ANALYSIS OF THE

THRILLER GENRE:

By Tom
Burden

HISTORY AND ORIGINS:

One of the fi rst fi lms ever to receive the title of
Thriller was titled The Lodger. This was a 1926
silent fi lm based on the story of Jack the Ripper (a
19th Century serial killer). This fi lm was followed up
by one called Blackmail released in 1929. This is, to
many, considered the fi rst true thriller fi lm because,
as it was the fi rst British fi lm to use sound, it created
the fi rst few traits that are still synonymous with the
genre to this day. Both of these movies were created
by Alfred Hitchcock.

PROMINENT FILM STUDIOS:

1. Hammer Films:
British fi lm company founded in 1934
The company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" fi lms
made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s.
Hammer also produced science fi ction, thrillers, fi lm noir and comedies
Hammer have produce many fi lms including: The Curse of Frankenstein,
Dracula, Let Me In and The Woman in Black

2. Syncopy Inc:
British fi lm company based in London England founded in 2001
Director Christopher Nolans privately owned studio
Heavily recognised with bringing back practical eff ects into a world
dominated by CGI
Known for creating fi lms such as Inception and The Dark Knight

PROMINENT FILM DIRECTORS:

1. Christopher Nolan:
British fi lm director, screenwriter, and producer
His nine fi lms have grossed over $4.2 billion worldwide and
garnered a total of 26 Oscar nominations and seven awards.
Nolan has created many critically praised Thrillers including:
Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy and Memento

2. Alfred Hitchcock:
English fi lm director and producer
He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological
thriller genres
He was the fi rst known director know to use point of view shots
His stories often feature fugitives on the run from the law
alongside blonde female characters

AWARDS CEREMONIES:
There are multiple diff erent events created to honour the
Thriller genre:
Empire Awards for Best Thriller:
This is an award presented by the British Film Magazine Empire.
Its purpose is to honour the best thriller fi lm from the previous
year and is decided by Empire Magazine readers via an online
vote.

Saturn Awards:
Created to honour the fi lms which best refl ect the genre from
that year. Categories relating to the included the Best Thriller Film
awards

GENERAL TRAITS OF THE GENRE:

Intense Excitement
Suspense - created through use of sound (frequently
sound bridges during the title sequence)
Uncertainty (frequently done through lack of
immediate exposition which surrounds specifi c
characters in mystery)
Bursts of Action
Mysterious characters (in order to keep the audience
questioning what they know about him/her and,
therefore, keeping them engaged).

SUCCESS OF THE GENRE?

The Thriller genre has seen multiple successes since
it was pioneered by Alfred Hitchcock back in the early
1900s. Commercially, the greatest success that the
genre has seen is the 2012 fi lm Skyfall which grossed
$1,108.6 worldwide (coming in at number 9 on the
all-time grossing chart). Although commercial success
has not always been commonplace for the genre,
critical success, on the other hand, comes in spades.
For example, both Zero Dark Thirty and Gravity
scored most highly in critical reviews from 2012 and
2013 respectively (both averaging around a score of
7.6 9 from almost all establishments).