case study psychological thriller

Class case study- Psychological thrillers history

1920s the first well known psychological thriller was ‘the lodger’ by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a black and white silent film.

1930s ‘the most dangerous game’ by Irving Pichel is an adaptation of a 1924 short story by the same name.

 

1940s Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’. The film is shot in black and white, and is gothic tale.

1950s the man who  cheated himself is a 50s american crime film noir directed by felix e. feist.

1960s ‘the sinister urge’ is a film that was written and directed by Ed wood. The film revolves around a series of murders of young women.

1970s sleuth is a 1972 mystery thriller film directed by Joseph L. Mickiewicz (his last film).

 

1980s brimstone and teachle by Dennis potter is about a strange young man who has a sinister effect on the family of a middle-aged writer.

1990s the silence of the lambs. A young F.B.I cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

2000s the machinist (2004). An industrial worker hasn’t slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity.

Most recent black swan (2010). A ballet dancer winds the lead in ‘swan lake’ and loses her mind slowly.

Narrative of psychological thriller:

·         The plot sequence will usually start with equilibrium, where all is fine nothing is wrong.

·         This equilibrium will then be disrupted by something, for example someone gets murdered.

·         Then the hero characters will make an attempt to restore the equilibrium an example being that they try to catch the murdered.

·         This usually follows the situation where they try to restore the equilibrium but fail in doing so far, for example they try to catch the murderer but he slips away.

·         This is then followed finally by restoration of a new equilibrium, which usually involves the catching or killing of the murderer.

 

How has the thriller genre developed over time?

Thriller movies are intended to create an intense effect on the viewer, making them feel the uncertainty and suspense. The thriller movie began with the silent movies. As time went passed more thrillers were created with sounds which created a much more effect amongst the audience. However, if we have a look over the plots of the thrillers films they have developed over time as well. The amount of suspense and tension is more and the message is conveyed with more effectiveness. The character profiles changed as the actors used were more effective in the roles and their work was displayed very well. One of the famous thriller films directors of the ancient times is Alfred Hitchcock who gave many of the award winning iconic thriller films of the time. His most famous film of the time was ‘psycho’ which was much appreciated at the time. Later on, in the years many other thriller films were created by many other directors which were well known and helped the thriller genre to grow and become more known.