2. CHARACTERS
• Often in psychological thrillers the antagonists are portrayed psychopathic,
unstable and have forms of insanity as oppose to the location the film is set –
usually reflective upon normality and easily interpretable for an audience.
Typical victims are demonstrated as the ‘damsels in distress’, in particular
females, in order to allow an audience to sympathise with character. This
victim-like perception can be adopted through a significant change in the
narrative, used to show inventible danger to that specific character, usually
established by the callous thoughts of the antagonist.
• In this particular sub-genre, the use of younger characters allow an increase
of suspense and uncertainty to be established, as the audience may
associate an attribute of innocence with children, so when this ideology is
subverted, the impact on the audience is far greater due to the clear contrast
from society and the plot. Moreover, children are frequently used as the
symbolism of possession or death in the psychological genre, which may
exploit the fears of the elder demographic and therefore, creating further
tension.
3. General Conventions
• The psychological sub-genre aims to discomfort an audience through the
exposure of irrational thoughts and emotional fears/vulnerabilities, explored by
revealing parts of the psychic minds of a human that are of a darker nature that
an audience may suppress.
• Usually a narrative can enforce the psychopathic nature of a film, commonly
using linear-flashbacks which allows an audience to be informed of the
antagonists journey and how an evil soul/spirit can be generated through an
audience exploring the background of a specific character, perhaps linking to how
a character has been nurtured which would provide reasoning of the present
state of mind of the antagonist. Moreover, the use of settings such as woodlands,
mansions, schools and hospitals are conventional to the sub-genre as we
associate these settings with a sense of realism. This could be linked back to the
‘Uses & Gratifications Theory’ as an audiences fear is created as they would be
able to image themselves as the victim and thus, adding to the illusion. This
further contributes to the relatability of the sub-genre due to the normality of
everyday life being portrayed on screen, as oppose to other genres e.g. the
supernatural, as this tends to reflect a fictional storyline for an audience and
perhaps, difficult to interpret if not executed correctly.
4. Sound & Editing
• The use of non-diegeitc sounds are an effective way to manipulate an audience in
order to create a sense of fear and control, in addition to the creation of suspense
and climactic tension, conventional to increase enigmas. A slow-paced
soundtrack is usually used which guides the narrative and the audience to
specific moments that hold significance and therefore, acts as an illusion to play
with an audiences mind. In contrast, the use of silences are typically relied upon
to enhance the eerie quality of an atmosphere, with the alternation in rhythm and
pace to heighten the panic and mood of the characters. Moreover, a chaotic
sense of sounds can be used to add to the confusion and to captivate the
audience, typically using sound that is contraption which has a juxtaposition with
the image. This sound could be reflect an innocence of laughter, typical of the
psychological genre to manipulate the minds of an audience and to forebode the
inevitable danger.
• Regarding editing - quick cuts and editing in a montage style are used to engage
the audience in a moment of suspense, and to highlight the tension in the most
significant scenes. Where as low-key lighting s typically used in then genre to
emphasise an emotion of the character, and to distort the characters appearance
to seem more ominous and to portray inner psychic thoughts of a darker nature.
