The film genre of psychological thrillers involve films with much intensity, mystery, and occasionally horror, bending different elements to create a powerful experience leaving audiences on the edge of their seat. Mastered by directors such as David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock, the genre has pioneered a variety of innovation, and utilizes a variety of specific techniques in it.
The content of the genre itself involves a variety of generally mystery driven stories, often putting the "thriller" part into the genre. Films such as 'Psycho' and 'Silence of the Lambs' utilize either a lack of audience knowledge or a dark expanding story to bring the audience in further as the mystery unravels. Along with the more conventional horror and mystery devices such as plot twists, a withholding of information, and oftentimes intense storylines, the psychological thriller genre often deals with a variety of either philosophical or moral questions, utilizing different lenses to explore the concepts. Christopher Nolan, a world renowned director of many psychological thrillers, is one example of how these concepts have been taken and warped to fit the stories, and to create a deeper meaning and insight. Films such as 'Tenet' and 'Inception' both warp the concepts of time and perception, with the latter creating dream-like worlds to expand and create the story. 'Tenet" creates a convoluted interwoven story that combines a variety of elements to allow for an intense and deep storyline. Psychological thrillers also deal with topics such as death and more deep and subliminal messages, with the convoluted storylines serving to express the message. Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive' expresses the deeper messages and a criticism of Hollywood itself through the lens of a psychological thriller,
Production techniques on the thrillers often involve strategies to create a more intense aura around the production. Oftentimes either loud and noticeable scores are used (for example, greatly in Christopher Nolan films) or quiet and subliminal scores and soundtracks, depending on either the time in the story, or the degree of intensity that the story seeks to portray. Dark lighting and more ominous or strange mise-en-scene may be utilized to convey this more mysterious aura, as for example is used intensely in the psychological thriller 'The Lighthouse.' The film uses black and white color throughout the production, a general lack of lighting, and a score that illicit direct attention to it through sounds such as a booming foghorn all to create a mysterious atmosphere to further the story, and to create an environment that reflects the message and tone of the production. Psychological thrillers production techniques however can range through a wide spectrum, as the genre encompasses many different types of films, some with more realistic tendencies such as Fincher's 'Gone Girl,' and some with more formalist tendencies and atmospheres such as Lynch's 'Eraserhead.'
The marketing of the genre surrounds the pull and incentive of mystery to the audience. By utilizing trailers and marketing using vague or descriptive plots surrounding either the concept or the mystery of the storyline, the producers are able to draw in audiences and intrigue them to the certain concepts. By using extreme and powerful music (in mostly the action oriented thrillers) or darker and more ominous music (in mostly the horror or mystery oriented thrillers), the trailers can draw audiences closer and result in them wanting to know more surrounding either the concept, mystery, or action of the story. Notable actors are oftentimes used, although this can vary due to the level of independence of the film due to the wide variety of psychological thrillers produced. The marketing overall works to peak audience interest in the either new concept presented, or mystery and intensity presented through the trailers and advertising of the film. The trailer of Peele’s ‘Get Out’ reflects this greatly, as the intense soundtrack, vague details presented, and overall mystery created through the sparsely given information helps to intrigue audiences and capture their attention.
One experimental but representative example of the genre is Charlie Kaufman’s ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things,’ which creates an intense but formalist look at the idea of mental health, life, and human experiences through the guise of a psychological thriller. Kaufman utilizes elements of the thrillers, such as an extremely mysterious plot-line, with details scarce but slowly revealed. The rapid aging and strange aging techniques that occur in one portion of the film creates an overall confusion in the audience as the parents of the character Jake age and de-age rapidly. The film portrays much dialogue and isolation for the two main characters, which firstly creates a better understanding of their characterization, but also creates a sense of tension and fear as the dark lighting, snow ridden isolated environment, and quiet settings allow for the audience to feel secluded, showcasing the characteristics of a psychological thriller in this sense. The concepts represented through the piece, notably the vague and symbolic ending, also represent the psychological aspect of the genre, using the occasional fear and mystery to slowly reveal the main symbols and meanings of the work, creating a fully fleshed piece reflecting the human experience through the guise of one rethinking their life, wrongdoings, and faults. The film magnificently represents the genre of psychological thriller, as the intensity, mystery, vague details, and ultimate psychological themes of the film works together to create a cinematic experience for the audiences, with moments of fear, stress, tension, happiness, and deep thought.
Another incredible representation of the genre of psychological thrillers is the 2018 film ‘Climax’ directed by Gaspar Noe. The film surrounds a group of dancers who consume laced substances, and the film showcases the spiraling of a social event into a hellish and frantic environment, with the night continuing to progressively deteriorate. The film uses various strategies to create intensity, but rather than focusing on conventional horror techniques such as a loud score to create fear, uses the music from the scenes to build a sense of atmosphere as the characters view’s are progressively warped, creating fear and intensity in the situation. Noe’s extensively long takes and tracking shots help to create a sense of progression in the deterioration of the event, and uses cinematography that assists in warping of the views to showcase increasingly gruesome and horrific images, even if not using conventional intensity buildups. The film fantastically showcases psychological concepts that are used to progress the story, and explores themes around the dark and unseen areas of humanity and the level of desperation that can stem from horrid situations, and mixes it with the dark scenes to create a sense of natural fear, almost as if the audience was present. The influence of drugs is portrayed through the cinematography and dreamy-like state of the scene, with saturated colors and dark scenery exemplifying the overdramatized event of the party and the deterioration. The film greatly represents the genre of psychological thrillers, even if using lots of unconventional cinematography, story designs, and structure of the film as a whole to convey the fear and messages.
Other examples of the genre include ‘Seven’ directed by David Fincher, ‘American Psycho’ directed by Mary Harron, ‘Uncut Gems’ directed by the Safdie Brothers, Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan,’ ‘The Bird with the Crystal Plumage’ directed by Dario Argento, and Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window.’
