The Thriller genre is designed to revolve
around suspense and anticipation. It aims to keep the audience on alert and on
the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a
problem, an escape, a mission or a mystery. No matter what sub genre a thriller
falls into it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces,
The Director that
first made the Thriller genre what is it today was called Alfred Hitchcock, he
made one of the first thrillers back in 1926 called "The Lodger"
which was a story that was similar to that of Jack The Ripper, then his next
thriller in 1929 called "Black Mail" was notable for being the first
sound film in Britain and his first sound film.
Psycho (1960)
Psycho was one of the most famous thriller ever made, it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was a black and white film, and was made in 1960. The film is about a Phoenix office worker Marion Crane who is fed up with the way life has treated her. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer, seeing the opportunity to leave town and start a new life she heads to her Lover Sam, to his California store. Then after the long journey she pulls into a Motel and it is managed by a man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother. One scene in particular that stands out is the famous "Shower scene" this is where Marion Crane is attacked and violently murdered however it does not actually show her getting killed, this scene had 77 different camera angles and 50 different cuts.
Sisters (1973)
Sisters is a film directed by Brian DePalma which
was made in 1973 and is about a reporter called Jennifer Salt who thinks
she has witnessed a murder, apparently Margot Kidder is the killer and Lisle
Wilson is the victim. By the time the authorities arrive on the scene, there is
not one scintilla of evidence. With a private eye's help, Salt gets to the
bottom of things. One scene that is famous is the murder scene where a romantic
scene between Phillip Woode and model Danielle Breton ends in Phillip's brutal
murder and with a private eye's help Salt gets to the bottom of things.
Se7en (1995)
The film Seven is directed by David Fincher and was made in 1995, the plot of the film entails two homicide detectives desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the Worlds ignorance of the Seven deadly sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopath Jon Doe Sermonizes Detectives Sommerset and Mills one sin at a time. One scene that stands out in the film is the end scene, where Mills has Doe at gun point while Sommerset goes and checks a "package" when he opens it the camera zooms into his horrified facial expression and the music changes. The package contained Mills' Wifes head, this lead him to eventually shooting Doe even though Sommerset tried to stop him.
Scream (1996)
The film scream was directed by Wes Craven and was made in 1996. Scream is set one year after the death of Sidney Prescott's mother two students turn up gutted and when a Serial killer appears Sidney begins to suspect whether her mothers death and the two new deaths are related and no one is safe as the killer begins to pick everyone off one by one. The first scene of the film the audience first noise that they hear is a loud high pitched scream from a girl, the audience then begin to see why the film was named "Scream". This already creates suspension and gets the audience to wonder why the girl is screaming, it then introduces the female victim . We then see the titles after this as they turn from white lettering to red lettering which runs down the page like blood, along with the girl screaming a phone is ringing, this links in with the first scene as there is a phone ringing in the scene
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The film The Sixth Sense is directed by M. Night Shayamalan and was made in 1999. The plot of the film is about Malcom Crowe a child psychologist who receives an award on the same night he is visited by an unhappy former patient. After this encounter Crowe takes on the challenge of curing a young boy with the same condition as the ex patient. The boy "sees dead people" and Crowe spends a lot of time with the boy. The boy's name is Cole and his mother has ran out of idea's about what to do about him. and Crowe is the boy's only hope. One scene starts with Cole needing the toilet, we first know that something is not right when the thermostat drops ten a figure passes behind Cole as he is peeing, but it passes as a blue so the audience know it is not right, The thermostat and the figure passing builds anticipation and fear of what will happen. Cole then walks slowly out of the room when he sees a female figure in a bath robe who he thinks is his mum. When she turns around its is in fact a ghost who has bruises and slit wrists, Cole then flee's into his tent where he has religious figures and a flashlight.
Saw (2004)
Saw is a film which was directed by James Wan and was made in 2004. The plot opens with two men waking up in a bathroom with their legs chained and trapped, they then find out they are victims of a serial killer who plays games with his victims and gives them one last chance to survive and if they wish to live they have to play their own game as the killer has told them to on an audios script. As the movie progresses the victims find out why they are there and how they have ties with the Serial killer. One particular scene that stands out in the film is when one of the victims (Lawrence Gordon) decides to cut his leg of with a saw as his family is being threatened , we see how gruesome this scene is and it feels like we are doing it with him as he screams and blood comes pouring out. You then see him crawling off out the door with a blood trail being left by his leg.
The Dark Knight (2008)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqvbv-SB4bg
The
Dark Knight is a film directed by Christopher Nolan and was made in 2008. The
film is set within a year of after the events of Batman Begins. Batman
Lieutenant James Gordon and
new district attorney Harvey Dent begin to round up the
criminals in Gotham City until a mysterious sadistic figure called "The
Joker" appears in Gotham creating a new wave of chaos, his struggle
against The Joker becomes deeply personal forcing him to improve his
technology to stop him and a love triangle develops between Bruce Wayne, Harvey
Dent and Rachel Dawes. The opening scene of the film we see a team of people
with clown masks attempt to rob a bank, we see a figure by the side of the road
with a mask in his hand not on, but as the camera slowly zooms into
that mask we realize it is important. As the
Clowns enter the bank and get closer to completing their mission they
kill each other one by one so the cut is less and as they all
kill each other the only one left reveals himself as he Joker, in
this scene the music intensifies and is a good reveal for the main
villain.
Inception (2010)
Inception is a film directed by Christopher Nolan and was made in 2010, The plot of the film is based around Dominic Cobb, a skilled thief and the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction stealing valuable secrets within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in the new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him a wanted fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved and now Cobb has been offered redemption and a chance to get his life back, however the task is to not steal an idea, but to plant one. One scene that stands out in this film is the Cafe scene where Cobb and Ariadne are sitting in a Cafe talking about what Job Cobb is giving Ariadne and explaining how to do it, he then starts explaining that you never remember the beginning of dreams and they realize that they are actually dreaming in the Cafe, then everything starts simultaneously collapsing around them.
Shutter island
The film Shutter island is directed by Martin Scorsese and like Inception was also made in 2010. The film is set in 1954 and up and coming US marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe hospital. He has been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons but before long he realizes he may have been brought here as a twisted plot by Hospital doctors whose treatment range from unethical to illegal and even to disturbing. Teddy's investigating skills provide him a promising lead but the Hospital refuses to give him access to files that could potentially blow the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication from the mainland more criminals begin to escape and Teddy begins to question his memory, partner and even his own sanity. One scene that stands out is when Teddy comes home to his family and see's his wife in a weird state, the music changes to a creepy setting and the wife is wet and looks pale, when the kids are not there she says they are "at school" even though its the weekend. Teddy then realizes that his Wife killed the kids and gets their bodies out of the water in an attempt to revive them. His wife is looking like she may kill Teddy as well, so Teddy shoots her as he is hugging her.
