History of Thriller Films

History of Thriller Films

A thriller is a broad of film and television that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily change the viewers moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline rushing, complicated and fast paced. A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions that keeps the audience on "the edge of their seats", this genre is usually a villain driven plot, where he or she presents obstacles the protagonist must over come. 

                                                1940's - Gaslight

"Gaslight" is an American 1944 mystery-thriller.The 1944 version was directed by George Cukor. The recreation of "Gaslight" had a larger scale and budget than the original version of the film. "Gaslight" is about years after a girls aunt was murdered in her home, a young woman moves back into the house with her new husband. However, he has a secret that he will do anything to protect, even if means driving his wife insane. The film earned $2,263,000 in the US and Canada and $2,350,00 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $941,000. Gaslight was a very successful thriller because it did not rely on iconagraphy and effects to make the film thrilling and scary, it was the intricate, physiological story line and the use of sound that grips the audience and makes them think about the plot and what will happen next. An example of this is the scene with a conversation between the characters Paul and Bella Mallen, at first this a normal conversation between the two, with Bella Mallen walking out, however from the exagerrated, non-diegetic sound of eerie music building up the tempo in the background this immediately builds suspense and tension and it gives the impression that something bad will happen to Bella.

1960's - Psycho

Psycho is a 1960 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcockloosely inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. Physco is a 1960 American thriller film drected by Alfered Hitchcock loosely inspired by the crimes of Wilsconsin murderer and grace robber Ed Gein. This successful thriller is based on a young secretary that steals a large sum of money from one of her clients. Hoping no one will find this out, she attempts to escape before she is discovered and finds an old motel to hide in which is owned by a young man who is managed by his mother. From this we can already see the protagonist is mentally unstable as she has stolen the money and is in hiding. As thriller films in the 60's would not have money to afford lighting, equipment, props and effects they would rely on the characters and plot, which has worked as psycho is a successful thriller in the 1960's. An example of this is the famous shower scene from "Physco" where the victim is unexpectidly stabbed by the murderer, at this point non-diegetic eerie music is used to build up tension and suspense to the audience as the effects and iconagraphy are not strong enough alone to create a shocking scene filled with suspense.

1980's - Bad Timing

Bad Timing is a 1980 British psychological thriller film directed by Nicolas Roeg. The plot focuses on an American woman and a psychology professor living in Vienna, told through flashbacks, examining their relationship as uncovered by a detective investigating her apparent suicide attempt. Similar to the other films I think that "Bad Timing" is also successful due to the intricate plot as it is not dependable on special effects, lighting and props as they were not available when the film was being created.

2000's - Memento

Memento is a 2000 American mystery-psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan. Memento is presented as two different sequences of scenes: a series in black-and-white that is shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order. The two sequences "meet" at the end of the film, producing one common story. Differently to films created in the 80's, 60's and 40's "Memento" was not only successful due to the psychological, interesting plot but was also very successful because of the effects used, such as the idea of the black and white and colour sequences. Also unlike the other films, it was also successful due to the setting as this made the film feel more realistic.

2013 - The Purge

"The Purge" is a 2013 American action horror/thriller film written and directed by James DeMonaco. The film is based around the annual purge were all crime is legal for 12 hours and all emergency services such as police, ambulance, fire department and the hospital is unavailable. "The Purge" was a highly successful film grossing $89,328,627. Much like "Memento", "The Purge" was also successful not only for its plot but for the effects and setting used. The low key lighting created foreboding as it was unclear what would happen to the characters next. Also, the use of setting created suspense as they were trapped in the house as the outside was also not safe, there was no escape from the annual purge. 

"Hannibal" is a 2001 America crime thriller which box office rated as the top grossing. This film was created in the early 2000's, when special effects were developing. I believe that Hannibal was so successful because it had an intricate, interesting plot, but also had the use of special effects to enhance the thriller film.
Positioned at number 10 in the chart is "The Cell" which grossed earned $61,334,059 and was released a year before Hannibal. "The Cell" is based on a child psychologist  who is an expert in an experimental treatment for coma patients, allowing her to be able to enter the minds of her patients. A serial killer falls into a coma before the FBI can locate his final victim. This leaves Catherine the job of solving this mystery through the advantages that she has. "The Cell" is a psychological thriller which proves successful after how much the film grossed. However, Catherine is played by Jennifer Lopez, a famous actress and singer and so may attract more of a mass audience. 

Whereas Twisted positioned at number 20 in the chart was an American crime thriller written by Sarah Thorp and directed by Philip Kaufman in 2004. The film is about a police woman Jessica who finds when investigating a murder, in the center of her own investigation, when her former lovers start dying around her at a fast pace. I think that as the film still grossed a high amount, it relied on special effects, costume to enhance the thriller film as I think that the story line was not intresting enough to be a successful thriller alone. 

Altogether I think that throughout the years Thriller films have become more dependent on special effects, lighting and props to create a successful thriller films rather than focusing on an plot that would have the audience in suspense. Whereas, thriller films in the 40's, 60's and 80's where successful due to the psychological, intricate plot.