History of a thriller - Miss Georgiou

Why Are Thrillers still Popular Today?

Thrillers are still popular to this date because i believe that people go to the movies to watch films that will keep them excited and tense, all which thriller films do. Thriller films these days need to satisfy their audiences, and what better way to keep them hooked on than a scare? People nowadays enjoy to be scared and vulnerable as it gives them a sense of pleasure, thus making thriller films to this date as popular as they were back in the 90's.


The Most Dangerous Game - 1932


The most dangerous game is a thriller movie which was made in the 1930's. The Most Dangerous Game; when a boat gets shipwrecked onto an island, the passengers find their way to a mansion of a twisted man, who's game is to hunt the passengers and kill them. The theme of this thriller is, psychological  This is because the antagonist wants to try and get into the minds of the passengers, all as an attempt to kill them for his own fun. The characters are stereo typical to thriller films. this includes, a twisted evil antagonist who's goal is to inflict fear towards the audience, the heroic protagonist who saves the day and extras who help build up the storyline. The directors of the film are Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel.


Rebecca - 1940

Rebecca is a thriller film which was made in 1940. Rebecca is about a woman who married a widower only to find out that her husbands late wife died several years earlier. She must find out the secrets her husband is hiding and unveil the truth while also dealing with a jealous housekeeper who will not accept her as the lady of the house. Rebecca is a psychological/mystery thriller as the main protagonist is forced to solve mysteries and find clues to how her husbands wife died. The characters in Rebecca are conventional to thrillers in this era because the audience find it familiar to see a protagonist, antagonist and an extra who torments the protagonist all in the main cast. The director of Rebecca is Alfred Hitchcock. 


The Killing - 1956

The Killing was made in 1956 and is about a criminal, Johnny Clay hiring several men to do one last job before he settles down and marries his fiancee, Fay. However, when one of the hired men tell their wife about the job to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she invents a plan of her own. The theme of this thriller is criminal, this is because the main antagonists are all criminals joining forces one last time to hatch an evil illegal job. The costumes are conventional to the crime theme , thus letting the audience know that they are watching the criminal genre. The characters in The Killing are conventional to a thriller film in this era because the antagonists are people of which can be seen as evil in reality and not just a made up fictional character. The director of The killing is Stanley Kubrick.



No Way To Treat A Lady - 1968

No way to treat a lady was made in the 1960's and is about a psychopathic serial killer, who can't let go of his late mother, building an obsession over her. This then results in him murdering any and everyone who reminds him of his mother. He does this by wearing various different disguises to make his target comfortable with him and gain their trust. The serial killer purposely tips off the detective into a game of cat and mouse. The theme of this thriller is a comedy type thriller. This is because the film contains traces of humour and is not a very serious thriller film. The audience know this because they can see humorous scenes in parts of the film. The characters are conventional to a thriller film as it contains a protagonist who works in a service and a lunatic murderer as the antagonist. There is also the common stereo typical, weak, vulnerable damsel is distress. The director of the film is Jack Smight.


The French Connection - 1971

The French Connection was made in 1971 and is about a detective from New York called Doyle or known as "Popeye" and his partner set on a chase to find the french heroin smuggler. The theme of this thriller is an action. This is because it is set in the time where gangsters and drug lords were very popular, this meant that there would be a lot of conflict between the good and the bad. The illegal and the legal, thus making this an action packed film. The audience will know that this films genre is a detective film because from the picture above the audience can see from the costumes the characters are wearing they wear conventional detective clothing. The characters are not very conventional to a thriller film at the time as it was a new type of antagonist. However this didn't mean that it wasn't successful, in fact people at that time enjoyed the film as it had more of a realistic feel to it because gangsters and drug lords were more realistic and common in that time. The director of the film is William Friedkin. 



Angel Heart - 1987

1. 

   Angel Heart was made in 1987 and is about a private detective (Harry Angel), who has a contract with Louis Cyphre to track down the popular singer Johnny Favourite. However everyone that he interrogates about Johnny Favourite leads them to a tragic death. Until finally Angel finds himself in New Orleans where he discovers that Favourite has intertwined with the black arts. As Favourite's location seems to be clearing up, Angel realises being contracted by Cyphre was not just a coincident. The theme of this thriller is  supernatural. This is because the film contains demonic possessions and exorcism which is classed as super natural. The audience can see this from the image above, they can see that there are demonic actions taking place. The characters are conventional to a thriller as there are demonic possessed people, who are put there to scare, excite and engage the audience. The director of Angel Heart is Alan Parker.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Stir Of Echoes - 1999

   
   

   

   Stir of Echoes was made in 1999 and its plot is about a family man (Tom Witzky) who was hypnotised by his sister in law, and as a result Tom starts seeing visions of a mysterious little girl as he is being set on an adventure to unfold the secrets behind her. The theme of this thriller is supernatural, this is because the film contains ghosts, demons and supernatural beings. This is evident when the audience see Kevin in his living room and mysteriously a girl is sitting beside him. This shocks and scares the audience and shows them the supernatural beings. The supernatural theme has become more popular in the 1990's than earlier on, this is because the audience are more engaged and become more scared when seeing something abnormal, which gets them to believe that what they saw could be real. The characters are conventional to thrillers in the 90's, this is because they contain the common heroic protagonist and mysterious antagonist who looks rough and abnormal to have the audience petrified. The director of Stir Of Echoes is, David Koepp.  
   
