This document discusses typical elements of psychological thriller narratives, iconography, characters, camerawork/editing, and locations. It notes that psychological thrillers often involve a protagonist trying to resolve a complex problem or enigma. Icons commonly used include shadows, confined spaces, and running water to create tension. Main characters are typically detectives or vulnerable males with families. Cinematography employs low key lighting, long shots, and diegetic/non-diegetic sounds. Films are frequently set in mental asylums or prisons to trap protagonists amid their troubles.

1. PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS

2. TYPICAL NARRATIVE
 In psychological thrillers the narrative is usually very complex which involves
many enigmas that people have to try and solve and they have similar conventions to
thriller and horror. Often they are stories about a person trying to resolve a problem such
as in Shutter Island which involves a man trying to resolve a problem whilst also finding
himself. This is also shown in The Sixth Sense because the little boy has to learn to cope
with a problem that he has whilst trying not to go insane because of it. In The Lazarus
Project it is a man who is taken to an asylum (similar to Shutter Island) and has to try
and find out why he’s hallucinating. This shows that in psychological thrillers often
people are trying to resolve their own problems.

3. ICONOGRAPHY
 In Psychological Thrillers I would expect to see lots of shadows because they are very useful for
creating enigmas, this is used a lot in Shutter Island because it creates the creepy atmosphere of the mental
asylum. There are usually lots of confined spaces and restrictions on where people can go as this means that
they are trapped, this makes the atmosphere much more tense as in The Lazarus Project as the main character
is stuck in the ‘Prison’ area and is unable to leave under threat of death. Often running water is used especially
through rain which is in Shutter Island because they are surrounded by the sea and it rains a lot and this
naturally causes people to get nervous as it creates tension.

4. CHARACTERS
 The typical characters people would find in a psychological thriller would be a detective or
alpha male. In psychological thrillers the main character often gets tormented because
people get nervous when a main character and a ‘dominant’ male gets bullied because it
means that they are powerless. Often there is a woman in there life and a child because having
a family makes the character much more vulnerable. An example of a film which involves
this would be Shutter Island which has a man who hallucinates about his wife and in The Lazarus
Project where the man is trying to get back to his wife and kids.

5. CAMERAWORK, SOUND
LIGHTING AND EDITING
 Often there is low key lighting, especially found in Shutter Island they use this
often because the darkness creates lots of enigmas as the shadows cause enigmas to
be made. The camera work involves lots of extreme long shots and establishing shots
because people can look at the scene and it means people can try to get to know the
surroundings so they are in the characters shoes. There are often lots of diegetic sounds
because that way the characters are able to establish their surroundings much better and
also the audience become much more established with the characters but also there
would be a lot of non-diegetic sound e.g. music because the slower paced music in a
minor key creates the tension which Psychological Thrillers aim to make.

6. LOCATIONS
 Often the location of psychological thrillers is in places such as mental
asylums and prisons as the films often are made around a character is mental so
they fit in around the surroundings, this is used in the case of Shutter Island and
The Lazarus Project this is used because it means the character is surrounded and
enclosed in an area usually with people who you would not desire to be around.
However they could be placed anywhere so long as the character is in a trapped
reality and cannot escape from all of their problems.