History of Thriller

As many genres do, thriller originated from literature; ancient poems such as Homer's Odyssey use similar narrative techniques as the thrillers audience watch today. The Three Apples from Arabian Nights is believed to be the first murder mystery story, and features plot twists and elements of detective fiction. 

With the development of film, the thriller genre began to take shape. Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger (1926) was a silent film thought to be the first ever thriller film, based on solving the mystery of a 'Jack-the-Ripper' style killer. Hitchcock was one of the first and most well-known British filmmakers, but also one of the most famous influences for the thriller genre. Throughout the 1930s-60s Hitchcock dominated the thriller film scene, with other directors also releasing material such as Michael Powell's Peeping Tom and Terence Young's Wait Until Dark with Audrey Hepburn. 

By the 1970s, violence began to feature in thriller films, creating the thriller-horror subgenre. Films such as Ted Kotcheff's Wake in Fright (1971) and Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972) introduced violent aspects to the genre. Stephen King's horror/thriller books began to be adapted into films by 1990, and Misery gave the thriller genre the conventions of obsession and trapped protagonists. In the present day, thriller films are often crossed-over with subgenres, particularly action, horror and crime.

(info. from Wikipedia)