   
   
   Munich - 2005
   
   
   
   

   

   Munich was made in 2005. Munich; Based off the true story of The Black September Aftermath, 5 men were selected to avenge the people by eliminating the ones responsible for that memorable day. However while the demises were adding up, Avner Kaufman soon questions his actions. The theme of this thriller is political. This is because the film is based on a real political event. The audience can see this because the film was based on the Munich Olympic massacre which happened in 1972. The film shows and recreates some of the events, which helps engage the audience as it is a real story. The characters in this thriller are conventional to a political thriller as there are characters which resemble political figures and the events which takes place is based on a true story. Ultimately making the audience able to relate to the movie as they may have heard or experienced the real life event. The director of Munich is Stephen Spielberg.  
   
   
   
   Honeymoon - 2014
   
   
   
   

   

   Honeymoon was made in 2014 and is about a newlywed couple on their honeymoon, when one night, the bride sleep walked her way into the forrest near an abandoned cabin but when she returns she looks well and normal but acts and seems uncomfortably different. The theme of this type of thriller is psychological, this is evident because the film challenges the minds of the audience into making accusations of what might of happened to the bride, or if its all still a dream. This is evident in the film when the audience see the bride being tied to the bed by the husband. This makes the audience wonder what next will happen to the bride. The characters in this film are conventional to a thriller film as the main characters are a wedded couple who are being challenged mentally and physically, driving them slowly apart. This is done so that the audience can relate to the main characters as they too might be a couple.
   
   
   
   Top Ten Thrillers
   
   
   1. Oldboy; After a man was imprisoned in a room for 15 years, he was released only to find out he must find the man who put him in there in 5 days.
   Domestic Total Gross: $707,481
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   2. The Silence Of The Lambs; An FBI agent must share his secrets with a manipulative killer in order to gain his trust and help him track down another murderer who skins his victims.
   Domestic Total Gross: $130,742,922
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   3. Leon; A young 12 year old girl was taken in by  Leon, a highly trained assassin after her family was brutally murdered. Although the relationship is unusual, she follows in the footsteps of Leon to become a professional assassin.  
   Domestic Total Gross: $19,501,238
   
   

   

   4. Seven; Two detectives, an amateur and a veteran join forces to try and track down a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as a motive. 
   Domestic Total Gross: $100,125,643
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   5. The Usual Suspects;  Five suspects attempt to convince the police that the devil is real and that he was the cause for them to start the several million dollar heist which lead to an explosion leaving very few survivors. 
   Domestic Total Gross: $23,341,568
   

   

    6. Memento; A man uses an abnormal technique to help him remember things in order for him to catch the murderer of his wife without his short term memory getting in his way.
   Domestic Total Gross: $25,544,867
   

   

   7. Heat; A group of heist members feel the "heat" and stress after leaving a big clue which could lead to them from their last heist.
    Domestic Total Gross: $159,582,188
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   8. The Departed; An undercover cop and a member from the police department, attempt to find each others identity whist breaking into an Irish gang in South Boston.
   Domestic Total Gross: $132,384,315
   

   

   
   9. Fargo; When a family man becomes in debt he hires 2 thugs to kidnap his wife so that he will get the ransom from his wife wealthy, rich father. However everything becomes harder when one of the thugs shoot a state trooper.

   Domestic Total Gross: $24,611,975

   
   
   
   
   
   
   10. The Third Man; A Novel writer finds himself in postwar Vienna investigating a mysterious death of an old friend.
   Domestic Total Gross: $429,326

All of the thrillers listed appeal to either and audience of 15 or 18, this is because films which  are successful as these tend to have scenes which may cause harm to any age younger than 15. Another reason is because children younger than the age of 15 do not often watch thrillers as they are at an age where they are easily scared. What made theses films listed so popular are the relatable characters the audience watch. This helps the film to become successful as the audience get hooked onto the relatable characters and the suspense built plot. The reason "Heat" was the most popular film out of the selected few was because it had an interesting narrative which is conventional and also a film which easily engages the audience. This is evident because it made a domestic total gross of just under $160,000,000. "Se7en" was mildly popular within the few selection because it has an average narrative which is conventional however, it is also very common and not unique thus having it make a domestic total gross of around $100,000,000. Lastly, the reason "The Third Man" had only made a domestic total gross of around $430,000 was because it had a very boring and cliche narrative which the audience expect to see.

To conclude, I believe that this task has helped me get a base line of what type of thriller I would like to make. Psychological is the theme that i would like to have my thriller based on because I wish to challenge the minds of my audience and have them leave, pondering on whatever just happened if it was real or not, also letting them build their own conclusions. However I would also like to include a glimpse of abnormal, supernatural beings to scare the audience and keep them engaged such as "Stir of Echoes" has done.