History of Thriller - Mrs Georgiou

History of the Thriller genre

Introduction

A thriller is a very fulfilling type of genre. it often involves a mystery or crime. It is a genre that would excite an audience due to the psychological aspects and secrets, that leave you guessing and wanting more.

Gaslight (1940)

Time line of Thrillers

In the 1940's the film Gaslight was brought to our screens. It is a black and white thriller movie about a family who move into a new house 20 years after a death. As the film ends it obtains one of the best extreme close-ups, this is presented as the main character is made aware of his own terrible fate. This use of cinematography is very conventional to the thriller genre as it continues to focus on the characters facial expression only, often giving the film a very chilling atmosphere. The film fits the thriller genre, by the way it can use prolonged and slow editing to create tension. This is one of the first films that was able to get into the audiences minds without having to make something jump out on them which is more conventional to the horror genre.

Psycho (1960)

20 years later we see Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho. A young secretary manages to steal a large amount of money from her employer's client. She then begins to try and go on the run, she eventually finds an old motel to hide in which is owned by a young man under the influence of his mother. This immediately is recognised as one of the first encounters of having a mentally unstable antagonists, which is conventional in a thriller. Having this sort of character present would go on to be very popular in thrillers as it does intend to make the audience feel more uncomfortable. This is now a main convention in physiological thrillers because they do tend to use characters that are influenced by mental illness to actually create mystery. Most films nowadays remain very stereotypical but the use of this type of character plays apart in leaving the audience feeling very isolated and shocked at what they see because the antagonists behaviour is no longer able to be predicted. In addition to this the use of enigma (a typical convention of a thriller) is also what contributes to making a good thriller and a disturbing character is what supports this.

The Chaneling (1980)

In the 1980's we continue to see a range of different thrillers most of them full of mystery and lead to a fulfilling ending filled with cliffhangers and unexpected moments. The narrative seems to go

along the lines of a man entering an abandoned house and

beginning to feel haunted by a strange presence. This already displays a typical convention of a thriller as the identity is hidden. The fact that the antagonist remains unknown shows us that it is a successful aspect of creating suspense within a Thriller.

The director Peter Medak has also produced many thriller projects such as directing TV programmes such as Law and Order, which involves crime and investigation. Which nowadays is more popular in thriller/mystery films and sometimes a common convention of a thriller that focuses on crime. The enigma in this sort of genre would remain to stereotypically focus on a murder and the thrilling part of the film is to try and leave the audience guessing who committed the crime. The use of hidden and mistaken identity is a conventional aspect of thrillers that add the to enigma of the film. If the audience are unable to see or know what character is the dangerous one then it creates suspense, which is what makes thrillers so successful.

Hand that rocks the cradle (1992)

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is another perfect example of how thriller films have learnt to show misconceptions of characters which leaves the audience believing one thing when really in reality it is not as it seems. The main convention of this film is crucial for a good thriller. The antagonist is now female which is actually a new concept to the thriller films as usually it would be the female that played as the damsel in distress. She is portrayed as a normal, well-mannered and innocent woman. This woman could almost be described as angelic which overall gives the audience a false impression of her. This fits the convention that is created during the thriller genre, where audience members are tricked into expecting one then when actually they get something they would never imagine to be present within a film. The fact that the weapons now used in thrillers in this time era are knives begin to show how thrillers where starting to evolve. The iconography use of the knife is very popular within the thriller genre. This is because the use of a knife is a lot more personal compared to a gun which is usually a weapon used more in action films.

Memento (2000)

In the 21st century we begin to see how thriller films have really adapted to the physiological aspect. In Memento (2000) We see a young man, suffering from severe memory loss, he begins to try and unravel his past by clues

that his left himself from tattoos on his body

 to track down the one he thinks murdered his wife.

The story line remains very dark and unclear, it often is confusing to the audience in knowing what and who is the murderer. This is a common convention in a thriller, the hidden meanings. We see in the trailer the violence that takes place in this film. This is also a common convention of a thriller and is often used to keep the atmosphere thrilling and exciting. The fact that the audience are unaware of what is happening means that they have to try and figure out the narrative them self. I think this is an interesting way of keeping the audience intrigued and on the edge of there seat.

