Conventions of Genre

Psychological Thrillers/Dramas

FEATURES

Main features of psychological thrillers;

- It is normally focused heavily on the main characters psychological state as well as incorporating elements from the mystery and drama genres.

- The psychological state of the character is the driving force of the plot line, rather than the plot line driving the characters psyche.

- There is more than likely to be a first person narrative so that the audience has a better understanding of the characters psychological state of mind.

THEMES

There are some main themes that are relate-able to a psychological thriller film;

REALITY

Characters can sometimes struggle to determine what is real in the scene and what is not, and this can cause turmoil in their psyche.

 MIND

The mind is explored so that the audience gets an understanding of the illness of the character as well as the character itself, which normally reveals an inner conflict within one character or displays the characters extreme emotional state. This is normally expressed through first person narrative.

IDENTITY

There can be a turmoil within a character that makes them doubt who they are, or the purpose they are serving in the scene. This usual causes the character to set out and 'discover' the real them.

PERCEPTION

There can be a different judgement of the real world within the character with the psychological damage is completely different to the perception of others in the film with a more sound state of mind.

DEATH

A lot of the themes before hand can result in the end of the film having a lot of death. The characters themselves can also often have a fear or fascination with death and the dead, but this theme is more related to a psychological thriller than a psychological drama.

TECHNIQUES WITHIN THE FILM

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The narrative of the story can try to manifest the main characters state of mind, through words used, descriptions and visuals. Visual text and words are also used to show the thought process of someone with a psychological problem.

FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE

A technique that is used where the story is narrated by one or more characters, and this is used to make the audience feel more involved with the story and the characters themselves, thus able to understand the workings of the characters mind.

BACK-STORY

Having the history behind the situation at the start of the film. This can deepen the psychological aspect of the film since the audience is able to understand the character more. It also helps the audience see what the characters motivations are and how their past may have shaped the story within the film.

Here are a few film that cover some aspects of a Psychological Drama within them.