Psychological Thriller NOTES

Defining “psychological thriller” The subgenre of a thriller story which emphasizes the abnormal psychological states of its characters Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety (e.g. Alfred Hitchcock) Thrillers generally keep the audience on the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. The cover-up of important information from the viewer is a common element. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. with similarities to Gothic and detective fiction in the sense of sometimes having a "dissolving sense of reality", moral ambiguity, and complex and tortured relationships between obsessive and pathological characters. Psychological thrillers often incorporate elements of and overlap with mystery, drama, action, slasher and horror (particularly psychological horror)

Defining and refining usually refers to "narratives with domesticated settings in which action is suppressed and where thrills are provided instead via investigations of the psychologies of the principal characters." A distinguishing characteristic of a psychological thriller is a marked emphasis on the mental states of its characters: their perceptions, thoughts, distortions, and general struggle to grasp reality. psychological thrillers focus on story, character development, choice, and moral conflict; fear and anxiety drive the psychological tension in unpredictable ways. their lack of spectacle and strong emphasis on character have caused them to decline in popularity in Hollywood Psychological thrillers are suspenseful by exploiting uncertainty over characters' motives, honesty, and how they see the world. Films can also cause discomfort in audiences by privileging them with information that they wish to share with the characters; guilty characters may suffer similar distress by virtue of their knowledge

Typical literary devices in a psych thriller Plot twist – Films such as Psycho and The Skeleton Key have advertised the fact that they contain plot twists and asked audiences to refrain from revealing spoilers. Psychological thrillers with poorly received plot twists, such as The Village, have suffered in the box office. Unreliable narrator – Andrew Taylor identifies the unreliable narrator as a common literary device used in psychological thrillers and traces it back to Edgar Allan Poe's influence on the genre. Criminal insanity may be explored as a theme. Macguffin – Alfred Hitchcock pioneered the concept of the MacGuffin, a goal or item that helps to move the plot. The MacGuffin is frequently only vaguely defined, and it can be used to increase suspense

More literary devices Stream of consciousness – a literary technique which seeks to describe an individual’s point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character’s thought processes. In psychological thrillers, the narrative tries to manifest the character’s psyche through word usage, descriptions, or visuals. First-person narrative – a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one or more of the characters, who explicitly refers to him or herself in the first person, that is, “I”. This direct involvement that the characters have with the story in turn makes the reader more involved with the characters themselves, and thus able to understand the mechanics of the characters’ minds. This technique is often paired with the concept of unreliable narrator. Back-story – the history behind the situation extant at the start of the main story. This deepens the psychological aspect of the story since the reader is able to more fully understand the character; more specifically, what the character’s motivations are and how his past has shaped his current cognitive perceptions.

Typical themes in a psych thriller Reality Perception Mind Existence/Purpose Identity Death In psychological thrillers, characters often battle their own minds: they attempt to determine what is real, who they are, and what life's purpose is. Amnesia is a common plot device used to explore these questions. Character may be threatened with death, be forced to deal with the deaths of others, or fake their own deaths. Psychological thrillers can be complex, and reviewers may recommend a second or third viewing to "decipher its secrets."

More themes Reality – The quality of being real. Characters often try to determine what is true and what is not within the narrative. Perception – A person’s own interpretation of the world around him through his senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them, or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative. Mind – The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding or perception. Existence/Purpose – The object for which something exists; an aim or a goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative’s conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose. Identity – The definition of one’s self. Characters often are confused about or doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity. Death – The cessation of life. Characters either fear or have a fascination with death.

Other common elements Suspense, tension, raising of stakes for the protagonist. Typically the pace of this tension is faster in a thriller against a mystery. The protagonist must be proactive rather than reactive. He must make things happen, go into action, not sit around with events happening around him. As with most good fiction, the hero needs to have grown and learnt and ultimately changed by the end of the novel. This character growth is what leads to the main character’s ability to get through his darkest hour, and win during the climatic ending. Typical structural elements to the plot – an inciting incident or turning point that makes the main character move from their everyday and go on their journey to solve the issue, conflict, pace, complications, a darkest hour where everything seems lost, a climatic battle and denouement. The ending should resolve all loose ends, but provide a satisfactory twist if possible. Good should prevail over bad. And the hero should have learnt something about himself or the human condition. No Coincidences – although they happen in real life all the time – should be avoided in fiction, even though they can provide character conflict. Readers aren’t satisfied by coincidental events or conflict.

Some more distinctions Action and psychological aspects both are used to add to the suspense. With a psychological thriller the conflict (battle!) is through the mind, skills, and wit of main characters, reversing the more normal thriller “plot over character” expectations. a psychological thriller reader needs to understand the character can (sometimes) be slightly more important than plot Characters shouldn’t win using physical talents or efforts, but rather using their mind, wits, or smarts. Elements of drama, mystery and horror can often find themselves in the psychological thriller due to the emphasis on motivation and the mind. There are Life and death situations and certainly at the end (climax) but this could well involve death or danger to the mind or intrinsic identity or values of the hero rather than a physical threat. Psychological thrillers often deal with common themes such as death, reality, perception, identity, existence or purpose, and one or two of these themes should be wound through the novel. Motives and intentions are more important than technical aspects of how a crime is done. Readers expect the story to focus around both the hero and the villain via changes in point of view and scenes involving each separately.