Codes and Conventions
A
psychological thriller is depicted by the heavy focus on unstable emotions of a
character or characters.
It generally focuses on a person’s mental state rather
than their physical ability as the psychological focus is to do with the mind
and character’s behaviour. In the film it normally involves a character having
a battle with their mind.
These types of films involve suspense, tension and
excitement in order to keep the viewer’s attention to make them want to watch
it through to the end. Psychological films stimulate the audience’s mood
from the realism of the film.
Todorov’s Narrative
Theory is present in many psychological movies.
1. There is equilibrium
2. This equilibrium is the disrupted by an event perhaps
3. There is then the recognition of this disruption
4. An attempt is then made to try and repair
the damage made from the disruption
5. A return or restoration of a new equilibrium is made
Psychological thrillers follow certain themes that can
shape the personality of a character:
Black
comedy
Black comedy (or dark comedy) employs farce and morbid humour, which, in its simplest form, is humour that makes light of subject matter usually considered taboo.
Identity
The definition of ones self. The characters are often confused about or doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity
Death
The cessation of life where characters either fear or have a fascination with death
Mind
The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding/perception
Perception
A person's own interpretation of the world around them through their senses. Often, the characters misperceive the world around them, or their perception is altered by outside factors e.g. like an unreliable narrator
Reality
The quality of being real where characters often try to determine what is real and what is not
Existence/Purpose
The object for which something exists. This is an aim or goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative's conflict is often a way for the characters to discover this purpose
Black comedy (or dark comedy) employs farce and morbid humour, which, in its simplest form, is humour that makes light of subject matter usually considered taboo.
Identity
The definition of ones self. The characters are often confused about or doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity
Death
The cessation of life where characters either fear or have a fascination with death
Mind
The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding/perception
Perception
A person's own interpretation of the world around them through their senses. Often, the characters misperceive the world around them, or their perception is altered by outside factors e.g. like an unreliable narrator
Reality
The quality of being real where characters often try to determine what is real and what is not
Existence/Purpose
The object for which something exists. This is an aim or goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative's conflict is often a way for the characters to discover this purpose
Examples
of these types of films:
Black
Swan
Fight
Club
Zodiac
Psycho
Inception
The
Sixth Sense
Secret
Window
Equilibrium is shown through social realism
Social realism is a naturalistic realism focusing specifically on social issues and the hardships of everyday life.
Social realism is a naturalistic realism focusing specifically on social issues and the hardships of everyday life.
Breaking this is psychologically thrilling.
To disrupt and break this equilibrium and social realism you play with what is real and what is not
To disrupt and break this equilibrium and social realism you play with what is real and what is not
Characters and their states of mind:
Emphasis on characters possibly more than the plot
Mental resources rather than physical strength
Preying on the mind – deceptive games/demolishing the others
mental state
Cinematography and Editing
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