Untitled Film Project

Having sold an estimated 70 million copies to date, Michael Jackson’s Thriller turned 40 last year. In celebration of the album that changed music back in 1982, Director Nelson George sat down with multiple experts, insiders and historians to chronicle the making of the best selling album of all-time. The audience is super-served insight from all different perspectives including R&B superstar Usher, model Brooke Shields, the “Queen of Hip Hop Soul” Mary J. Blige, producer Mark Ronson, ballet dancer Misty Copeland, singer/songwriter Maxwell, rock guitarist Steve Lukather of Toto and many others. Through interviews, well known and previously unused footage as well as Jackson’s music, Thriller 40 not only breaks down the story surrounding the album but simultaneously breaks down the story surrounding almost every track. Only “The Lady in My Life” seems to be missing and, in the engulfing shadow of seven of the nine tracks being Top 10 singles, the omission is forgivable.

The film’s opening line of dialogue is from music journalist Steven Ivory when he states “There are two things in the music business: before Thriller and after Thriller.” This documentary delivers on exactly why that line is true. Previously, Spike Lee had done the Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016) and Bad25 (2013) documentaries — the latter of which George was featured in as an expert, by the way — but, for whatever reason, skipped Thriller. Music lovers and pop culturists everywhere can thank George for filling in the gap.

From the font and style of the lower thirds to the syncing of clips between Jackson and BTS to the pairing of archival audio with archival behind-the-scenes video, George gives us something impossible to look away from. Sure, Jackson’s music is iconic and catchy and that certainly helps but the way he tells the story is engaging and borderline addictive.

Thriller 40 is a gift. It’s a must-watch for the Michael faithful but, even if you’re not a fan yet remember the Thriller era fondly, you need to set aside 90 minutes and let your eyes, ears and mind dive into the pool of historic nostalgia. If this had been released into theaters, it’d get strong Oscar consideration for Best Documentary. It’s streaming on Paramount Plus (for Showtime subscribers) and shouldn’t be missed.

JKG SCORE: 9.0