HISTORY OF THRILLER

1920s - 1930s
The first popular thriller films were made in 1920s by a director called Alfred Hitchcock, and he made several popular thrillers , including some silent films , such 'the lodger' which is a Jack the Ripper based film. Alfred Hitchcock was especially important in the development of thriller history as he was the first director to really expand the thriller genre, particularly by focusing on sound , therefore creating more suspense. Several other British thriller directors included Walter Forde and Victor Saville , however their work was mostly produced after Hitchcock's'.

1940s
In the 1940s Hitchcock continued to direct suspense thrillers and in this period of time he produced two films and one of which was Oscar Winning. His films continued to push the boundaries of the genre, and constantly brought new ideas. He also released several other popular thrillers in this time such as 'shadow of a doubt'.

1950s
Again in the 1950 Alfred Hitchcock was the main leading director producing more classics such as 'strangers on a train'  and 'to catch a thief'. Some other thrillers were made by other directors such as 'Niagara' by Henry Hathaway, however in this period of time little development of the genre was made.

1960s
During the 60s director Michael Powell's film 'Peeping Tome' was released prior to to Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. Throughout this period of time thrillers developed significantly and more and more were being made, which furthermore lead to the making of more spy films, as Hitchcock began to produce less work

1970s - 1980s
The 70s bought a violent wave of thrillers and started off with Hitchcock's first British film in almost two decades which was given an R rating for its violent and explicit content. Moreover in this time the first film about an individual being obsessed with their idol was made and produced. During this time thrillers became more engaging as better quality of films developed and more realistic plot lines were used.

1990s - present
The 90s started with Rob Reiners 'Misery' which was based on a book written by Stephen King. Many new thriller directors then made popular thrillers, such as 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Seven'. Overall in this time new technology has expanded the quality and how engaged the audiences.