1. Because the psychological
thriller is more of a sub-genre
that combines elements of
different genres, it has a broader
range of history and origin. As
the title suggests it shares much
of its style and history with the
thriller genre that focuses on
suspense, tension and
excitement. These elements are
believed to have originated as far
back as 8th century BC in ancient
poems such as Homer’s The
Odyssey, which is not
particularly a thriller but
features similar basic concepts
of modern day thrillers.
History of the Genre and Significant
Events:
Simialrly, psychological thriller in
film has an equally broad history
dating back to the early 1900’s.
One of the most iconic and
influencial master’s of the genre is
Alfred Hitchcock who is known to
be one of the first to incorporate
the element of character’s or
plotlines with a disturbed
emotional and psychological state
into his films, hence the
psychological element. His most
famous works include The Birds,
Vertigo, Rear Window and most
importantly Psycho which features
the groundbreaking shower scene
which is considered the most
influential scene of all time for the
horror and thriller genres.
Just like the horror genre which
the psychological thriller tends to
overlap with, the genre has roots
and is influenced by works of
gothic fiction which were some of
the first to attempt to shock or
horrify its audience as opposed to
humour or simply entertain. For
example Robert Louis Stevenson’s
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde tells the
story of a man who creates an evil
alternate personality. This theme is
often associated with split
personality disorder. Themes of
dark mental conditions often occur
in psychological thrillers such as
Fight club.
The Spiral
Staircase (1946)
Vertigo
(1958)
Psycho (1960)
Carrie (1976)
Manhunter
(1986)
The Silence of the
Lambs (1991)
American
Psycho (2000)
Shutter Island
(2010)