THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS

Psychological definition- related to the motional or mental state of a person

Thriller definition- A novel, play, or film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage

A Psychological thriller is a film that tends to emphasize the psychological being of the main character of the plot, therefore a lot of the action tends to be focused on something that may be inside the main character’s own mind or a product of their mental being or unstable emotional states.

EXAMPLES OF THRILLERS

THE HISTORY OF PHYSCOLOGICAL THRILLERS Alfred Hitchcock's first thriller was his third silent film The Lodger (1926), a take on the true story of Jack the Ripper. However, the

rating was only a 12, indicating that due to lack of special effects or technology it could not reach its full potential therefore wasn’t very

scary or thrilling. The next thriller he made being Blackmail filmed in 1929, this was the first British film featuring sound.

In 1932, The Most Dangerous Game was produced by Iving Pichel and Ernest B.Schoedsack. Despite containing typical features of a

thriller genre, the film was also still a 12, with only frequent violent scenes.

It wasn’t until the 50’s, when the aftermath of WW2 began to be portrayed in thriller films and they began to become more gruesome and true to modern day thriller film. The movie, The Man Who Cheated Himself by Felix E. Feist. The technology improved, cinematography, editing and soundtrack all reviewed positively, but with just a few frames missing

Through the 60s introduced thriller films in colour such as purple noon and the 70s produced films such as such as Jaws, Dirty Harry and Night Moves.

Between the 70s and 80s, thrillers began to include much darker and disturbing scenes of violence and rape previously unseen, and began to get ‘R’ or ’18’ age restrictions.

The 90s into present date introduced iconic films such as Silence Of The Lambs, based on a young Fbi agents who works with infamous serial killer and ex psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter to crack a case as well as Sleeping With The Enemy, exploring the topic of domestic abuse in thrillers.