History Music / MichaelJacksonsThriller

* GirlsAreReallyScaredOfHorrorMovies: Michael happily chomping away at his popcorn as his girlfriend freaks out next to him during the movie is weapons-grade MemeticMutation.[[invoked]]

* MutuallyFictional: Jackson watches a horror movie with his girlfriend starring two actors who look exactly like them, except for their clothes. Nobody comments on the fact that they are the same person. Even the people in the movie theater!

* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Michael turns into a were''cat''.

''Michael Jackson's Thriller'' is now a [[UsefulNotes/AllHallowsEve Halloween]] staple, and Jackson's red leather jacket became a signature of 1980s fashion.

"Michael Jackson's Thriller" is a longform music video directed by Creator/JohnLandis, for the TitleTrack of Music/MichaelJackson's 1982 album ''Music/{{Thriller}}''. One of the earliest music videos to blur the line between Hollywood cinema and typical pop music clips, it premiered on Creator/{{MTV}} on December 2, 1983.

The video came about simply as a way to boost the ''Thriller'' album, which was nearly a year out from its original release in November 1982 and slipping down the charts, back up to number one. And it worked––though not necessarily because of the song itself, which hadn't actually been released as a single until well after the video premiered. What set this song apart--and planted it permanently in the global lexicon of planet Earth--was its music video.

[[NotHyperbole No, that is not exaggerating by any stretch of the imagination]].

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 monster movie--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 And they all started dancing]].

Not long after Jackson's death in 2009, fans all over the world paid their respects by re-enacting the dance sequences. At the end of that year, ''Thriller'' was added to the UsefulNotes/NationalFilmRegistry. It is currently the only music video to be preserved by the United States Library of Congress.

''Michael Jackson's Thriller'' is now a [[UsefulNotes/AllHallowsEve Halloween]] staple, and Jackson's red leather jacket became a signature of 1980's fashion.

''Michael Jackson's Thriller'' is a longform music video directed by Creator/JohnLandis, for the TitleTrack of Music/MichaelJackson's 1982 album ''Music/{{Thriller}}''. One of the earliest music videos to blur the line between Hollywood cinema and typical pop music clips, it premiered on Creator/{{MTV}} on December 2, 1983.

-->--Spoken part by '''Creator/VincentPrice'''

This music video helped seal the ''Thriller'' album's place in history, and helped it become 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; both Landis and Ray would end up suing Michael in separate disputes over royalties. Both were settled; Ray's dispute was settled after Michael's death, having been brought only two months prior.

* LyricsVideoMismatch: Upon close examination of the lyrics to "Thriller," it's essentially a ''love song.''

-->--Spoken part by Creator/VincentPrice
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thriller_e1448027599226_7.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"I'm not like other guys."]]

----
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thriller_end.png

* EvilLaugh: Kicks off the end credits.

* MST3KMantra: Spoken by Michael while chasing his girlfriend out of the theater.
-->'''Michael''': It's only a movie!

* CutawayGag: In the middle of the chorus, the scene cuts briefly to a separate quartet of zombies dancing on their own. (One of them is attempting to do the Robot.)

* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: Things start off with a werecat, and then a bunch of zombies turn up.

* MST3KMantra: Invoked by Michael chasing his girlfriend out of the theater.
-->'''Michael''': "It's only a movie!"

* NightmareFetishist: Michael seems to be the only person in the entire theater who's totally unfazed by the monster movie's contents.

* ShapeshiftingLover: Michael, in the opening monster movie.

* CrystalBallScheduling: In the opening sequence, movie Michael turns into a supernatural being and terrorizes his girlfriend, foreshadowing the rest of the video.

* NestedStoryReveal: This music video is comprised of several stories within a story [[spoiler: [[TheEndOrIsIt Or is it?]]]]
* NightmareFetishist: Michael seems to be the only person in the entire theater who isn't afraid of the movie at all.

* VertigoEffect: Michael's girlfriend's reaction when she first sees him in zombie form.

* AgainstMyReligion: The video begins with a carefully-worded intertitle from Michael Jackson, emphasizing that he doesn't ''really'' approve of zombies and monsters just because they're in his music video. This statement, ghostwritten by John Landis and inserted at the last minute, was a [[DamageControl panicked effort]] to appease the Jehovah's Witnesses, of whom Jackson was a member at the time. (Jehovahs believe the deceased will rise again after the second coming of Christ, and some take offense at trivial depictions of undead people.) Jackson waited until ''[[BavarianFireDrill after]]'' the video was finished to get approval from his elders, who promptly kicked him out of their religion after screening an advance copy. He immediately called up his record company in hysterics, begging them to [[DestructiveSaviour cancel the video's premiere and burn the negatives.]] After calming down, he settled for Landis' opening disclaimer instead.

* AgainstMyReligion: The video begins with a carefully-worded intertitle from Michael Jackson, emphasizing that he doesn't ''really'' approve of zombies and monsters just because they're in his music video. This statement, ghostwritten by John Landis and inserted at the last minute, was a [[DamageControl panicked effort]] to appease the Jehovah's Witnesses, of whom Jackson was a member at the time. (Jehovahs believe the deceased will rise again after the second coming of Christ, and some take offense at trivial depictions of undead people.) Jackson waited until ''[[BavarianFireDrill after]]'' the video was finished to get approval from his elders, who promptly kicked him out of their religion after screening an advance copy. He immediately called up his record company in hysterics, begging them to [[DestructiveSaviour cancel the video's premiere and burn the negatives.]] After calming down, he settled for Landis' opening disclaimer instead. (It didn't work; the Jehovahs refused to take Jackson back.)

** One zombie opens its tomb lid, made of solid marble, from the inside with one hand.

* RiseFromYourGrave: Happens as Michael and his girlfriend skip hand-in-hand past a CreepyCemetary.

''Michael Jackson's Thriller'' is a longform music video directed by Creator/JohnLandis, for the [[TitleTrack title track]] of Music/MichaelJackson's 1982 album ''Music/{{Thriller}}''. One of the earliest music videos to blur the line between Hollywood cinema and typical pop music clips, it premiered on Creator/{{MTV}} on December 2, 1983.

* RiseFromYourGrave: Happens as Michael and his girlfriend skip hand-in-hand past an ominous-looking graveyard.

* SuperStrength: Werecat Michael breaks a small tree in half with a single backhanded strike.