Before I Go To Sleep (2014)

Before I go to sleep is one thriller that follows a very similar storyline as Memento in the fact that she has also lost her memory and needs help to piece her life back together. This film is very deceiving and leaves the audience wanting to know who it is they should trust. This is a common convention that is constantly thrown into thrillers. The unknown storyline and how unpredictable and dark the film is, is something that continues to be popular in thrillers and is obviously what keeps people coming back. All these conventions mentioned are something I will take into context when thinking about my own thriller opening. As it seems the most disturbing and unsettling story lines that fit the conventions of a thriller come out as the most successful thrillers.

Are thrillers successful?

Below are a range of figures from some of the best thriller films of all time. The table was from taken from the website  www.boxofficemojo.com

Rank	Title (click to view)	Studio	Lifetime Gross /Theaters		Opening / Theaters		Date
1	Hannibal	MGM	$165,092,268	3,292	$58,003,121	3,230	2/9/01
2	The Silence of the Lambs	Orion	$130,742,922	1,642	$13,766,814	1,497	2/14/91
3	Basic Instinct	TriS	$117,727,224	1,884	$15,129,385	1,567	3/20/92
4	Seven	NL	$100,125,643	2,528	$13,949,807	2,441	9/22/95
5	Red Dragon	Uni.	$93,149,898	3,363	$36,540,945	3,357	10/4/02
6	Saw II	Lions	$87,039,965	2,949	$31,725,652	2,949	10/28/05
7	Saw III	LGF	$80,238,724	3,167	$33,610,391	3,167	10/27/06
8	The Bone Collector	Uni.	$66,518,655	2,623	$16,712,020	2,587	11/5/99
9	Saw IV	LGF	$63,300,095	3,183	$31,756,764	3,183	10/26/07
10	The Cell	NL	$61,334,059	2,476	$17,515,050	2,411	8/18/00

Silence of the lambs, was one of the most successful thriller films making $130,742,922, It was one of the most original physiological thrillers and carried on to be a well remembered thriller film for many years afterwards. In the scene demonstrated above we see a girl, training to be an FBI agent talking to a man locked away for being mentally ill. This film displays how unstable characters work within thrillers. The fact that the audience can not study his behaviour results in them being unaware of what is going to happen, this leaves them more scared and panicked, while watching this type of thriller. Over all this film can be said to be so successful just from using this type of mentally induced character, which is one thing that can obviously be noted when demonstrating this as a successful thriller.

The film Seven remains to be number 4 on the list of the most successful thriller of all time making $100,125,643. The story is crime related and displays a range of deadly sins. The murderer the two antagonists are after remain to try and kill each victim related somehow to one of the seven deadly sins. The two main characters remain to be very popular and talented which is one aspect that could pull people into watching this film. Although the main aspect that I find interesting and will take in content when planning my own thriller opening is the use of enigma within the thriller film. The fact the pair of them are unable to decided whether the murderer is going to be found or not remains a mystery and is what the audience are mainly interested about.  

The cells storyline follows a similar physiological story line, it is a very confusing film and each person will get a different understanding of it. It made around 

$61,334,059 as shown by the table. It seems very mysterious in the way it isn't realistic and doesn't make sense. This causes the audience to have to really think and try and get a better understanding of what is to come. The fact that the story appears to be confusing in itself remains to be what kept the film successful. This supports the typical use of the convention enigma within a thriller. The fact that the audience is unable to figure out or predict what the storyline entails shows that the use of mystery in a genre is what sometimes makes it so successful. 

Conclusion

Overall this has given me a new insight into how thriller films have evolved over the years and what makes them successful. I have been able to learn a lot of information about how things work and what it is that makes the audience come back for more. I have been able to see what type of thriller has been most successful this being the physiological genre which is something I will consider when decided my own sub-genre of thriller.