Timeline of Thriller Films
How have thriller films changed throughout the years? And what do they have in common?
From 1913-1917 thriller films are being mainly based on kidnappings or thefts for example the $5,000,000 Counterfeiting Plot's (1914) storyline includes a forged note that ends up in the wrong hands consequently resulting in an entire gang being brought to justice. A film similar to this is Blind Justice (1916) as this films storyline also includes a crime and kidnapping as John Sikes is taken captive and imprisoned until years later when he is released early and on the hunt for his son Robert.
Thriller films alter from 1916 during the 1920's as there is a rise in films being created that contain psychos and more obscure characters from earlier created thriller films, this is shown in the film Drakula halála (1921) in which the storyline is where a young girl visits an insane asylum and one of the inmates convinces her that they are Dracula, and now she is left to decide whether her visions are just a nightmare or reality.
Another film with an obscure character also from the 1920's is He Who Gets Slapped (1924) as this film is the first thriller film to use a clown within it, this film is similar to earlier films as the storyline to this film is also based around a kidnapping, as the clown goes out to rescue the young woman he loves from the count who once betrayed him.
In 1926 a film was created called Midnight Faces which is one of the first thriller films to be created that has an element of supernatural activity, as they believe they see someone in a house that is supposedly uninhabited. Midnight Faces is similar to Drakula halála in regards to characters as this film also contains a young girl who is running from the a knife wielding psychopath, however this is different from earlier films as many of the earliest thriller films will only contain male characters.
Although in 1929 and 1931 films were created called Blackmail and Night Nurse, in these films female characters have become more important within the films as in Blackmail a female is the main character as the suspect of a crime and in Night Nurse a female is the main character as well as the hero/rescuer of the film.
In conclusion many of the conventions from the earliest thriller films are still very similar to the conventions and features being used in thriller films in the 21st centaury, for example the use of music to build up tension, the use of low key lighting and the use of specific locations and characters to create a better atmosphere within the films.
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