History of a Thriller - Miss Georgiou

Why Do You Think The Thriller Genre is Still Popular?

The thriller genre is still popular because it is accessible to a wider audience and engages the viewers more directly than other genres, such as comedy or romantic films. In terms of being accessible to a wider audience the plot line of a thriller is not as scary as a horror film but also has enough excitement stop the film from becoming a drag. A thriller is also more engaging than other genres as the audience can attempt to predict the conclusion of the film by focusing on the plot line and character representation to attempt to connect the dots to come to a logical conclusion. The narrative is also designed with different secrets and facts being uncovered and red herrings revealed through the film twisting the audience's view on what will happen, forcing them to keep on their toes. Both younger and older generations can enjoy the intricate narrative that are usually consistent with the thriller genre, as well as the suspenseful moments and brave protagonist as well as a mysterious antagonist.

Thriller timeline

1930 - The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. The narrative follows Richard Hannay (Donat) as he attempts to escape the people who are chasing him as he has been framed for the murder of a British spy, as well as find out what 'The 39 Steps' are in a mystery that gets more deadly the closer he gets to the truth. The 39 Steps uses . This film is directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a renowned director and 'The Master of Suspense' who has a tact for creating gripping thrillers. The main character is Richard Hannay is who able to keep ahead of all other adversaries and is knowledgeable enough to solve puzzles.


In the clip below of Hannay's train escape, we can see themes of a thriller such as the dimly lit train carriage which connotes to the audience that Hannay is not letting on everything he knows and keeping himself to the shadows to avoid the people who are following him. Another theme of thriller is that the protagonist does whatever he can to escape the people pursuing him, this is shown when Hannay climbs on the outside of the train to escape the police following him. As for the character himself, Hannay's body language connotes to the audience that he knows he is in danger of people finding out what he has been convicted of. This is shown when he suddenly snaps alert at the mention of the murder of the murdered British spy in his flat, suddenly becoming more watchful of the two men sitting opposite of him showing he is smart enough to watch his own back.

1940 - Gaslight

Gaslight is a British thriller film directed by Thorold Dickinson and features Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard. The plot follows newlyweds Paul and Bella Mallen as they move into a new house, a house that was the scene of the murder of Alice Barlow some years earlier where the murderer killed her then ransacked her house for her famous rubies. After a while, Bellas begins misplacing small things while Paul is starting to make her believe she is going crazy. B.G. Rough, a former detective who worked on the murder of Alice Barlow, starts to believe that Paul is Alice's murderer. Paul is also believed to be sneaking into the the house next to theirs late at night. Bella believes she is hearing noises and the gaslights dim randomly, but Paul reassures her she is imagining things, while in truth it is revealed that Paul, who is revealed to be the wanted man Louis Bauer for the murder of Alice Barlow, has been entering the house next to theirs to access the blocked off upper levels of their own house and using gaslights to search these floors for Barlow's rubies, causing the lights throughout the house to dim. This narrative fits into the thriller genre as the antagonist is able to operate without the protagonist catching on, while the protagonist is left to pick up clues and attempt to piece together what is happening before the antagonist can finish what he has planned to do. A theme present in this film is gender stereotypes in the sense that Paul, a male, is able to overpower Bella, a woman, which is a stereotype as men are believed to be stronger than women. The character of Paul Mallen works well in this film as an antagonist due to a convincing personality and his selfish intentions making it believable that he is able to manipulate Bella into believing that she is losing her mind rather than noticing that he is performing shady actions in order to satisfy his own greed. Thorold Dickinson has directed many films with his most common genre being drama, while also making in the crime, mystery, thriller or horror genres, and he also became the first film professor.

In the clip above we can see that Paul is a powerful character due to his positioning in the scene when talking to Nancy. He keeps his back to the door when talking to Nancy which shows him as being a controlling character due to not letting anyone leave his sight while also not letting anyone get behind him. Sound is used in this scene to convey how Bella is falling to the antagonist, Paul. When Paul is telling her that she is going to end up in an asylum the music suddenly becomes very loud and drawn out until she leaves the scene. This shows how the protagonist is hearing what she does not want to hear and what is making her feel as if she is becoming insane, represented by the loud music wanting to 'block out' what Paul is telling her.

