Stereotypical conventions:
- Sub-genre of the collective genre thriller.
- Focus's and plays on the mental state/unstability of the characters mental and emotions
- Can also usee mystery to play on the unstable mental state.
- A first-person narrative is often used, so that the audience feels more involved with the character and the action happening in the film, wich also helps the audience to understand the mental state and unstability more.
Themes that can appear:
- Reality
- Death
- Perception
- Mind
- Existence
- Purpose
Examples of Psychological Thrillers:
- Black Swan- Darren Aronofsky
- Se7en- David Fincher
- Zodiac- David Fincher
- Fight club- David Fincher
- Vertigo-Alfred Hitchcock
- Rear window- Alfred Hitchcock
- Psyco- Alfred Hitchcock
- Donnie Darko- Richard Kelly
- The Shining- Stanley Kubrick
- The clockwork orange- Stanley Kubrick
- Memento- Christopher Nolan
- Inception- Christopher Nolan
- Shutter Island- Martin Scorsese
- Taxi Driver- Martin Scorsese
- The Sixth Sense- M. Night Shyamalan
- The Others- M. Night Shyamalan
- Unbreakable- M. Night Shyamalan
Black swan:
Black swan is the story of how Nina, a professional Ballet Dancer, who is cast as the lead part in the production of Swan Lake, gradually starts to lose her sanity as she struggles to compete with a fellow ballet dancer, who fits the part of the Black swan, as she is more sexy and sassy, whereas Nina is the perfect example of the white swan, as she is more pure and innocent The pressure of the role, and trying to perfect herself so that she fits both roles, which are very contrasting, slowly but surely start to take their toll on her, and cause her to lose her grip on reality.
I think this film is very successful, as it plays on a theme that most people can relate to; trying to be perfect, even if it means trying to be someone you are not. The film concentrates on some of the key themes in Psychological thrillers; Death, although in this film, the death part does not come until the very end, but there is also an element of suicide and self-harm. The film also plays around the theme of reality, as most of the goings on are happening as a result of her mental instability and so would not have happened in reality.
Se7en:
Seven is about an experienced, about to retire detective, whom is partnered with a newer, younger, more hot-headed detective, to solve the case of a murder. As the plot unfolds, it is discovered that the murderer is infact a serial killer and all of his murders and victims depict on of the seven deadly sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy and Wrath. the story follows the two detectives through their cat and mouse chase of trying to solve the murders.
The film is so successful, as it plays on people's genuine fears, of murder. We also go along the path of the film with the two protagonists:the detectives and are initially shrouded in ignorance and mystery as they are.
Donnie Darko:
Donnie Darko is a very highly regarded film. It tells the story of a teenage boy, Donnie, whom is "mentally disturbed" and his story following the incident of an aeroplane engine falling onto his house and destroying his bedroom, which he narrowly escaped death, as he was not actually in the house, but woke up instead in the middle of the road atop of a hill overlooking his neighbourhood. Donnie was awoken by a figure in a "horrific" rabbit suit, named Frank, whom tells him that the world will end in "28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. The film follows his journey over this time period and his trying to decipher the meaning behind his starnge visits from Frank.
I believe that this film is so successful because it leaves the audience surrounded in enigma; you never truly understand what the film is about, but you can take away from the film what you like, and there have been many different interpretations of the film, as it can mean something different to everyone who watches it. I have watched the film about five times now, and i still do not fully understand it, but the more times i watch it, the more i take away frm it. Some of the shot that they use are also very intresting and captivating to the audience, such as the scene where the camera starts on the ground facing sideways, and then as Donnie steps out of the bus, the film turns so that it is upright, and starts to tilt upwards and track him.
Memento:
Memento is a psychological thriller about a man whom has short-term memory loss and has to track down the man whom raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that all of the information that he discovers, he has to either take a photo and leave himself a note, or tattoo his own body, in order to remember.
I believe that this film is so successful, as it is shown in reverse, you start at the end of the film, and work your way backwards, so only small parts of the plot are revealed at a time, and it is only in the last few minutes that the story is revealed, so the audience is kept guessing right up until the end.
The Sixth Sense:
The Sixth Sense is about a child pschopherapist, Dr. Malcome Crowe whom, after being shot by an ex-patient, returns to work and begins working with a young boy, Cole, who claims that he can "see dead people". At first Crowe believes that Cole is delusional, but following his path through the film, he discovers that thhe young boy is infact telling the truth, and this is the same issue that the ex-patient that shot him had. |I wont give the ending away, because i believe that it will ruin the film to anyone who has not seen it.
I believe that this film is so sucessful, as there is a suprise twist right at the end of the film, which is the common convention of all of M. Night Shyamalan's films, which changes the audience's perspective of the whole film. Another reason that the film is such a success is the fact that the audience is draw to, and genuinely feels for the young Cole, as he is the only poerson who can see the terrors that haunt him, and so he is isolated from the world and feels all alone. This along with the brilliant effects, sound effects, non-diagetic music and the jumpy elements that the ghosts bring themselves all combine to make a fantastic film; and the audience can really relate to at least one of the characters in the film; Crowe-struggling to balance his work life and marrige, which is slowly falling apart, all the while battling his self demons. Cole-who is teriffied of the world and of being alone with his fears, whilst also trying to connect with his mother. Cole's mother herself, whom is trying very hard to understand her young, troubled son, whilst struggling with the task of being a single mother. Being able to connect with these very realistic and human characters helps to make a very effective Psycological Thriller.
As our film's genre is Pshycological thriller, after watching all of these films, there are many points that we could take inspiration from. These points that i believe we could use as starting points/ inspiration for our peice have been highlighted in blue.
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