The history of thriller films began in the 1920s with Alfred Hitchcock's silent films which helped establish conventions of the genre like including an antagonist and protagonist. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hitchcock continued to produce influential thrillers in color like Psycho, which subverted audience expectations. During the 1970s and 80s, thrillers incorporated more graphic violence and psychological elements. In modern times, thrillers increasingly overlap with the horror genre through use of gore and terror while some adopt conventions from other genres like action.

1. HISTORY OF THRILLER
FILMS
BY DAN NEARY

2. WHERE IT BEGAN
• 1920’s – Alfred Hitchcock’s first appearance in the thriller film industry came from his third
‘silent film’ – The Lodger
• 1930 – The 39 Steps and ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ were more well-known, notable for
their inclusion of sub-genre conventions
• One of the first directors on the scene of production during the making of ‘Fritz Langs’s
Spies’ (the first spy film) was directed independently, which included the use of binary
opposites (1928): an antagonist, spy agent was apprehended by a ‘good-guy’ Agent. This
would later influence on the iconic replication of the film James Bond, which adapts a similar
narrative.
• The German Film ‘M’, which featured Peter Lorre who played a deviant adult that preyed on
children, perhaps used this character as an educational purpose for an audience to address
issues in early society. However, characters that often adopt a sadistic persona is typical of
the thriller genre, and usually is associated with the sub-genre of crime, film noir or the
psychological aspect of the genre. As a result, this hooks the audience in suspense and
typically, provokes anger or disgust from the audience.

3. 50’S AND THE 60’S
1950’s – Hitchcock, still a prominent figure and admired in the film industry added an element
of technicolor to his thriller films . This change was a significant, positive shift in the way the
genre was being distributed and produced by directors, and provided a clearer, enticing view
for audiences, which has influenced the modern-era of cinematography.
1954 – Films such as ’Dial M for Murder’ with Ray Milland’ and Vertigo (1958) are examples of
Hitchcock’s familiar films. Where as, ‘The Night of the Hunter’ (1955) was one of the 1950 films
that was not directedby Hitchcock himself, but still had optimum success.
After the success of the previous decade with his classic, trademark films, Hitchcock produced
a film which reflected a fixated hotel business owner named Psycho (1960). In particular, this
film had impact on the way an audiences consumes film at the cinema. He manipulated his
audiences expectations in the way that he subverted from plots that were traditional of the
genre. For example, he usually outlined the main protagonists which provoked empathetic
emotions from the viewer. However, this was counteracted by the dismissal of these main
protagonists – described as ‘killing them off’ to create enigmas for the audience.

4. SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES
• The 1970’s is somewhat considered a ‘birth’ of the horror genre, along with its
intensity which attracted audiences from the elder, more mature demographic
• As horror films began to take a more violent turn in terms of its content,
Hitchcock’s film ‘Frenzy’ (1972) was categorized with the rating ‘R’ due to its
graphic scenes which included shots of strangulation and disturbing footage which
was deemed explicit and vicious. However, this drew controversy due to its shocking
imagery.
• ‘The Conversation’ saw the rebirth of the ’spy’ and crime genre (1974) which
included typical features in the narrative such as murder and investigation –
directed by Francis Ford.
• 1980’s – ‘Dead Calm’ (1989) followed the typical conventions of the thriller genre
due to the inclusion of psychological elements such as obsession – a feature which
influenced further thriller films in the modern-era.

5. THE PRESENT DAY
• Over the years,, in particular the films produced during the decades from 2000-
2016 often have thrillers that overlap with the horror genre and elements. This was
evidently due to the increase in adopting horror factors such as having more
gore/sadistic violence, brutality, terror and frightening scenes.
• Recent films which include the sub-genre of horror are: Eden Lake (2006), The Last
House in the Left (2009) and Captivity (2007). Whereas, other sub-genres are often
incorporated in order to appeal to the broader demographic. Films such as Hostage
(2005) and Cellular (2004) had adopted conventions of the action-genre.