1950s - The Limping Man


The Limping Man is a British thriller film directed by Cy Endfield and stars Lloyd Bridges, Moira Lister and Leslie Phillips. The narrative follows Frank Prior, a former soldier, who has traveled to London to see his girlfriend whom he hasn't seen in six years. A fellow passenger is shot on the way to the terminal who is revealed to have forged documents is identified as Kendel Brown, leads them to actress Pauline French because of a photo he has in his possessions. It turns out that Pauline is the woman that Frank has come to see but she reveals that she notified him to delay his visit. A photo in Kendel Brown's flat of Helene Castle reveals that she is the victim's ex-wife. In the meantime, Frank and Pauline go out on her boat and then to pub where Pauline is menaced by a limping man. Pauline confesses to Frank that she once let Kendel brown use her boat for a smuggling operation Kendel Brown had begun blackmailing her with letters she wrote which Helene now possesses. When Pauline and Frank go to the theater, it is revealed that the limping man is George, the stage manager. To everyone's shock, Kendel Brown appears and reveals that the man who was shot by George turned out to be an impersonator. This narrative fits into the thriller genre as we watch the protagonist attempt to piece together what is going on throughout the film while the twist of the dead man not being dead but a double is what you would expect in a thriller in order to misdirect the audience and advance the plot. In terms of character, Frank Prior is a conventional character to the genre as we know he is a soldier which tells the audience that he will be able to combat the antagonist through determination and skills he has learnt while also being directly next to 'Kendel Brown' when he is shot links him to the chain of events that is happening behind the scenes. The director Cy Endfield has directed some other thriller films like 'Jet Storm' but not a lot that came out before The Limping Man which shows he may not have had much experience when directing this film. As for themes, there are heavy themes of mystery due to the murder of the man who, at the point it happens, we do not know nor do we know who shot the man but there is an overwhelming sense on both audience and protagonist to find out who the man was and who shot him. 

In the clip above we can see that lighting is used to show mystery in this film. During the beginning of the film while Frank is on the plain, the cabin is hardly lit with only a light on Frank's row of seats. This creates a sense of foreboding on the audience as they cannot see all that is going on in the scene but can only see Frank, something they already know and understand. Body positioning is also used to create mystery in the scene. When the limping man gets out of the car and while he aims at his victim both the shooter and the victim have their backs towards the camera. This creates a sense of mystery as the audience want to know who these people are and why they are so important but due to the story they cannot know and so are left guessing.


1960s - Taste of Fear

Taste of Fear is a British thriller film directed by Seth Holt and stars Susan Strasberg, Ronald Lewis and Ann Todd. After surviving a traumatizing accident in which she almost dies before being saved, the paralyzed Penny Applebee returns home to live with her father and step-mother at their estate. While she and her step-mother have a cool relationship when meeting, it turns out her father has mysteriously disappeared despite herself seeing him multiple times at the estate yet he always appear dead. She manages to gain the sympathy of Bob the chauffeur but also believes that her step-mother and her father's friend, Doctor Pierre Gerard, are plotting to drive her insane. This narrative fits into the thriller genre as it has the mystery of her father's disappearances and reappearances while also having two antagonists that try to keep ahead of the protagonist but the protagonist will eventually catch up to them. In terms of character, the protagonist Penny Applebee is quite unconventional due to the fact that she is wheelchair-bound but this also adds to the suspense of the film as their will be moments where she may be unable to defend herself due to being physically disabled although she will still be able to piece together the clues. This film has themes of isolation due to the setting of the father's estate where, if she is in danger, Penny may not be able to easily get help which adds more to the suspense of the story. The director, Seth Holt, only has one director credit before this and it is for 'Nowhere to Go', a crime drama, which tells us that he does not have any experience with directing thriller films.

In the clip above we can see an example of how here physical disabilities will make the film more suspenseful. We can see that the protagonist's wheel chair slips into a pool where she has to swim to safety. This will add to suspense in scenes as she will be less able to defeat the antagonist and is particularly vulnerable to the forces of the antagonist. This also creates mystery as the viewer wants to know why she is rushing in such a panicked way or if she has been pushed by the antagonist.

