Thriller
Your probable score
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Thriller
Thriller
1983
Musical, Horror
TV Special
13m
Michael Jackson and his date are watching a movie. They leave, and take a shortcut through the graveyard on the way home. Michael turns into a werepanther-type creature, and then later a zombie, as he gets down and funky. (imdb)
Directed by:
John LandisWriters:
Michael JacksonMichael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. By the early 60s the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964 Michael and Marlon had joined in. A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of "The Jackson 5." Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 80s he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group.
Starring:
Vincent Price, Ben Lokey, Michael JacksonMichael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. By the early 60s the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964 Michael and Marlon had joined in. A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of "The Jackson 5." Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 80s he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group.
Thriller
1983
Musical, Horror
TV Special
13m
Your probable score
Average Percentile: 64.67%
Redefined what the music video could be. It's not Halloween without watching it at least once.
06 Nov 2015
Seems weird to be talking about which of MJ's #1 hits was the best, but this is it. The choreography is drum-tight and it's moody as hell. I think this was the first zombie movie I ever saw.
09 Aug 2014
Greatest Music Video EVER!!!!! This not only transcended the music video genre, it created a narrative that all future music videos endeavored to be, meaning, before this, videos were of artists singing directly to the camera and after this, they made their videos akin to short films, with plots. Having a Hollywood director with great set designs and makeup effects didn't hurt either.
17 Oct 2010
The Citizen Kane of music video, clearly and confidently laying the groundwork for the genre for years to come. Still very entertaining today, although I've always preferred Smooth Criminal.
04 Aug 2009
Ignorant.
09 Oct 2008
Does Thriller honestly count as a short film? That's debatable. But really, it's simply as good as a music video can get and the song is terrific. Michael Jackson is the coolest pop star out there and this is the best video he made. Thriller rules.
30 Oct 2007
Well, if any music video deserves to be considered a movie, it's this one. It's a great song and a great video.
13 Aug 2007
A good effort in the globally acclaimed child-molester/zombie/dance genre
30 Mar 2007
A classic that singlehandedly started music videos as we know them.
02 Nov 2023
the moment when michael starts to sing is absolutely thrilling. still very important for legacy of the 80s.
13 Aug 2018
I'm not much of a Michael Jackson fan, but admittedly this is a good film. Landis's direction, although too similar to Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead", is inspired, while Vincent Price's narration, Elmer Bernstein's score and Rick Baker's remarkable make-up create a notable atmosphere. It's an old-fashioned video but the zombie dance is cult at its best.
06 Apr 2011
Kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, there's nothing like ghouls dancing.
02 Jun 2008
Cool music video from back when Michael Jackson was still a black dude who made nice music and didn't molest children.
19 May 2007
The greatest music video ever made. I grew up a Michael Jackson fan & a horror fan, and while my opinion on Michael the man has changed a lot over time I still have a soft spot for Michael the artist- and for horror. This is the absolute perfect blend of both, with Jackson at his peak starring in a true love letter to the cheesy zombie flicks we all adore. It does help, of course, that the song is just a banger.
30 Aug 2020
The music video that essentially created music videos is still near the best in it's genre.
19 Nov 2018
The zombie dance is amusingly campy, but not much else.
23 Oct 2013
Michael Jackson music videos are so bad, they're good -- but they're still bad. This is one of his most lavish productions and it's as equally silly and dumb as it is entertaining and laughable (intentionally or not). The best part is actually the beginning where Jackson claims this video has no connections with the occult -- I guess he wasn't the most dangerous artist.
24 Jun 2013
the ultimate music video by michael jackson at his height really elevated the form. scary funny and brilliant
30 May 2013
This short film really fails to make one important point: anyone in their right mind would sleep with 1983 Michael Jackson, even if every once in a while he got a little hairy... or undead.
20 Dec 2012
Silly but fun. If it were any longer, it would be too much, but it's just perfect.
19 Sep 2012
Awesome video
15 Jun 2012
I assume this is the extended version which plays more like a short musical than a music video. at least 9 of the 13 minutes are spent following bad actors doing stuff. Then an alternate version of Thriller gets played where MJ vainly takes his girlfriend to a movie that he stars in and makes fun of her musically when she gets scared. Zombies appear for no reason while Vincent Price's voice-over gets moved to the middle and then they dance with zombie Michael instead of trying to eat the chick.
17 Apr 2012
Never really been moved to care about music videos, but this is better than most since it is actually like a story, but it's still a music video so I still really don't care.
02 Apr 2012
Has lost its impressiveness over the years, but still an achievement in the genre, as limited as it is.
31 Dec 2011
This counts as a movie? Alright, then it's got an amazing soundtrack, fantastic choreography, and lovable horror cliches and twists, enabled by the awesome Vincent Price. How do you not love this video?
