History Music / MichaelJacksonsThriller

[[caption-width-right:300:Michael, you do not look well. Like, ''at all''.]]
->''The foulest stench is in the air''\\
''The funk of forty thousand years''\\
''And grizzly ghouls from every tomb''\\
''Are closing in to seal your doom''\\
''And though you fight to stay alive''\\
''Your body starts to shiver''\\
''For no mere mortal can resist''\\
''The evil of the thriller''

* ResistTheBeast: In the movie they were originally watching, Michael tries to warn his girlfriend before he trans

Directed by Creator/JohnLandis, it had a full run time of 13 minutes, 42 seconds. The FramingDevice was a young man (played by Michael) taking his girlfriend (played by Ola Ray) to see a film about a werewolf--the couple in ''that'' film were also played by Jackson and Ray. While walking home from the film, they are suddenly surrounded by zombies.

* TheDeadCanDance: The dance moves of the zombies have become such a trademark, that they have been repeatedly saluted--and mercilessly parodied--ever since.

* TheNotRemix: The song is re-arranged for the video, as all the verses are spliced together to go all at once, followed by Creator/VincentPrice's soliloquy, then the zombie dance scene, then the full chorus. And a replay of the chorus ends the video.
* OrWasItADream: At the end of the story, a seemingly normal Michael turns back to the camera, to reveal the catlike yellow eyes of his werewolf form.

* ResistTheBeast: In the movie they were originally watching, Michael tries to tell his girlfriend to run as he begins to change into a werewolf.
* ShowWithinAShow: The werewolf movie, within the music video. And on top of that, that turned out to be AllJustADream.

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: These zombies ''dance''

'''''Michael Jackson's Thriller''''' was the music video produced for "Thriller", the TitleTrack, and fourth song overall, from Music/MichaelJackson's [[Music/{{Thriller}} album of the same name]]. As a single, the song itself was released in the United States on January 23, 1984. The music video premiered on Creator/{{MTV}} on December 2, 1983.

* EvilLaugh: The album version ends with Vincent Price doing this. The laugh is placed as part of the OrWasItADream moment in the music video, kicking off the credits.

* VertigoEffect: A dolly zoom was used on the girlfriend right after Michael was revealed to be a zombie.

'''''Michael Jackson's Thriller''''' was the music video produced for "Thriller", the TitleTrack, and fourth song overall, from Music/MichaelJackson's album [[Music/{{Thriller}} of the same name]]. As a single, the song itself was released in the United States on January 23, 1984. The music video premiered on Creator/{{MTV}} on December 2, 1983.

In 2009, ''Thriller'' was added to the UsefulNotes/NationalFilmRegistry. It is currently the only music video to be preserved by the United States Library of Congress.

* TheDanza: The boyfriend is called Michael by the girl. [[TheNameless We never did get a name for the girl, though]].

Directed by Creator/JohnLandis, it had a full run time of 13 minutes, 42 seconds. The FramingDevice was a young man taking his girlfriend (played by Ola Ray) to see a film about a werewolf--the couple in ''that'' film were also played by Jackson and Ray. While walking home from the film, they are suddenly surrounded by zombies.

The song itself had a pretty good run, but surprisingly only peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, though it did top the ''Radio & Records'' CHR[=/=]{{Pop}} Airplay chart. What set this song apart--and planted it permanently in the global lexicon of planet Earth[[note]][[NotHyperbole No, that is not exaggerating by any stretch of the imagination]].[[/note]]--was its music video.

* TheDeadCanDance: The dance moves of the zombies have become such a trademark, that they have saluted and parodied ever since.

Then Michael becomes a zombie.

And they all started dancing.

* TheDeadCanDance: TropeCodifier for this. The dance moves of the zombies have become such a trademark, that they have saluted and parodied ever since.

* MichaelJacksonsThrillerParody: Naturally, the TropeNamer and TropeCodifier. The dance moves of the zombies have become such a trademark, that they have mercilessly been saluted and parodied ever since. Just look at this page.

* SpecialGuest: Creator/VincentPrice reads a soliloquy, which is placed at the end of the album version of the song, but moved to the middle of the video, ending right as Michael and his girlfriend encounter the zombies.

The song itself had a pretty good run, but surprisingly only peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, though it did peak the ''Radio & Records'' CHR[=/=]{{Pop}} Airplay chart. What set this song apart--and planted it permanently in the global lexicon of planet Earth[[note]][[NotHyperbole No, that is not exaggerating by any stretch of the imagination]].[[/note]]--was its music video.

* ShowWithinAShow: The werewolf movie, within the music video. And on top of that, that turned out to be AllJustADream.

Multiple sources have hailed ''Michael Jackson's Thriller'' as the turning point for music videos, turning it into, as director Brian Grant has said, a "proper industry". Nina Blackwood, MTV VJ and executive, noted how music videos began to become more sophisticated--for better or for worse.

And the rest is history.

[[caption-width-right:300:Michael, you are not looking well. Like, ''at all''.]]

''Thriller'' is now a staple of the UsefulNotes/{{Halloween}} holiday, and Michael's red leather jacket became one of his signatures.

The music video literally drove the popularity of the album, being no small part of it becoming the biggest-selling album of all time. But while today it is pretty much universally loved, in spite of future issues in Michael's life, it was not without controversy at the time. Being a Jehovah's Witness, the church felt it promoted the occult, and threatened to excommunicate him if he didn't destroy the negatives of the film. The result was his assistant having a disclaimer added to the beginning of the film]].

* MichaelJacksonThrillerParody: The dance moves of the zombies have become such a trademark, that they have mercilessly been saluted and parodied ever since. Just look at this page.
* OrWasItADream: At the end of the story, a seemingly normal Michael turns back to the camera, to reveal the catlike eyes of his werewolf form.