The document provides a brief history of the thriller genre and discusses some classic and modern thriller films. It notes that early thriller films from the 1930s and 1960s like M, Murders in the Zoo, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Psycho established conventions like dark sequences and claustrophobic shots to build tension. Alfred Hitchcock is cited as the master of suspense who directed thrillers in the 1920s and 1950s like The Lodger, Blackmail, and Vertigo that paved the way for modern thrillers. More recently, films like The Dark Knight trilogy, The Sixth Sense, Inception, Argo, and Zero Dark Thirty have been successful thrillers praised for their susp

1. A Brief History
The Thriller

2. Early Works
M (1931)
Murders in the zoo (1933)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Psycho (1960)
All of these clips show classic conventions of the thriller genre, some show dark
sequences with claustrophobic shots that build tension for the viewer.
A common thriller film is known to promote intense excitement, anxiety, fear
and nerve- wracking tension.
The great, British film director Alfred Hitchcock was known as the master of
suspense/thriller, along with Psycho above he also directed greats that paved
the way for the modern thriller such as; The Lodger (1926), Blackmail (1929)
and Vertigo (1958).

3. The Modern Thriller
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008) has been the most successful thriller film of all time, in terms of top grossing
US box office blockbusters. The second part of Nolan brothers’ trilogy made over $530m in the US
box office; With the third installment just behind with $448m earned.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Sixth Sense’ released in 1999 received great praise as a great thriller that
really did ‘thrill’ with it’s surprising twist. The film features a duller colour palette that is iconic to the
thriller genre.
‘Inception’, written and directed by the highly talented visionary Christopher Nolan was a major
success in the US box office making just over $62.5m in it’s opening weekend. Wally Pfister, the
cinematographer of the Dark Knight trilogy was awarded an Academy Award for his ‘Achievement in
Cinematography’ on ‘Inception’.
‘ARGO’, A new thriller feature film directed by Ben Affleck, was released on the 7th November 2012
and received high praise as a great nail biting suspense film that intensifies it’s audience with a near
impossible mission to retrieve several hostages who take refuge in the Canadian Ambassador's home
in Iran which is in revolt as the country reaches revolution.
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is based on the events of Osama Bin Laden's death from the US SEAL team that
was deployed to take him down. ‘Hurt Locker’ director Kathryn Bigelow directs another decent thriller
based in the middle-east. ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is set to release on the 25th January 2013 in the UK.