Thriller and Suspense Films

1678 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Evolution of films as a genre

Movie genres of all sorts have evolved as time has passed, but have they all evolved equally? Since the start of the nail biting genre, thrillers have always been a suspenseful, on the edge of your seat type film, and ever since the beginning thrillers have continued to evolve into what they have always been; thrillers. The thriller genre is unlike any other movie genre, with its unique ability to blend with nearly any other genre, thrillers have always have been a successful. Unlike other genres, thrillers have found their way to the top of movie universe. Being such a crowd pleasure, thrillers have evolved into being the sort of genre that can never get old. For example, with similar themes such as, action, crime, suspense, and of course death, thrillers have only gotten better, without losing what they once were.

Since the late 1920’s until the early 40’s thrillers have just continued to increase in their success. With movies like Black Mail (1929), Number Seventeen (1932), Man Hunt (1941), and Touch of Evil (1958) they all demonstrate the versatility a thriller can possess. With the ability for thrillers to blend so well with other genres like horror, it helps thrillers in evolving to a much better genre. When blending with other genres, thrillers typically use certain themes to help them become a more entertaining movie. Themes such as, murder, crime, and suspense all help shape how diverse and unique thrillers are when mixed together with other genres like horror, drama, action, and mystery.

In the famous Hitchcock film Black Mail, it provides a great thriller that mixes together both entertaining themes, drama and crime, clearly a fan favorite. Hitchcock’s 1929 thriller Black Mail is a great example of what a thriller t...

... middle of paper ...

...hriller will continue to be what they have always been; Thrillers.

Works Cited

B. C. (1941, Jun 14). ' Man hunt,', at the roxy. New York Times (1923-Current File).

Films Reviwed: THE MAN HUNT. (1918, Jun 15). The Billboard (Archive: 1894-1960), 30, 58.

Variety: "BLACKMAIL" IS BRITISH-MADE TALKER RIOT. (1929, Jun 26). Variety (Archive: 1905-2000), 95, 2.

Penske, Business Media. "Film Reviews: MAN HUNT." Variety. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

Marshal, Ernest. "FILM REVIEW; For Movie and Its Marketing, A Marriage of Convenience." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 July 1929. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.

Thompson, H. (1958, May 22). Screen: 'touch of evil'. New York Times (1923-Current File).

Wear. (1944, Jan 05). Film reviews: The lodger. Variety (Archive: 1905-2000), 153, 16.

Van, G. S. (1931, Oct 21). Reviews: BLACKMAIL. Variety (Archive: 1905-2000), 345, 75.

Show More
Related

  • Film Analysis Of Carol Clover's 'Men Women And Chainsaws'

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    Too many horror films provide scares and screams throughout their respective cinemas.  Not many viewers follow what kind of model the films follow to appease their viewers.  However, after reading film theorist Carol Clover’s novel, watching one of the films she associates in the novel “Halloween”, and also watching the movie “Nightmare on Elm Street” I say almost every “slasher” or horror film follows a model similar to Clover’s.  The model is a female is featured as a primary character and that females tend to always overcome a situation at some point throughout the film.

    Read More

  • “Dark Film” and Sunset Blvd.

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.

    Read More

  • Women In Hollywood: Pre-code and Post War Eras

    1963 Words  | 4 Pages

    Reed, Elanine Walls. "'A very unusual Practise [sic]': miscegnation and the film industy in the Hays era." West Virginia Univesity Philological papers 50, 2003: 42-53.

    Read More

  • Male Failure and Genre Affirmation in New Hollywood Westerns and Noir

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the classical Western and Noir films, narrative is driven by the action of a male protagonist towards a clearly defined, relatable goal. Any lack of motivation or action on the part of the protagonist problematizes the classical association between masculinity and action. Due to inherent genre expectations, this crisis of action is equivalent to a crisis of masculinity. Because these genres are structured around male action, the crises of action and masculinity impose a crisis of genre. In the absence of traditional narrative elements and character tropes, these films can only identify as members of their genres through saturation with otherwise empty genre symbols. The equivalency between the crises of genre and masculinity frames this symbol saturation as a sort of compensatory masculine posturing.

