Thriller

Directed by John Landis with a budget of approximately $500,000, this nearly 14-minute short film was unprecedented in music video history. Michael Jackson, then a practicing Jehovah's Witness, reportedly called his manager in a panic demanding the film never be shown after seeing the occult imagery. A compromise was reached: the video opens with a disclaimer reading "Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult." Jackson disassociated from the Jehovah's Witnesses by 1987. The werecat transformation was designed by makeup artist Rick Baker, and the zombie choreography by Michael Peters.