Thriller (song) adapted by director John Landis into a highly successful music video, known independently as "Michael Jackson's Thriller". At fourteen minutes, the video is substantially longer than the song and ties together a narrative featuring Jackson and actress Ola Ray in a setting heavily inspired by horror films of the 1950s. In the video's most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. Though it garnered some criticism for its occult theme and violent imagery, the video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984
Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video) and had a "great smile". Landis encouraged Jackson and Ray to improvise during their scenes, and urged Jackson to satisfy his female fans by acting "sexy" and showing "virility". According to Ray, the attraction between them was real and they became intimate on set. Jackson's transformation makeup was designed by artist Rick Baker, who had worked on "American Werewolf". Elmer Bernstein composed incidental music for the video. The director of photography was Robert Paynter, who had worked with Landis on "Trading Places." "Thriller" was filmed at the Palace Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, the zombie dance sequence at the junction