Well obviously the genre got it's name from a movie that is 'thrilling' just like 'Horrific' movies where bundled as Horror films. But we have gone way past that, you can't use the result of emotion to describe a genre because people have different reactions to these movies. Sadly we can't rename these genres so I will start with what I class as a thriller.
'A Thriller is a film about an event or series of events and an effort to figure out or explain why they occurred over the course of the movie. Commonly using the techniques of misdirection and plot twists so the audience who are following along, usually with the protagonists, are left thinking until the conclusion.'
There does that work for you?
The key here is story and logical thought. Right now you are probably reading this and shouting at your device that you want escapism and to take a break from thinking! Well if you are then stop reading my blog and go watch a Michael Bay movie.
Still reading? Good, my view is that thrillers are the one genre (one could argue drama as well but I will talk about that in a future post) which allows you to escape but not shut off your brain down totally. Some people need a distraction for the mind itself, something else to occupy it. Right, lets get on with it. What are some good thrillers? In no particular order let me give you a quick run down of some my favs.
We have to start with Hitchcock, he did not invent the thriller but he pretty much defined the genre with his excellent direction and flow. My favorite Hitchcock movie is 'Dial M For Murder' a very underrated film of his which is one of those films where you wonder if the culprit will get away with it or not. Hitchcock hasn't made very many bad movies so anything with his name as director is worth checking out because he is so much more than just 'Psycho' a good movie but he has better ones.
This century has seen a decline in western thrillers, but the Koreans seem to pick up the ball and run with it, they have made some great ones but the crowning glory has to be 'OldBoy'. Now this film is being remade and that is a complete travesty! Please if you value this genre see the 2003 Korean one, it is a truly great film with a subtly and class could never be matched. If you only ever watch movie with subtitles in your life make it this one, I cant stress this enough. Asian movies in general have a different feel and I do not think that can be captured my Hollywood no matter how hard them try.
Next up we have probably the most underrated movies of all time 'Manhunter' which was remade as 'Red Dragon' after the success of 'Silence Of The Lambs'. This one did not stay true to the book (which is well worth reading BTW and lambs too, both great books) but had such a style to it, such a great sense of story-telling and anticipation that is just a masterpiece and it also has some really amazing acting from the whole cast. (even sans Hopkins) In my view this is far superior to the remake you don't have much choice but to get behind Graham and celebrate his victory and features a kick-ass ending that, although is deeply rooted in 80's styling. still holds up great.
Kevin Bacon, well yeah, he never really wowed me as an actor not much of his stuff was too my liking and then, just when it looked like he was tailing off, he gives us 'Death Sentance'. Never heard of it? Track it down because it is well worth watching. The acting, direction and cinematography is great and you can easily put yourself in his situation and find yourself thinking, yeah I would totally do that, if I had a huge pair of balls. This is the reason why I will giving Kevin's upcoming TV show 'The Following' a watch, normally I wouldn't bother.
Just a couple more now and we are getting to the big guns. 'Silence Of The Lambs' hit the big screen in 1991 and boy did it slap everyone around the face. When the perviously mentioned Manhunter was a hit it was a pretty safe bet that Thomas Harris' other book would be developed as a movie they really didn't have to do much to it but what they did was perfect, lets just say oscars galore and one of the best acting performances the big screen has ever seen. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter is just sublime and Jodie Foster who only seems to be able to manage vulnerable or pissed is just great, not to forget fantastic performances by everyone in the cast. Jonathan Demme was plucked from virtually B-movie obscurity to direct superbly and the overall look and feel of the movie is just a joy to behold.
What can you say about 'Se7en', it is the best story in a movie I have ever seen, clever and extremely well written (he also wrote 8mm which is another good story) and David Fincher seems to be one of those directors who thrives on a good story and his style suits this story to a tee. Brad Pitt is another one of those actors I could take or leave, you know the ladies love him but he hadn't really shown me quality until this one. Fight Club was way to overhyped for my liking but then he made this movie, his character was so well acted and who can ever say a bad word about Morgan Freeman? So there you have it, the greatest thriller of all-time and arguably one of the greatest movies ever because of it it's accessibility.
Thrillers need to be smart and well written, you can get away with a stupid comedy or you can blow the box office with 30 explosions per minute in an action movie but thrillers comes down a great script and a director and cast that don't screw it up. Props to the screenwriters and all that they do I know how hard it is and they can't be appreciated enough.
I have seen a heck of a lot of thrillers from all over the world but if you have a little known gem then throw it into a comment or if you want my views on any other thrillers that may be declared great by others then just ask.