21 Sep 2011
FANTASTIC makeup job and great dance sequence.
27 Aug 2011
When music videos are directed by film directors, they magically get transformed into movies? Still looking for Warrant's Cherry Pie...
01 Aug 2011
Took the music video world to another level. In some ways it is fitting of the showy and decadent 80s attitude, in other ways it is both an entertaining little short and companion piece for one of his pop hits. Most of all, it's a music video like no other, but perhaps that can also limit how great you consider it to be in this genre. It is, after all, a hybrid of music and film.
13 Sep 2010
Scared the shit out of me as a kid, but had some tasty zombie costumes and some fun dancing. Still, don't see why this should be on Criticker.
03 Sep 2010
Nothing annoys me more than music videos which think they are films and films which think they are music videos. Make up your mind!
29 Aug 2010
not as good as the 4 player arcade game but then again nothing much is
07 Jun 2010
As an MJfan, I really like this one. Nice clip, nice moves.
30 Apr 2010
It scared me as a little kid. Michael Jackson as that effect on people I guess.
17 Apr 2010
The music video? I'm not giving it a 100 because it's not in my Top Tier favorite movies. It's the best music video but I mean really?
09 Feb 2010
Interesting time capsule from the era when Michael Jackson was straight and black.
19 Jan 2010
Haha, this is listed as a film? Maybe there should be a separate section for MVs.
19 Dec 2009
Amusing, I guess. I was born years after it was released, so I don't have any nostalgia for it or anything, and I sit through about two music videos a year so I'm not particularly interested in the history of the art form. I pretty much learned about Michael Jackson via shitty Jay Leno pedophile jokes, truth be told. Anyway, I like the song a lot, but the video is overlong.
25 Aug 2009
Silly but enjoyable and creative music video.
19 Aug 2009
We're rating music videos on this site now? How do you rate a music video!? Yeah, it's Michael Jackson. It's really cool, I guess. Fuck. If you like Michael Jackson, I guess you'll like Thriller. Course, if you liked Michael Jackson, you'd have already seen the Thriller music video. It's damn good.
22 May 2009
I wouldn't even consider this a film, but it is badass. Scared the crap out of me when I was 5.
22 Apr 2009
It has really great dancing, and the song is great. But the music video is well, more funny then scary.
13 Apr 2009
Just saw this for the first time the other day.
02 Mar 2009
pretty epic.
25 Jan 2009
Oh snap! This is on the list??? Get yourself up there, you almost black Michael Jackson you!
21 Jan 2009
Well. Duh.
16 Jan 2009
What the hell is the MTV clip doing here???
30 Sep 2008
Verdens bedste musikvideo? Jeg var i hver fald imponere i 83
22 Sep 2008
This was a movie? I thought it was an overacted music video.
05 Aug 2008
A revolution in terms of music video, cool choreography.
04 Aug 2008
Who doesn't enjoy watching the full Thriller video?
13 Jun 2008
Just awesome.
02 Jun 2008
I hate Michael Jackson and I hate his overpraised music. Zombies have never been gayer.
01 May 2008
I know it's a classic music video, but I've always thought it was ridiculously boring, overlong and pretentious. A story that can be told in 4 minutes shouldn't have taken 30 minutes.
07 Mar 2008
The ultimate pop video. Milestone in many ways.
01 Mar 2008
'Twas ahead of its time when released, but from todays' standards, it's not that special.
11 Feb 2008
One of the better music videos out there, especially the choreography is, although somewhat unfitting a zombie story, interesting and not too complicated, just as it's supposed to be. The fact that Vincent Price can give a rock goosebumps helps too.
18 Jan 2008
Revolutionary music video before Jackson's mind went awry
27 Nov 2007
Great music video, but it's still just a music video, and not a full-length film.
13 Aug 2007
Great, though I'm not sure it's really a movie.
13 Aug 2007
Although highly influential, it has been surpassed in every way since its inception.
13 Aug 2007
This isn't a movie, it's a music video with a large budget so I don't get why this is on Criticker. The thought of Michael Jackson being in a relationship with a girl is highly laughable.
13 Aug 2007
Michael Jackson sure is a skinny werewolf.
13 Aug 2007
Probably the best music video ever made.
11 Apr 2007
Good music and good video for its time.
01 Mar 2007
Cast & Info
Directed by:
John LandisWriters:
Michael JacksonMichael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. By the early 60s the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964 Michael and Marlon had joined in. A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of "The Jackson 5." Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 80s he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group.
Starring:
Vincent Price, Ben Lokey, Michael JacksonMichael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. By the early 60s the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964 Michael and Marlon had joined in. A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of "The Jackson 5." Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 80s he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group.
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