Vertigo. The birds. North by northwest. Psycho. Rear window. What do these films have in common? First, they are all widely recognized as some of the best thrillers in the history of the genre. More importantly, they were made by one man: Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock, often called the "Master of Suspense," left a huge impact on the thriller genre, forever changing the way people looked at it. Rear Window is perhaps one of the greatest examples of his revolutionary approach. Hitchcock changed the rules of the game by using a variety of stylistic and thematic elements that countless others have borrowed and used in an attempt to recreate the magic of his work in the modern era. One such attempt was by director Mark Pellington through his 1999 film, Arlington Road. The film uses many Hitchcockian elements, but while it mimics it, Arlington Road simply doesn't live up to the standards of an iconic thriller established by Hitchcock, like Rear Window. Alfred Hitchcock has forever left his mark not only on the thriller genre, but the entire film industry with a list of thematic and stylistic elements he regularly used. Chief among these are: the restoration of moral order, the charismatic villain, the artful undermining of institutions of social order, the disclosure of information that increases suspense, recognizable protagonists, and POV editing. A perfect example of Hitchcock's thriller is Rear Window; and as previously stated, Arlington Road fails to match it. However, Arlington Road uses some of these Hitchcock characteristics well. The first and most obvious of the similarities is the destruction of the stereotype (that of Mr. Rogers, if you will), neighborhood... middle of paper...d Hitchcockian precedent in the final scenes. While Arlington Road is a decent attempt at recreating a Hitchcock thriller, like Rear Window, and manages to nail several elements of it, it falls short in three areas that ultimately ruined the film's chances of living up to the hype. ancient greatness of the genre. Arlington Road and Rear Window are strikingly similar in their undermining of institutions of social order, relatable protagonists, and charismatic villains. However, Arlington Road does not successfully use POV editing, does not adequately handle building suspense, and does not restore moral order at the end of the film. These, coupled with an implausible ending, sink Arlington Road into the dark depths of mediocrity, with Hitchcock's iconic thrillers, such as Rear Window, sailing smoothly through the ages: the original, and perhaps, the best..