, Lambs is one of the most superbly-crafted, suspenseful films ever, and became just the third film in the history of the Oscars to sweep the top five major awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

• A scene from The Silence of the Lambs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeKqD2g9-ic

Panic Room (Dir. David Fincher, 2002).

• A divorced woman moves with her daughter into a New York brownstone. The house happens to have a hidden room, known as the "panic room," which is where the two are forced to hide out when three thieves break in to retrieve a hidden stockpile.

• The trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IAIJQpQuSM

The Dark Knight (Dir. Nolan, 2008).

• In the new film, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminals that outbreak the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find chaos being unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker.

• The trailer for The Dark Knight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVx5K8WfFJY

The Purge: election year (Dir. James DeMonaco, 2016).

• Expanding upon the explosive universe introduced in the sleeper hits that have earned $200 million at the worldwide box office, Universal Pictures’ The Purge 3 reveals the next terrifying chapter of 12 hours of anarchy that is sanctioned annually by the New Founders of America.

• Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM35KpzKprg