Codes and conventions

1. Psychological Thrillers
Codes and conventions

2. Themes
Psychological thrillers often play with the ideas of reality and
perception as characters try to determine what is real and what is not.
• PERCEPTION
The character's interpretation of reality is explored and usually their
perception is skewed or altered due to factors within the narrative.
• THE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
Conflict within characters' own minds
Thought, memory and emotion are often used within these conflicts
• PURPOSE
A narrative can often consist of a character's discovery of purpose
• DEATH

3. Mise-en-scène
• Characters often wear casual clothing and the films are set
in normal locations, often in suburban areas, to create a
sense of realism in contrast to the unusual events in the
narrative
• To present a character that only exists in another
character's mind, strange and unusual costume may be
used, e.g. Frank in Donnie Darko
• Lighting- Low key lighting and shadows are often used to
create tension
• Mirrors are commonly used. A mirror is not a true
representation of reality; it's a flipped version, representing
the fact that what the character sees is not real or skewed.

4. Sound
• Psychological thrillers commonly use eerie
sound effects and music is often played on
string instruments like violins to create
tension.
• Sound is important to help present characters’
emotions and reactions to events in the
narrative, and also to provoke the emotions of
the audience.
• Music may not be used in a scene to highlight
breathing or other sounds to create a tense
atmosphere.

5. Editing & camera movements
• Flashbacks are typically used to give the
audience context and to present important
moments in a characters life which give insight
and have relevance to the narrative
• Montage editing can create tension in high
suspense scenes
• Fast movements which presents the urgency
and panic that the character is feeling