2. What is a thriller?
• Thrillers can be
characterized and defined
by the moods they can
elicit, giving viewers
heightened feelings of
anxiety, anticipation,
suspense, excitement and
surprise.
• Some successful thriller
directors are Alfred
Hitchcock and Stephen
King.
3. The first thriller movie
• The first ever thriller movie made was ‘Safety Last’ in
1923, it was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam
Taylor and it was written by Hal roach, Sam Taylor and
Tim Whelen.
4. Thrillers in the 1920’s
• Alfred Hitchcock a
successful thriller director
brought out his first
thriller film in 1926, it was
a silent film called ‘The
Lodger’ this was a
suspenseful Jack the
Ripper story. He then
brought out his second
‘Blackmail’ in 1929 this
was his and Britain's first
sound movie.
5. Thrillers in the 1930’s
• Fritz Lang brought out ‘M’ in 1931, it
was written by Thea Von Harbou and
Fitz Lang. It starred Peter Lorre and
Ellen Widmann.
6. Thrillers in the 1940’s
• Alfred Hitchcock continued
making his successful
thrillers which included
directing ‘Foreign
Correspondent’ in 1940,
which tells the story of an
American reporter who is
trying to expose enemy
spies in Britain. ‘Rebecca’ in
1940, which is about a self
conscious bride who is
tormented by the memory
of her husband’s dead first
wife. ‘suspicion’ in 1941
which is about a wife who
suspects her husband is
planning to murder her.
7. Thrillers in the 1950’s
• ‘Night of the Hunter’ directed by Charles Laughton in
1955, this was his only film. The screenplay was
written by James Agee and it was based off of the
novel by Davis Grubb.
8. Thrillers in the 1960’s
• ‘Psycho’ one of the most iconic thriller films
came out in 1960 and was directed by Alfred
Hitchcock, written by Joseph Stefano and
based of off the novel written by Robert Bloch
9. Thrillers in the 1970’s
• In 1974 Francis Ford Coppola directed ‘The
Conversation’ it was also written by the same
person
10. Thrillers in the 1980’s
• ‘Blow Out’ which was directed by Brian De Palma
came out in 1981. it was also written by Brian De
Palma.
11. Thrillers in the 1990’s
• In 1991 Jonathan Demme directed ‘The Silence
Of The Lambs’ which was based off of a novel
by Thomas Harris. The screenplay was written
by Ted Tally.
12. Thrillers in the 2000’s
• In 2004 Quentin Tarantino directed ‘Kill Bill:
Vol. 2’ which was written by the same
person.
13. Thrillers in the 2010’s
• In 2013 James DeMonaco directed and wrote ‘The Purge’. He also directed
‘The Purge: Anarchy’ in 2014 and ‘The Purge: Election Year in 2016. These
films are based on a future dystopic America where for 12 hours once a year
all crimes are legal, including murder.