    Read More

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Signature in his Films, Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo

    382 Words  | 1 Pages

    All directors of major motion pictures have specific styles or signatures that they add in their work. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest directors of all time, has a particularly unique style in the way he creates his films. Film analyzers classify his distinctive style as the “Alfred Hitchcock signature”. Hitchcock’s signatures vary from his cameo appearances to his portrayal of a specific character. Two perfect examples of how Hitchcock implements his infamous “signatures” are in the movies, A Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo. In these movies, numerous examples show how Hitchcock exclusively develops his imagination in his films.

    Read More

  • Common Themes and Elements in Psycho and The Birds

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alfred Hitchcock’s unique sense of filmmaking and directing has allowed him to become a very famous and well known film maker of his time. He uses similar recurring themes, elements, and techniques in many of his films to engage the viewers in more than just the film, but the meaning and focus behind the story.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Film Leatherface

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    A blood-curdling horror movie has to tell a story while incorporating specific aspects that make it into the terrifying film that attracts an audience to the theaters. Using darkness, suspense, jump scares, and horrific background music, directors are able to create a movie that scares everyone. In the soon to be released film Leatherface, all of these aspects are addressed and play an important role in how scary it will be. The trailer for the upcoming thriller/horror movie, Leatherface is successful in capturing the audience’s attention by the way it uses color, camera angles, and sound effects to create a suspenseful feeling while raising intriguing questions that will persuade people to watch the film.

    Read More

  • Hitchcock’s Psycho and Phoenix. James’ The Turn of the Screw

    1560 Words  | 4 Pages

    The human body and mind are the most complex and intricate tools known to man. The connection between the two are remarkable, the way body feels pain and the mind is able to understand from where and how the pain is being formed, the way the body lags and drops when the mind does not have enough sleep and rest. Most curiously, it is the way our body and mind speak to each other without really knowing. It is the uncomfortable feeling in your chest, the tenseness of your shoulders and the goose-bumps on your arms that are the very basics of human intuition. Intuition is knowing something without having a logical or reasonable explanation to follow the feeling. But it is when our intuition overcomes our ability to think that we become paranoid; constantly looking over our shoulders, noticing people and objects that were never noticed before, and having this retching feeling that someone is out to get you. Paranoia is a thought process where anxiety and fear accumulate to the point where the person suffers from irritation and delusions. It is often developed through an inner guilty conscience which threatens the self. It is that exact tingling sensation in your stomach, the tightness in your throat and the eerie feeling that you are being watched that makes James and Hitchcock's pieces realistically fantastical. The alternate worlds illustrated in these pieces are not of those of dreams and fairy tales, nor those people superheroes or chimeras, but a realist world, where the minds of the characters are exposed and the only source of reliability. James depicts a young woman who struggles to be a heroine for her wards, only to be torn between the lines of sanity as she questions the existence of two ghosts, while Hitchcock’s psycho can ...

    Read More

  • The Lonely Villa Suspense Analysis

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suspense is a 1913 film that portrays the story of a tramp intruding into a family’s home, where a mother takes care of her child while her husband is away. The plot is a common one that had been used previous times before the film’s release, such as in The Lonely Villa (1909). However, through taking advantage of the single frame shot, the filmmakers were able to create a masterful aesthetic of two separate stories that turn a basic plot into a complex story. The film created an inventive way of illustrating stories within cinema by allowing the audience the chance to consume more narrative in less time within just one take.

    Read More

  • The Western as a Film Genre

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    Friedman, L., Desser, D., Kozloff, S., Nichimson, M., & Prince, S. (2014). An introduction to film genres. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company.

    Read More

  • The Genre Cycle

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the “genre cycle”. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage.

    Read More

  • Vertigo

    1945 Words  | 4 Pages

    In conclusion, all these factors made Vertigo a great film and made it much more enjoyable for the audience. All the Hollywood Classical Film characteristics that are used in the film enhance the power of Vertigo. Everyone should see Vertigo, since it is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. In my opinion Alfred Hitchcock was a genius and Vertigo is one of the greatest Hollywood films ever created.

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Horror Films

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned. (Horror Films)

    Read More

  • Scene Analysis of "The Green Mile"

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Barsam, Richard. Looking at Movies An Introduction to Film, Second Edition (Set with DVD). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print.

    Read More

  • Movie Industry: Cecil B. Demille

    2052 Words  | 5 Pages

    An Interview with Cecil B. DeMille.” Film History Vol. 3 No. 2 (1989): 139-140. Print.

    Read More

More about Thriller and Suspense Films

Open Document