Thrillers - A History

A thriller is basically something that gives people a rush; it makes them sit on the edge of their seats with bated breath. Thrillers are conventionally a mixture of intrigue, suspense and will they dare to do it. In the 1930’s to 1940’s thrillers were commonly those of a gentleman detective, where a smart comment could save you from a troublesome situation. Films like ‘The Thin Man’ had sophisticated heroes, wearing fine suits and caught up in mysteries of danger. 

Alfred Hitchcock is a good example, his 1935 movie ‘The 39 steps’. The main character is targeted by a spy-ring, fleeing to the Highlands. Full of double-crossing characters, chase sequences, and flirty dialogue between the lead male and his leading lady, the film made conventions for exotic action thrillers. This would later go on to form the block for the James Bond films. 

These kinds of thrillers happen at breakneck speed, never allowing the audience time to reflect. It uses principles like a fast moving plot but with elements of psychological depth. One such example is the Bourne Supremacy, 2004. 

Some of the best thriller filmmakers tend to be people that can make the best, most complex plots but also are masters at telling them: (e.g. Hitchcock, John Frankenheimer and Michael).

Now that isn’t to say all thrillers come from detective mysteries or action packed adventures. Thrillers also began to encompass the psychological side of things. More recent films like ‘The Butterfly Effect’ or ‘Black Swan’ don’t have any action adventure of epic proportions, they focus more on the mind and the effects it can have on people. In Butterfly Effect the leading male becomes obsessed with saving the girl, while in Black Swan, Natalie Portman’s character ends up stabbing herself repeated. 

A key aspect of Thrillers is tension. Tension comes from a menacing situation, the feeling of danger, or even just the threat of a life being taking. A good way to do this is to start the film off by giving them false shocks; a hairdryer fails and sparks while in the bathroom with character. Will the character die by electrocution? No, they survive with harm but the tension hasn’t dissipated because now you’re expecting something to happen. 

The characters of Thrillers are often normal people, not use to being subjected to danger unless it’s more of a crime thriller. The films also take place in suburban cities or town, places familiar to them which now seem darker and less innocent then before.

There isn’t a limit to how many kinds of thriller’s there are. James Patterson, 2008 listed some of these kinds, saying: There are all kinds. The legal thriller, spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, police thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller.

As you can see there is no one true definition of the thriller genre. The only thing that all thrillers must fulfil is to thrill its audience, if it doesn’t thrill then it isn’t a thriller.