CINEMA- PSYCHOLOGICAL

THRILLER

Eduar Velasco

Leonardo Gomez

Gina Martinez

Paola Vidal
 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

The psychological thriller is a suspense

film subgenre that focuses on the
emotional and mental states of the
characters. This uses mystery, suspense
and psychological terror to surprise the
viewer.

In a psychological thriller, the characters

do not rely on their physical strength to
defeat their enemies, but on their mental
resources, and often the enemies are not
external but internal (for example:
phobias and fears).
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS
 
• The difference between the psychological
thriller and the classic action thriller is the
nature of the characters. In a classic thriller,
the good against the bad are perfectly
identified; while, in a psychological thriller,
the boundaries between good and evil are
blurred creating confusion and anguish in
the character and the viewer.

• The psychological thriller exposes

psychological terror; This means that the
characters are exposed to danger on a
mental level, rather than being exposed to
physical danger.
 
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS
• The psychological thriller resorts to the use of mirrors and other elements that allow the appearance of the character's reflection. The
mirror usually shows the true "I", showing its dark side, secrets, affiliations and repressed desires.

• In the psychological thriller scenes filmed in “low key” abound; This lighting technique consists of generating shades and dark tones.

• The psychological thriller uses flashbacks to show what happened in the character's past, and provides us with information to
understand the behavior of the characters.

• The psychological thriller makes use of music to generate suspense, threat and danger.
 ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS
 
• The characters in the psychological thriller are usually convicts, criminals, stalkers, psychopaths,
obsessives and the mentally ill.

• Most psychological thrillers take place in urban settings, in cities created and manufactured by
man.

• The reduced and claustrophobic spaces increase the feeling of confinement and the null
possibility of escape.

• The psychological thriller generates confusion and uncertainty by not knowing what is real and
what is the product of the imagination.
 GENRES OF MOVIES
SIMILAR TO THRILLER
The most accepted is that thriller and horror are separate genres and that the former is synonymous
with suspense.
The main difference between the two seems to be in the purpose of the two types of film: the first
aims to keep the audience tense, while clues are released to see the end of the story; the second
seeks to create feelings of fright, panic, restlessness and fear, among others.
 WHAT ARE THE THEMES OF THE THRILLERS
AND WHICH OF HORROR?
• As the delimitation between one genre and the other is so complex, it is somewhat
complicated to establish themes that only belong to one or the other. Most police movies,
promote fear, keep expectations and use the mind are considered thrillers, while the themes
of murderers, monsters, ghosts, or some other kind of specter fall into horror
 HOW TO IDENTIFY IT?
• Suspense
• Mystery
• Surprise
MAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER MOVIES

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

MAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER MOVIES

Psycho (1960)
MAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER MOVIES

Shutter Island (2010)

MAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER MOVIES

The Sixth Sense (1999)

MAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER MOVIES

Black swan (2010)

 OTHER MOVIES OF THE GENRE

• Vértigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)

• A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick (1968)
• The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
• Manhunter - Michael Mann (1986)
• Angel Heart - Alan Parker (1987)
• Seven - David Fincher (1995)
• The Game - David Fincher (1997)
• Memento - Christopher Nolan (2000)
• El experimento - Oliver Hirschbiegel (2001)
• Efecto mariposa - Eric Bress y J Mackye Gruber (2004)
• Olvídate de mí - Michel Gondry (2004)
• El secreto de sus ojos - J.J Campanela (2009)