The History Of A Psychological Thriller

1920’s

In 1926-1927 came the development of ‘talkies’ following experimental techniques begun in the late 1910’s.

In the 1920’s the technology used was very limited, so the movies produced weren’t very clear or realistic as they are today.

1920’s

• ‘The lodger’ was a British psychological thriller made in 1926 by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a black and white silent movie, and the rating is a 12. This can show that it may not be as scary or thrilling, and due to the lack of technology the movie will not be as believable.

1930’s

• ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ was produced in 1932 by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack it is a 78 minute movie. Keywords for this movie are “madman, escape, psychopath, slaughter” these are typical conventions of a psychological thriller, however the certificate rating of 12 show that only frequent violent scenes are used, therefore we are unable to see the emphasise on murders or horror scenes.

1940’s

• Rebecca was a famous film made in 1940 by Alfred Hitchcock, it is a black and white movie which doesn’t appeal to a younger generation, due a lack of technology. The music however flows with the genre because it creates the tension and suspense needed to make it fit with the style of film.

1950’s

• During the 1950 was WWII, what was witness from the war was reflected in their movies. ‘The man who cheated him-self’ was a movie made in 1950 by Felix E. Feist, The reviews for this movie say that the cinematography was good along with the editing, soundtrack and cutting, but there were a few missing frames. This proves that the technology is improving.

1960’s

• ‘The sinister urge’ is a 1961 psychological thriller directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. there is no certificate rating for this movie, however the caption for the poster to this movie is “compulsive killer strikes terror” and “a psycho with the urge to kill”. This draws in the audience because it is showing advertisements in different ways.

1970’s

• ‘Sleuth’ was made in 1972 by Joseph L.Mankiewicz, it is a colour movie. This movie is about a sleuth as told in the title, the title however doesn’t really link with the genre, which could potentially mislead the audience in what they are watching or going to watch. The keywords for movie are typically conventions you want/expect to see in a psychological thriller.

1980’s

• ‘Brimstone and Treacle’ was released in 1982 but Richard Loncraine. It has a certificate rating of 18 this means that extreme violence is allowed to be shown, including blood and gore, also bad language, and even sexual scenes such as rape, which is actually part of the movie. The DVD cover looks very gothic and thrilling as there is a lady screaming and a man praying on a black background.

1990’s

• ‘Silence of the Lambs’ 1991 by Jonathan Demme. This movie includes a psycho villain and a Hannibal, and a certificate rating of an 18. The perspective of the movie is very good as it incorporate a lot of aspects needed that may not have been used in earlier films. For example it shows ripped of human skin being eaten.

PRESENT DAY

• In present day psychological thrillers, the use of different types of technology and CGI. Recently I have realised that the technology doesn’t make the film scary it can be done by the camera shots, angles and how they cut the scenes. This is shown very well in “Black Swan”. The very fast cuts in this movie make the scene feel fast and scary.

OVER TIME

• Over time many things have changed in a psychological thriller, the most is the technology, which is key to making the film as realistic as possible. Another thing is the certificate rating, over time the certificate ratings have gone up. This is probably because psychological thrillers have gotten al little bit more frightening but mostly they have gotten more gorier and sadistic.