A genuine, standalone thriller is a film that provide thrills and keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the character(s) is placed in a menacing situation, a mystery, or a trap from which escaping seems impossible. (source: Wikipedia)
40s: The 40s are when the psychological-thriller sub-genre started gaining popularity. Again Hitchcock played a big role as he directed the Oscar winning film, Rebecca. It is the story of a self-conscious bride who is tormented by the memory of her husband's dead first wife Rebecca. Another popular film from the era is Gaslight by George Cukor which featured a scheming husband plotting to make his wife go insane in order to acquire her inheritance. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, winning two. Other popular thriller films from the area include; The Spiral Staircase (1946), a mute domestic servant (Dorothy McGuire) in a house was terrorized by a serial murderer, thinking she was the next victim. In a thriller starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth titled The Lady From Shanghai (1948), a woman, her crippled lawyer/husband and his partner, and an Irish sailor ended up involved in a murder scheme. In Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), an invalid woman (Barbara Stanwyck) overheard a murder plot on the phone – against herself. The Third Man (1949), told the story of a writer (Joseph Cotten) in post-World War II Vienna who found out that his old friend (Orson Welles), a black marketeer, was not dead after all (Source: Wikipedia). The ending scene of Rebecca features a large manor set ablaze and all the characters are struggling to escape, one of them doesn't make it and gets crushed when the floor collapses. A scene like that wouldn't be as shocking as if it was in the 20s or 30s but it was still a very dramatic ending to one of Alfred Hitchcock's most acclaimed films.
50s
In the 50s Alfred Hitchcock made a massive change to the thriller genre by adding technicolour so the films were not in black an white. He also added a touch of glamour to his films by casting "icy blondes" to play the leading roles. His films in that era include, Strangers on a Train, Dial M For Murder, Rear Window, To Catch Thief and Vertigo. The opening scene of Vertigo features a dramatic rooftop chase scene which results in the death of a policeman and the film ends with one of the main characters accidentally falling to their death. This was conventional to the 50s where thriller films were aiming to be as dramatic as possible in order to invoke the biggest emotional response from the audience.
One of the most well known and popular thriller films is ‘Psycho’ which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was produced during 1960. This film is a psychological thriller based on the American 1960‘s time period. The film was adapted from the 1959 novel which was written by Robert Bloch also called ‘psycho‘. Both the film and novel are based on the cases on convicted serial killer Ed Gein, this therefore allowed the directors of the film to associate the film with other genres such as horror, drama and mystery, as well as the thriller. Psycho was extremely violent and is credited with being the earliest example of a "slasher" film and one scene features a showering blonde woman suddenly being viciously attacked and repeatedly stabbed until she dies. At first critics weren't sure what to make of the film and it initially received mixed reviews but ended up being critically acclaimed after making $50 million at the box office on an $800,000 budget.
70s + 80s
Thriller films in this era began to edge closer to the horror genre, adding violence to the mix, while still maintaining the clear difference between the two genres Hitchcock played a massive part in the development of the Thriller Genre. The atmosphere in a thriller film is also enhanced through the lighting and use of music. An example of this is from the opening of the film ‘Alien’ by Ridley Scott in 1979. In the opening of this film, the lighting is minimal and dull, this creates the atmosphere of suspense and mystery which links into the thriller genre. The film is famous for it's suspense and the fact the alien remained hidden for the entire first part of the film.
90s to Today
From the 90s onwards. The thriller genre moved even closer towards the horror genre. Films contained more blood, gore and deaths. Also combining codes and conventions of action movies. Instead of re-using plots from old thriller movies, they decided to modernise the plots. They did this by adding plots that involved government conspiracy, terrorism and large world-wide issues.Thrillers from this era include Eden Lake, Captivity and Hostage.
As you can see from this list, the top grossing thriller film of all time is Hannibal which has grossed $165,092,268 in the US. Hannibal is an American crime thriller directed by Ridley Scott and is actually a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs which happens to be the second highest grossing thriller. These two films fit the thriller genre well as they the feature intense storyline, graphic violence and creepiness which appeals to the young adults these films are usually aimed at.
The film Seven also managed to gross over $100,000,000 in the US. It was a critical as well as commercial success. The cast had plenty to do with the films success as the film featured award winning performances from Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey.The plot revolves around a serial killer who carefully plans his murders and links them to the seven deadly sins.
Three films from the Saw series also feature on the list which is no surprise as the series is in the Guinness Book of Records for ‘being The Most Successful Horror Movie Series’. The films themselves are usually rated poorly by critics but that has not stopped the series from grossing over $873 million worldwide. The Saw films are popular due to the high level of adrenaline and tension they create. The plot usually revolves around a group of strangers who end end up trapped in a cruel game where they have to survive or get brutally murdered by one of the many traps.
This post demonstrates a limited understanding of how thriller films have developed over the years. You have made a start in researching into different films to create a timeline, but you need to elaborate on the points that you have made. This is because the points are too vague and does not demonstrate enough understanding of the thriller film that you have selected.
ReplyDeleteTherefore you need to consider specific scenes from each film that you have included, which will enable you to demonstrate further understanding of the conventions and the ways in which it appeals to an audience.
Also when you are considering the box office information you need to elaborate on the table, by referring to the narrative, audience ratings and success, to demonstrate further understanding.