1970s - And Soon the Darkness

And Soon the Darkness is a British thriller film directed by Robert Fuest and stars Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice. The film is about two young nurses, Jane and Cathy, from Nottingham who have decided to go on a cycling trip in rural France. When they stop at a local cafe to plan their route, Cathy becomes interested in a handsome man drinking alone. After they set off they see the same man overtake them on a scooter and then come across him later resting by a cemetery gate but pass him. The next time they stop Cathy decides to sunbathe but Jane wants to push on, after they fight Jane decides to go on alone anyway but once she hears from a different cafe's owner that this area has a bad reputation, she goes back and retrieves her friend. Jane returns to where she last met Cathy but cannot find her and so decides to seek out the local policeman to alert him . She runs into the scooter rider again but, becomingly increasingly convinced that the he, Paul who claims to be a plain-clothes police officer, has done something to her flees him. She finds Cathy's dead body and then again meets the police officer who is revealed to be Cathy's killer and attempts to be Jane's too but she is saved by Paul at the last moment who renders him unconscious. This narrative fits the thriller genre as the two girls are constantly stalked by the antagonist who they know nothing about, meaning he could have any skills at his disposal or any kind of weaponry , and who could get them alone as they are in rural areas of France. As for characters, Paul makes a good fake antagonist as he has a suspicious role in the film, always following, and is able to having more resources at his disposal due to being more powerful than the women as he is a man, stereotyped to be stronger than women, has a vehicle that is faster than theirs so he would be able to constantly keep up with them regardless of how fast they went as well as having charmed on his side, as he is able to draw Cathy's attention and keep her interested. This film features a theme of isolation due it's foreign setting, as well as both characters being British people in France, as well as the setting being in France creates a vulnerability in the characters due to them being out in the rural areas where a murder can get them at any moment as well as the British characters not being familiar with this area and so the killer will have more knowledge of the area then they do. The director Robert Fuest has no thriller directing credits and so it can be assumed that he has no experience with the thriller genre, meaning this may not be as good of a thriller as one would expect from a more talented director.

In the shot above, we can see how the setting adds to the mystery of the film as the two women are out in the middle of nowhere they could be taken and no one would know and as there is two of them this could happen quite easily. There costumes also make them look weak and vulnerable as they are wearing shorts and short-sleeved tops. This makes them seem less protected due to wearing few layers and more vulnerable to attack while their bright-colors allow them to be seen as the good characters.

1980s - Still of the Night

Still of the Night is an American thriller film directed by Robert Benton and starring Roy Scheider, Meryl Streep, Joey Grifasi and Jessica Tandy. The narrative follows Sam Rice, a recently divorced psychiatrist who is following in the footsteps of his mother, Grace Rice. One of Sam's patients, George Bynum, is found stabbed to death leading to Sam being approached by Detective Vitucci believing that Sam may have important information regarding the murder in his and George's transcript notes, of which Sam does not give to the detective. Sam is also visited by George's assistant and mistress Brooke Reynolds who has come to ask Sam to give George's watch to his wife, who she believes does not know about her. Sam and Grace sit down to analyse the transcripts between George and Sam but in doing so Sam begins to suspect Brooke as being not only the person that may have killed someone that George mentioned but also George's murderer and will attempt to be Sam's as well. Sam decides to tail her to her family estate to question Brooke, who reveals that she felt guilt in the accidental death of her father and George threatened to reveal her secret if she stopped the affair. The two piece together that the murderer is Gail Phillips, an assistant of George's who worked with him that and his ex-girlfriend that blames Brooke for George breaking up with him. Gail has killed Vitucci and is on her way to Brooke's estate to frame, although this leads to Sam being stabbed and Brooke being attacked by Gail. Brooke is able to lose Gail as Gail falls off a balcony of the Reynold's estate while Sam is not fatally wounded. This narrative fits into what we expect from a thriller film as the protagonist is attempting to work out what is going on at the present time and, using clues and logic, will attempt to stop the antagonist before they can commit any further crimes but then the plot twist comes in that the main suspect is just a red herring for the real killer. The character of Brooke Reynolds fits into a thriller as she is a mysterious character tht can be easily implicated to the role of killer as she is suspected to be acting strange throughout the film while also being in a position close to George as she was his mistress. There are romantic themes to this thriller as one of the main characters is close to George as his mistress while also beginning to fall romantically for Brooke, adding more suspense to the film as the main character is gaining more people he cares about. The director, Robert Benton, has few directing credits before he directed this movie, with having more writing roles, while also having directed more comedies and dramas rather than thriller films.

In the clip above, low key lighting is used in order to create mystery in this scene. The dimly lit scene creates mystery as Sam walks through the park and he and the audience cannot see the woman he is following properly which leaves both him and the audience to speculate as to who this is and why they are acting so mysteriously. The act of walking through the park at night creates suspense for the audience as well as Sam is in a dark place that is deserted, allowing the murderer that could be following a chance to strike at him.

