Research into the history of Thriller Films - Miss Georgiou

The History of Thriller Films

The thriller genre is one of the most popular within filmography in modern times, the use of suspense, tension and shock within the films scare and entice the audience, they are intended to stimulate an audience and give them different emotions. I will be researching how thriller films have evolved from the 1950's to the 2000's, in terms of mise-en-scene, narratives and conventions.          

The 39 Steps is a thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1959, it is a remake of 1935 version and an adaption of the novel The 39 Steps by John Buchan, it has been labelled as one of the suspenseful thriller films of all time. Alfred Hitchcock is one of the pioneers of the thriller genre, some of the conventions used within his films that are still within the thriller industry include the traditional victim and antagonist, Hitchcock usually favored to have attractive blonde females as the victim, this is due to his own mother growing up and recalling that his father would regularly abuse him and his mother, the use of a female is due to the fact that they are traditionally seen as more vulnerable than males. The use of a female victim who teds to be attractive is still a regular convention in not only the thriller genre but all movies genres, this is due to there usually being a romantic subplot between the protagonist and the victim. Alfred Hitchcock is mainly credited for being the "father of suspense," he create tension through several different techniques, there is a strong use of suspense within thrillers in modern day, however it is not as big of an aspect in some thrillers that are more fixated on gore and violence.

Portrait in Black is a thriller film directed by Michael Gordon, although the use of hidden identity had been used within several earlier thriller movies it is used very well within Portrait in Black to create mystery, the use of hidden identity is a convention  that is widely used in thriller films as it creates suspense as the eager are eager to find out who the killer is, the antagonists usually conceal their identity through the use of a mask or the dark, the masks tend to be disturbing in a sense to give even bigger shock value. The concept of being followed by a mysterious man is a popular narrative as the audience can engage with the victim/protagonists paranoia and fear.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a thriller film that was very influential within the slasher thriller sub-genre, it focused primarily on gore instead of the previously favored focus on tension and suspense, this however could be due to the previous restrictions within censorship, there were extreme limitations on what could be shown during the beginning of all movies, there could be no scenes of gore or violence and therefore when these limitations were taken away there were several films that tested the limits and tried to break barriers with controversy within the film industry. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is extremely gory and is seen as a cult thriller movie that influenced several other movie films and is still a running franchise in modern day times. The films narrative of a group of young people who are terrorized by one man with a hidden identity has been widely used and is a very popular narrative.

Dead Calm is an Australian film featuring Nicole Kidman, the film centers around a couple who are isolated and get attacked by a mysterious man, this is a very popular narrative that has featured in films such as The Strangers. This concept is popular as it is relatable to real life and the audience can engage with the characters and feel more concerned of their well-being of the victims, several films use relationships to create certain emotions within a film, such as a scene in which a sacrifice must be made such as in Saw when a man must choose to kill random people in order to save his wife and children, this creates suspense, or in which a persons partner is killed and a sad atmosphere is created.

Shutter Island has a strong use of lighting within the film to create certain effects, low key lighting can create tension and set up a shock for the audience. The film is set in a mental institution, the concept of mentally unstable is a popular one in films such as the Machinist, this is used as characters are unpredictable and the audience will not be able to guess the protagonist or antagonists next move, creating a sense of mystery.

Overall the thriller genre has not evolved as such, but been effected by things such as advances in technology and censorship, narratives are constantly being inspired by other films and there is always a recycling process in the industry, the main concept throughout the years of thriller films remains to be suspense, however in recent times gore and violence has been a factor.