History timeline of the thriller genre

Christian Metz had created a theory saying that there are four development stages that can be applied to a genre which are: experimental, classical, parody and deconstruction. The experimental stage is when the genre conventions are established after playing around with different scenarios and the classical stage is films which follow the codes and conventions created in the experimental stage. Parodies are then introduced which begin to mock the genre before deconstruction takes place which takes the original guidelines and refreshes them; producing sub-genres and hybrids.

1923-04-01 00:00:00

Safety Last

One of the first ever thriller films was Harold Lloyd's, Safety Last! and would be in Christian Metz's theory at the Experimental stage. However, it has been said that due to it being 'part comedy' it was not really the first pure thriller film.

1927-02-14 00:00:00

The Lodger

Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger is supposedly one of the first ever thriller films, this is because despite Safety Last being created before, it is apparent that it is not a 'pure' thriller. It is said to be a thriller due to the typical conventions; such as suspense, however it remains in the experimental stage on Christian Metz's genre theory.

1944-04-24 00:00:00

Double Indemnity

Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity is an experimental thriller due to it still playing around with different and contrasting scenarios which still fit a 'thriller' theme, such as suspense. This is because it isn't purely a thriller film, it has elements of drama and film noir as well.

1960-09-08 00:00:00

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is supposedly the best definition avalaible for the thriller genre. It would be in the classical stage of Christian Metz's genre theory due to it having the conventions which were set during the experimental stage.

1996-01-05 00:00:00

Se7en

David Fincher's Se7n is a deconstructed thriller according to Christian Metz's genre theory. This is due to it being mixed with other genres to create a hybrid; being a crime thriller, it has elements of a thriller such as the action, however elements of a crime film such as mystery.

2010-10-15 00:00:00

Vampires Suck

Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's Vampires Suck is a spoof film based around the thriller sub-genre Twilight. It would be in the parody stage in Christian Metz's genre theory due to it taking the conventions of a thriller and making them have comedic effects on the audience. This is achieved by taking very typical elements in certain thriller films (in this example, the character of vampires) and mocking them in order to achieve humour.

2012-01-09 10:50:01

The Hunger Games

Gary Ross's The Hunger Games is a science-fiction/thriller hybrid, thus making it applicable to the deconstruction phase of Christian Metz's genre theory.

History timeline of the thriller genre

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