Psychological thrillers - Conventions

A psychological thriller is sub-genre of a thriller that focuses on the emotional state of a character, in which the character is unstable because a psychological thriller plays with an individual’s mind. Furthermore, a psychological thriller gets the audience questioning themselves, as they want to know what is going to happen next.

In psychological thrillers, there are many different conventions, such as the sets and settings, iconography (props and costumes), characters, storylines/themes, music and dialogue of a film.

In psychological thrillers, the sets and settings are a major convention because the locations are a main focus for the audience, as the sets and settings make a film what it is.

In psychological thrillers, the characters are a major convention because they’re also a main focus for the audience, as the characters contribute to make a film what it is.

In psychological thrillers, the storyline/theme is a major convention because they work extremely hard to catch the audiences eyes, in which a psychological thriller storyline/theme has a the audience questioning themselves and wanting to know more.

In psychological thrillers, the dialogue is a major convention as dialogue helps set the pace of a film, helping the audience understand what is going on.

In psychological thrillers, the music is a major convention as music helps create a sense of tension, in which music is used in thrillers to help build up tension, which has the audience questioning themselves, what will happen next.

In psychological thrillers, the iconography (props and costumes) is also a major convention as the props and costumes help categorise the film as a thriller, and the audience also question what a character could do with a prop.