Psychological thrillers have evolved significantly from 1910 to present day. Early films from 1910-1940s used techniques like low lighting and camera angles to build tension without sound. From 1950s-1980s, films added elements like music, flashbacks, and quick edits to intensify fear and the psychological experience. Modern films from 1990s-present utilize advanced cameras, sound, and color to create highly intense and realistic psychological thrillers. Over the past century, the genre has increasingly focused on the psychological aspects and mind of characters to disturb and immerse audiences.

1. Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller Films from the 1910 to the
present time
Link:
http://www.flickchart.com/movie/FDA535C89A

2. 1910’s – 1940’s
- ‘The Other one’
Max Mack, 1913
- ‘The Logder’
Alfred Hitchcock, 1927
- The Most Dangerous Game’
Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1932
- ‘Laura’
Otta Preminger, 1944

3. 1950’s – 1980’s
- ‘The Night of the Hunter’
Charles Laughton, 1955
- ‘The Manchurian Candidate’
John Frankenhelmer, 1962
- ‘Marathon Man’
John Schlesinger, 1976
- ‘Dressed to Kill’
Brian De Palma, 1980

4. 1990’s - 2016
- ‘The Silence of the Lambs’
Joathan Demme, 1991
- ‘The Prestige’
Christopher Nolan, 2006
- ’Gone Girl’
David Fincher, 2014

5. How has psychological thriller changed
over the past years?
Over the past 106 years psychological thriller has changed significantly from the first movie being
a black and white with no sound to having sound and colour. However the codes and
conventions throughout the years follows through but increasing the psychological function
making it more intense and realistic as possible.
The main common codes and conventions that take place in a psychological thriller are low level
lighting – giving it a dark, gloomy atmosphere, also quick edits and camera angles – this allows
the audience to feel a sense of fear, with the quick edits and the mid and close up camera angles.
Some also tend to use flashbacks which makes the audience understand what has happened in
the past to where the character is now. Another key part to psychological thriller is the music,
which creates the atmosphere, high tension and silence is key which allows the audience to
absorb the emotions which the character in the movie is feeling.
From the first psychological thriller a lot has changed even with black and white with no sound
they where able to create psychological film, by using camera angels as a key convention. They
must have used lots of close-up and mid angle shots which helped create tension, and also the
facial expressions helped the audience understand hat is happening in the storyline. However
now we have camera’s with colour and sound which now makes a ‘good’ movie.

6. Thriller
We’ve decided to look at Thrillers as well due to the fact that our film
is a hybrid. Some of the key conventions we’ll incorporate into our
movie will be:
- Mystery -> to keep the audience on the edge
- Evil vs. Good -> antagonist tends to cause the problems, however
the protagonist solves them
- Low-lighting -> to create confusion
- Music -> to build up tension
- Violence -> which makes it more interesting
- close-ups -> audience can sense what the characters going through
For our movie we will be using most of the codes and conventions
which I’ve listed above for thrillers combined with psychological ones.

7. …
…
Timeline
between 1910s – present time