Thriller

Year: 1983

Director: John Landis

Written by: John Landis & Michael Jackson

Threat: Thriller

Weapon of Choice: None

IMDb page: IMDb link

       Michael Jackson's Thriller

Rish Outfield's reviews
Go ahead, laugh.
This is simply the greatest music video ever made (followed distantly by Weezer's "Buddy Holly"), and it is horror. Tyranist was hesitant about listing this on his site, feeling that the Simpsons' yearly "Treehouse Of Horrors" are more appropriate. But maybe they both belong. I mean, look at the skulls! The way I see it, the more stuff we can put on this site, the better. B-Movies, Cartoons, Ghostbusters, video games, "Twilight Zone"s, etc. I can just see our one loyal fan laughing, "Hey, they put an episode of 'The Andy Griffith' show on here!" We'll just have to see.
This video inspired and delighted me as a boy, and I still find it cool as an 'adult.' This was the peak of Michael Jackson's popularity, and completely changed the look of music videos forever. The makeup (Rick Baker again) and transformation scenes are top-notch a decade-and-a-half later, and I still love the song (R.I.P. Vincent Price). I will admit that it's not for everybody, but for me...um...it does.
Next up: Huey Lewis and the News' "Doin' It All For My Baby!"
Best Scare: Michael's cool eyes at the end.
I'd Recommend It To: Myself. Does that count?

The tyranist's thoughts
If Rish weren't such a fan of this short, it wouldn't be here. That aside . . . there are actually some really cool things in this little film. The make-up is fantastic (Rick Baker is always fantastic), the plot really isn't that bad (until the it's-all-a-dream ending) and I have to admit that the song itself is a really cool homage to the genre. Almost any film with a dance number in it can be forgotten instantly (see Slumber Party Massacre 2), but since you go into this one knowing what is coming, it isn't so bad.

Sequel
Owes everything to/rips off earlier film
Sequel setup
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting skull
Bad dialogue
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location skull
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door skull
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door skull
Toilet stall scene
Victim locks self in with killer
Killer is in car with victim
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Blood hits camera
Beheading
Killer doesn't stay dead skull
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
No one believes only witness
Blood fountain
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
Music detracts from scene
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie skull Thriller (starring Vincent Price)
Future celebrity appears
No one dies at all skull
Death in first five minutes
Virgin survives skull
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending skull
Unbelievably happy ending
What the hell?

Total Skulls: 9

Other movies in this series:
None