History of Thriller

History of Thriller:

The thriller genre didn’t start off as it was; the origins of this genre came from ancient epic poems, such as Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer’s Odyssey and Mahābhārata. These poems utilized similar narrative techniques, which are used in thriller films nowadays. As the thriller genre slowly started to develop, it became clear that there were key essentials to making a successful thriller. These factors are intrigue, suspense/tension and the derring-do (what action will take place, will he or won’t he etc.) Many filmmakers quickly combined these elements, to promote their chances of making a good thriller film. The audiences at the time were bored of what they were seeing as it was following the same trend again and again. The thriller genre gave directors the chance to engage with audiences and give them a ‘thrilling’ sensation in which could get their films into the group of being one of the best films. The classic scenario for a thriller was to have a cliffhanger in which the main character was in mortal danger.  The thriller genre pretty much gave birth to a popular character trend to follow, a detective. The amount of tension and suspense, which could be created from being a detective looking into a crime, was immense. This is why the detective trend in the thriller genre has been so successful and so effective.