Research into the history of thriller films - Miss Georgiou

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. (Wikipedia)

1920's - 1930's

1926: The famous film director Alfred Hitchcock released his third silent thriller called 'The Lodger' which was based on the Jack the Ripper story, this was filled with suspense. Today, you get many thrillers based on true storys to connect the audience more and symathise more towards the victim/s.

1929: In this year Hitchcock released another thriller film called 'Blackmail', which was not only the first sound thriller film, but also the first sound film to be made in Britain. Sound today now has a huge impact on the suspense, tension and level of fright as it leaves the audience feeling on edge. Without Hitchcock introducing sound in thriller films the thrillers today would be no where near as chilling as they are.

1931: The film 'The Chilling' by Fritz Lang was released and starred Peter Lorre in his first ever film role. The film was based on a real life serial killer. Again, a real life story was used as they still are today to connect the audience to the film as it is more intriguing than a made up story line. 

There were also other directors that made many thriller films during this period of time, e.g:

• Walter Forde made nine.
• Vorhaus made seven between 1932 and 1935.
• George A. Cooper made six in the same period.
• Michael Powell also made six.

1940's

1940: Hitchcock continued to direct more suspense thriller films. He released 'Foreign Correspondent' and 'Rebecca' which became an Oscar winning film. Rebecca was about an obsessive stalker like man, a man having an obsession with the victim is still typically found in thrillers today, it allows the audience to get get a perspective of the emotional state the killer is in.  

1944: Director George Cukor released two psychological thrillers; one called 'Gaslight', about a husband plotting to make his wife go insane to inherit her inheritance. The second film was called  'Film Noir' and consisted of a murder investigation. Psychological thrillers tend to be more captivating to the audience as it puts them inside the situation, getting them thinking that is why there have been many made today.

1960's

Director Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" 1960 was about a pyschopathic cameraman, this film was released prior to Hitchcocks "Psycho" 1960 which was about a lonerand mother fixated hotel owner. Psycho has a influence on the modern day as American psycho released in 2000 was later created as a modern version of it.
 
Stanley Donens stylish thriller of 1963 called "Charade" which had numerous plots and twists, in which a pair are on the search for hidden loot which takes them to Paris. It is starring Audrey Hepburn, a famous icon at the time and now. The use of well known famous people in films is still used today as it gets a wider range of audience, not just people that are fans of thrillers, but people that are fans of the actor/actress in it.

1980's

Phillip Noyce ended the 1980 decade of thriller films with a film called "Dead calm". It was released in 1989 and starred Nicole Kidman. This film influenced alot of other films in 1990 because of its use of obsession within the film and also elements of trapped characters.

1990's

In 1990 the thriller film genre commenced with a film called "Misery" and was directed by Rob Reiner. The film was based on a novel by Stephen King. Films such as "Sleeping with the enemy", "The hand rocks the cradle", "Unlawful female", and many more were influenced by "Misery"and all were about battered wives trying to find a better life away from their husband.

Present day

Until this very day, thriller films have shared ideas and themes and have similar elements within them. However, in the recent thrillers that have been made, directors try to maintain an aspect of individuality by making them stand out from the rest. They do this by adding more gore, horror, violence, blood and brutal behaviour. Thrillers used to be alot more phsychological but have now started to have horror aspects within them. Examples of thrillers that have added the above aspects to them are:

• Eden Lake released in 2008
• The last house on the left, released in 2009
• P2 and Captivity, released in 2007
• Funny games, released in 2008

I have researched the History of the thriller genre to give me an insight into how it has changed and developed over the years in different ways. It also gave me an interpretation of how the styles and story lines have adapted and improved throughout the years. I learned about the specific directors and and how they made an impact on thriller films over the years through inspiration. It has helped me with the planning of my own thriller clip as I now have an idea of what type of storyline to use and how to make my thriller clip stand out from the others. I am also aware of how to modernise my clip.