1990s - Hidden Agenda

Hidden Agenda is a British thriller film that was directed by Ken Loach and stars  Frances McDormand and Brian Cox. The film opens up to a tape being handed to an American rights activist during a parade, which would make him a target for death. Investigator Peter Kerrigan, who is assisted by Ingrid Jessner, are tasked with investigating the murder of Paul Sullivan, American civil rights lawyer and political activist in Northern Ireland, while he was in the company of an IRA sympathizer. They later find out that these two men were shot without warning. A mysterious tape recording comes to light, made by a Captain Harris, an ex-army intelligence officer, now in hiding, of high ranking military and conservative party members discussing how they arranged Margaret Thatcher's rise to power. Harris eventually gives a copy of the tape to Jessner before British security forces kill him and blame his death on the IRA. Kerrigan is blackmailed into silence about the conspiracy while Jessner still has the tape but can do nothing with it as, without Harris to authenticate it, the tape will be dismissed as forgery. The narrative fits into what you would expect of a thriller film as the film follows the authorities trying to solve a mystery, while the mystery swells out of proportion it still has the same aspects of the protagonist trying to work out what the antagonist is up to. The character of Peter Kerrigan fits the protagonist role well as he is a very smart and physically able character due to his time and experience working as an investigator which will allow him to pick up and solve clues in order to catch up to where the antagonists are in their plan. The theme of politics in this film adds to the suspense and delicacy of the mystery as there is the security of a nation depending on how the protagonist acts and what choices he makes along the way leading up to the finale. While Ken Loach has many dircting credits, he does not have any thriller genre directing jobs before he directed Hidden Agenda, which means that his is his first debut in directing a thriller film, which means the quality of the film as a thriller may not be as you would expect of a thriller film.

In the clip shown above, lighting is used to show the progress that the protagonist is making in the investigation. As there is only one light source, much of the room is left in shadow which foreshadows the grim things to come and how little the protagonist knows in relation to what the antagonist knows about what is going on.

2000s - American Psycho

American Psycho is an American-Canadian black comedy psychological thriller film that is directed by Mary Harron and stars Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe and Jared Leto. The film follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker living in Manhattan who is able to afford every luxury and prides himself on this lifestyle, allowing him to keep up appearances with others and have an extravagant lifestyle. Bateman conducts himself to be more superior then everyone else but when Paul Allen begins flaunting his business cards about Bateman takes this the wrong way and plans to kill Bateman by murdering him with an axe in his apartment, which he manages to do. Bateman shows himself to be a dangerous psychopath and will hurt or kill whoever he pleases, people with better business cards, models, homeless people,his assistant and many more yet he is always able to get away with it. Bateman breaks off his engagement with his fiancee, Evelyn, after murdering two prostitutes and later that night he attempts to murder a cat to feed it to an ATM, but instead kills a woman, and blows up the police cars following him by shooting the gas tanks. Bateman enters his office and calls his lawyer Harold in order to confess to everything but gets an answer phone message. The morning afterward, Bateman travels to Paul's apartment where he expects it to be full of the bodies of the people he has killed, yet there are noneand goes to Harold to confess in person but he does not believe him when he tells him he murdered Paul, stating he had lunch with him a few days ago. It appears to the viewer and Bateman that he will never get the punishment he deserves as it appears everything he did was all in his head. This narrative is unconventional as we see the story form the antagonist's point of view as he does the murders, while previously we watched from the protagonist's view as he attempted to find out who is committing the murders, showing an alternate side to the story. In terms of character, Bateman fits well into the role of thriller antagonist due to his charming nature and ability to hide his true intentions from people, even right before he kills them. He is also wealthy which allows him to carry out his plans and afford himself the finer things in life making him a very vain character as well. This film has themes of psychological thrills which add even more to the mystery in it as we expect Bateman to be caught or killed by the end of the film at the hands of a good character, but instead we found out that he did nothing from the beginning, confusing the audience on what to believe. The director, Mary Harron, has not directed any thrillers before and has few directing credits before American Psycho yet American Psycho is a very popular film. She is also the first female director we have come across so far and that could be why so many of Bateman's victims shown were women, perhaps to demonstrate how men can manipulate women and murder them.

