Welcome to our newest thingamajig – The iRATEfilms Th®illometer- courtesy of the wise people at Mazda Thrills.
I saw the need for this tool, when browsing through the thriller genre on imdb.com. According to imdb.com, “Date Night” is a “Thriller”
Th®illometer breakdown: I’ll grant that it was an action-comedy, but never do you really feel an element of genuine peril. Even the normally tense Ray Liotta camped it up to the point where it was like watching the old Batman movie of the 60s – Yo Ho! To call this a Thriller does a disservice to the genre. Now, when I was 13 or so, this might have had my adrenaline ramped up to about 4,000 RPMs, but now that I am a salty sea-cucumber it falls to a flat 2, hardly worth shifting gears over. Still, a fun film, just not a thriller.
So, what comes to mind when you think Thriller? Michael Jackson? Zombies doing the electric slide? To me, it’s John McClane strapping a fire-hose to himself and jumping off the Nakatomi plaza as the whole roof explodes in a fiery crescendo of excitement!
Here is what some of our trusted fans weighed in with:
The clock tower scene at the end of the original Back to the Future – Don via Facebook
Jurassic Park when the kids are being pursued in the kitchen and the raptors attack barely misses the girl – Sergio via Facebook
Luke gets his hand cut off, and then falls to his certain doom after Vader reveals he is his father! – Blair via Facebook
It doesn’t get much more thrilling than the Obi-wan/Anakin duel in SW Episode 3 – @Sklib via Twitter
Stay tuned next week, when we put the action-packed Yentil up against the Th®illometer! I’m kidding, I still have a lawsuit pending against my mom for making me watch that film when I was a wee child – I am still screwed up from that experience!
But, do stay tuned for more Th®illometer posts each week. We do requests too, so feel free to contact us: contest@iratefilms.com
I'd have to go with the whole escape scene from Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. From getting out of the cage, to the elevator scene, to the ambulance. That was a great one…….There is also the beginning scene of Saving Private Ryan on the beach…..
The King wins! He picked the answer I was thinking of the minute I thought of the Thrillometer – when Lector wears the cop's face, I mean, it doesn't GET any more "thrilling" than that folks!
The King, send me an email at the contest link provided above for your free gift. Cheers!
I must first define a thrilling scene versus a suspenseful scene (opening of Jaws, or shower scene in Psycho) versus a touching scene (end of Color Purple, winning the state title game in Hoosiers). All three can provide thrills, but in this case, my list only includes edge of your seat, adrenaline pumping scenes. Also, keep in mind these are only scenes, not the entire movie, as only one or two of these movies would make my list of Top Thrillers of all time.
Favorite Top 5 Thrilling Movie scenes in chronological order by movie release date:
1.The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – Climax scene when bridge gets blown up
2.Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Opening sequence, escape from cave
3.Road Warrior (1981) – Highway chase ending with death of lead bad guy
4.Aliens (1986) – Chase through air ducts
5.Untouchables (1987) – Baby carriage rolling down stairs during gun fight