Elements and Conventions of Psychological Thrillers
Elements used in Psychological Thrillers:
Mystery
Drama
Reality
Perception
Mind
Identity
Death
Conventions of a Psychological Thriller:
Time disorientation (flashbacks, premonitions, dreams ect)
Music (mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, there may even be no music at times)
Fast-paced edits
Frequent changes of the camera angle
Quick cuts, montage editing and alteration of shot sizes and camera angles, as well as effective use of incidental music all add to making an amazing thriller.
Mirrors and stairs are a convention of thriller movies, lighting and especially the use of shadow can have an immense impact. Through the use of on linear narrative, the audience are sometimes made to feel sorry for the protagonist as they'are shown part of a characters past through the use of flashbacks. Psychological thrillers use this as it plays with the target audiences mind and makes them think about the action taking place.
-Jaimie