In the clip above we can see the extent of the mysterious man that Bateman is as is show by his home. His home is competely white save for paintings and the touch of black in places. This creates mystery for the audience as they want to know what kind of man would own a home so dull and they  instantly get the idea that there is something wrong with him. Another part of this clip that creates a sense of mystery is when he is talking about his morning routine. We hear him list of all the things he does in an order, with multiple different products he uses. This creates mystery in the audience as they want to know what kind of person goes through such extremes to stay young-looking, perhaps an attempt to hide what kind of person he really is.

2010s - No Good Deed

No Good Deed is an American thriller film directed by Sam Miller and stars Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson. The film follows mother of two Terri Granger who has been left at home with her children while her husband has to visit his dad, being impatient and rude to her before he leaves. Meanwhile, Colin is denied parole after murdering 6 people but on his way back to the penitentiary he murders the driver and guard of the prison transport, escaping to his ex-fiancee's house where he brutally murders her after finding out she was unfaithful. At the instance of her friend Meg, Terri decides to have a girl's night for the two when Colin arrives at her house looking for shelter after crashing his car in the storm. Terri takes him inside and treats his wounds before Meg comes over, and she takes an instant liking to him but he murders her with a shovel in the garage and hides the body telling Terri that she went home. While Terri believes Colin, she is still suspicious of him which is proven when she discovers Meg's umbrella still at her house with the phone lines cut and all the kitchen knives removed. Terri goes upstairs to check on her children as she believes Colin is with them, whom she attacks with the fire extinguisher yet is not able to kill or incapacitate as he forces her to get in the shower with him to clean off the extinguisher foam but she stabs but is once again unable to escape. Colin forces Terri  and her children into the car and tells her to drive to his ex-fiancee's house. Terri is able to get a police officer's attention but Colin murders him before he can help. When they arrive at the house, Terri is separated from her children and leaves her tied up in the room with Colin's ex-fiancee's body. It is at this point that Terri realizes that she was not randomly selected as she answers Colin's ex-fiancee's phone to hear her husband speaking revealing that he was having an affair and Colin came to kill him. Terri is able to distract Colin long enough to get her children to safety and stab Colin, this does not kill him however, but Terri manages to gain his gun and shoot him multiple times out of a window. This narrative fits the thriller genre as throughout the film we see the protagonist attempt to stay one step ahead of the antagonist in order to save her family while also using her abilities to outsmart the antagonist and overpower him. Terri as a character is not conventional as she is a mother with no obvious skills that can help her overpower the antagonist yet she is able to through sheer determination to save her children. There is more of an action theme present in this movie as it has multiple fight scenes in which we are unsure of who will gain the upper-hand when the fight is over which creates suspense as they don't know if Terri will be able to overpower the strong Colin. The director Sam Miller has multiple directing credits although none of these are for thriller related pieces as he mostly works on tv series so a thriller he makes may not be as good as other directors.

In the clip above we can see how suspense is added to the scene by the presence of the antagonist. We see Colin roll the window down of the car as Terri is asked to speak to the police, showing that he is listening in. This creates suspense as we can see that Colin is holding her baby and as we have seen him kill before he may kill the baby if she does not play along, yet there is still suspense as we wait and see what is going to happen.

Thrillers at the Box Office

From what we can see on this list, in terms of narrative, for a thriller to be successful it must have a strong narrative that both interests the reader and keeps them engaged in the story with enough bumps in the story to keep the audience guessing like 'Seven', for example, that has both a strong story and an amazing end with films like 'Saw' being able to hold an audience through the suspense of if the captor will get out in time. The protagonists must be like-able and determined to follow through with stopping the antagonist as the audience will lose interest in them if they are unable to come across as a compelling character while antagonists should be complex enough that you can't guess their final move before the end. Some films on this list have violent themes to them like 'Saw' which shows the sheer brutality of what situation the protagonist is, while some films like Basic Instinct have mysterious themes that the audience will have a very difficult time guessing what they outcome will be. The target audiences for thrillers would be from the age range of teenagers to adults as thrillers aren't as scary as horrors and allow the audience to engage more with the story and have a chance to predict the end, so it appeals to younger people who want a scare and older people who want some thrills and some mystery in their film.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this task has helped me to get a better understanding of what the thriller genre entails and how it has adapted and changed throughout the decades to adopt more action scenes and violence and shed old conventions like the protagonist always being a man that will help me to identify key aspects of a successful thriller and transplant them into my own work. In terms of ideas for my own work, I like the idea of the setting of the protagonist's house as it allows the audience to relate to the situation and keep them more engaged as well as spooked as seen in 'No Good Deed'.