GENRE RESEARCH
Psychological thriller: Psychological thriller is a sub-genre of the thriller genre which is used combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It usually describes films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
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Psychological thrillers often incorporate elements of mystery and include themes of crime, morality, mental illness, substance abuse, multiple realities or a dissolving sense of reality, and unreliable narrators.
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CODES AND CONVENTIONS
DIRECTOR OF GENRE
BRAD ANDERSON
who directed 'The Machinist' and 'The Call'
DAVID FINCHER
who directed 'Panic Room' and 'Phone Booth'
BRIAN DE PALMA
who directed 'Body Double' and 'Obsession'
DAVID LYNCH
who directed 'Mulholland Drive'
FILMS
MIDSOMMAR
The director (Ari Aster) intention was to make this entire film seem like everyone was on drugs which shows the way everyone is acting psychologically. From having a bright colourful colour palette which is usually unusual to this genre, to having constant suspenseful music, ambient sounds such as wind since they're always in nature and screaming from multiple characters at a time, it still follows the usual psychological thriller codes and conventions. The whole storyline undergoes a cult along with ritualistic twists which could be a specific code and convention to the genre.
SHUTTER ISLAND
This film is about two US marshals that are sent to an island where there lay a mental hospital with the worst patience in the world that normal hospitals can't handle. They are sent there to investigate the disappearance of a patient and while they're doing that, find out more disturbing truths about the mental hospital itself. Since this film also touches on mental illnesses it's quite obvious it's part of this genre. From having available lighting, to ambient sounds, to reds and dark colors in the colour palette, this film contains nearly all the codes and conventions that psychological thrillers usually have.
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
This entire film is filmed at a point of view angle to make the audience feel like they are in the film itself. It not only shows paranormal activity yet you can never see the things behind the camera happening which leaves the audience's imagination take over so this really suits the psychological thriller well. The film is filled with ambient noises of leaves and rocks making the audience wonder where the sounds come from and the entire colour palette is filled with dark tones and ambient lighting.
SPLIT
The whole concept of this film is about a man who suffers from a mental illness called dissociative identity disorder where there lie 23 personalities inside of the same body. That concept itself automatically links to the psychological thriller genre as throughout the film you start getting to know all of the different personalities which have a creepy and unsettling feeling behind it making the audience already feel uncomfortable. The film is also filled with eerie and suspenseful music that also have sudden bursts when action happens to frighten the audience even more.