Michael Jackson was a huge fan and defender of horror films. It is no coincidence that his most iconic and most popular album of all time, Thriller, was a tribute to the cinema of fear.

The album that turned 40 in 1982 was driven by a series of pop classics and closed with a flourish: the title track, Thriller. By this time, Michael had all the Grammys and awards he could have, and he also broke barriers on MTV. What was missing? Stop the world. Literally.

Yes, when he released the video for Thriller in 1984, the singer did not restrict himself to the usual time of the song: he created a short film that had a simultaneous worldwide release. From then on, always outdoing himself, it became a tradition for his videos to become events. None of them has repeated the impact of Thriller.

With an astronomical budget of half a million dollars, he used cutting-edge special effects and made history. The unforgettable part, although they are all unforgettable, is precisely the ballet at the end of the video, with steps that are now classic and ultra-popular in the spooky season also known as Halloween. Thriller is a party anthem, if not THE main song of the party. Deservedly so, of course.

In 2024, the fans’ goal is to “correct” an impressive fact: Thriller is the only song on the album that has never reached number 1 on the radio charts. The 2024 Thriller Challenge seeks to put the song in the place that many believe is its rightful place. If you want to know how to participate, click here (in English). The Thriller Challenge event started at midnight today, the 25th, and is valid until October 31st.

But do you know who the often-forgotten genius in this phenomenon is? Michael’s choreographer, the creator of all the steps that today permeate TikTok and so many videos for several decades. His name? Michael Peters.

Peters also created the dance for Beat It, another classic, but it was with Thriller that he became legendary.

The video featured Michael Jackson who was only 25 years old (or already 25, if we consider that he had been a star since he was 5), and a group of more than 20 dancers who only appeared at the end of the video. Throughout the short film, Michael sings Thriller, always skipping the chorus. For a good reason!

The song only reaches its peak after the star’s ‘transformation’ into a werewolf. At this point, surrounded by zombies, Michael begins to dance. And there are two counts of eight slow steps, combined with dramatic contractions of the head to the right. Then, the arms rise; first straight, then swinging a little. The pelvis moves forward and sideways until clapping above the head while dragging one leg to the side to meet the other. Then raise the hands like claws, from one side to the other. Everyone will tell you that this is “the Thriller move” created by Peters.

The synchronicity between the zombie dancers and Michael is perfect and an unforgettable climax to the 12-minute video. So much so that celebrating its 40th anniversary, the short film Sing Thriller remakes the narrative in animation in a perfect and fun way. After staging a spectacular version of Thriller at the New Moon Theatre, Buster Moon and the cast of SING go out to celebrate at Clay Calloway’s Halloween party. But when our heroes arrive at the party, they discover that a mysterious multicolored goo has transformed Clay and his guests into dancing freaks, just like the Michael Jackson story they staged.

The zombie dance went viral before the concept could exist. Michael Peters’ genius was timeless for several reasons: the moves are ‘in keeping’ with zombies and even better: although it is incredibly danced by professionals, it can be done by anyone and still be fun. This is because, although he was an incredibly skilled dancer, Michael Jackson was not a trained dancer. The steps could not require exaggerated techniques, even though he managed to absorb an impressive complexity of rhythms for someone who was instinctive.

Jackson and his team rehearsed for four days before recording. The dance part – with 6 minutes of looped instrumentals – is not on the album, it was done only for the music video. Yes, it is literally half the total time of the short film. We will talk more about Michael Peters separately.

During Halloween week, here is a tribute to the King of Pop. And a contribution to the 2024 challenge. It is the year that marks 30 years since Michael Peters‘ death (at the age of 46, due to AIDS) and the 40th anniversary of the Thriller video. In 2009, two months after the singer’s death, more than 13 thousand people performed the dance in Mexico City, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest group to successfully take on the choreography. Will they reach the mark in 2024?

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