2. 1920’s
• ‘The lodger’ was a British psychological
thriller made in 1926 by Alfred Hitchcock. It
is a black and white silent movie, and the
rating is a PG. This can show that it may not
be as scary or thrilling, and due to the lack
of technology the movie will not be as
believable. However their DVD case it very
thrilling, which shows their audience what
the genre is. They have done this by the
colour scheme of black and grey, which are
very gothic colours, as well as the picture
of the man, (maybe main character) with a
insane look on his face.
3. 1930’s
• ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ was
produced in 1932 by Irving Pichel
and Ernest B. Schoedsack it is a 78
minute movie. Keywords for this
movie are “madman, escape,
psychopath, slaughter” these are
typical conventions of a
psychological thriller, however the
certificate rating of 12 show that
only frequent violent scenes are
used, therefore we are unable to
see the emphasise on murders or
horror scenes.
4. 1940’s
• Rebeca was a famous film
made in 1940 by Alfred
Hitchcock, it is a black and
white movie which doesn’t
appeal to a younger
generation, also its lack of
technology. The music
however flows with the
genre because it creates
the tension and suspense
needed to make it fit with
the style of film.
5. 1950’s
• During the 1950 was WWII,
what was witness from the war
was reflected in their movies.
‘The man who cheated him-
self’ was a movie made in 1950
by Felix E. Feist, The reviews
for this movie say that the
cinematography was good
along with the editing,
soundtrack and cutting, but
there were a few missing
frames. This proves that the
technology is improving.
6. 1960’s
• ‘The sinister urge’ is a 1961
psychological thriller directed by
Edward D. Wood Jr. there is no
certificate rating for this movie,
however the caption for the poster
to this movie is “compulsive killer
strikes terror” and “a psycho with
the urge to kill”. This draws in the
audience because it is showing
advertisements in different ways.
The Red writing on a white
background connotes to blood,
showing that there is a lot of
murder in this movie. The pictures
as well show signs of a struggle.
7. 1970’s
• ‘Sleuth’ was made in 1972 by Joseph
L.Mankiewicz, it is a colour movie.
This movie is about a sleuth as told
in the title, the title however
doesn’t really link with the genre,
which could potentially mislead the
audience in what they are watching
or going to watch. The keywords for
movie are typically conventions you
want/expect to see in a
psychological thriller. The picture
shows the massive change between
the 1960’s to the 1970’s, the quality
of the picture, and the 15 age rating
shows that the film become more
thrilling.
8. 1980’s
• ‘Brimstone and Treacle’ was
released in 1982 but Richard
Loncraine. It has a certificate
rating of 18 this means that
extreme violence is allowed to
be shown, including blood and
gore, also bad language, and
even sexual scenes such as
rape, which is actually part of
the movie. The DVD cover
looks very gothic and thrilling
as there is a lady screaming
and a man praying on a black
background.
9. 1990’s
• ‘Silence of the Lambs’
1991 by Jonathan Demme.
This movie includes a
psycho villain and a
Hannibal, and a certificate
rating of an 18. The
perspective of the movie
is very good as it
incorporate a lot of
aspects needed that may
not have been used in
earlier films. For example
it shows ripped of human
skin being eaten.
10. PRESENT DAY
• In present day psychological thrillers, the use of different types of
technology and CGI. Recently I have realised that not only does the
technology make the film scary but the camera shots, angles and how they
cut the scenes. This is shown very well in “Black Swan”. The very fast cuts
in this movie make the scene feel fast and scary. Where as in silence of the
lambs in 1991, there weren’t as many which made the film very slow
paced, and lingered on the detailed.
11. OVER TIME
• Over time many things have changed in a psychological
thriller, the most is the technology, which is key to
making the film as realistic as possible. Another thing is
the certificate rating, over time the certificate ratings
have gone up. This is probably because psychological
thrillers have gotten al little bit more frightening but
mostly they have gotten more gorier and sadistic. The
lighting as well can make a massive effect on the
outcome of a movie, as it can add quality to a film
which makes the film more realistic. The posters and
film cover for different films, also give the thriller
effect, along with the font of the film titles, it shows
what type of psychological thriller it is. For example
murder mystery based, a kidnapping plot, mind
puzzling based.
