Analysis Of Three Psychological Thrillers:

Film one :
Shinning - (cant be embedded)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw23KM3-Ry8

In the beginning opening scene of “The shinning” (1980) the soundtrack starts off with brass instruments playing quietly whilst getting louder throughout the clip. The pace starts to get faster and faster before the brass instruments just keep a constant sound in the background whilst string instruments start playing and take over with a sound that builds big tension in the background. The sound effects of the soundtrack keep getting faster and faster building up tension which relates to the psychological thriller by building the tension of the film up until they just stop and the brass instruments start again until the end of the clip which relates to a psychological thriller as we believe that something will happen then nothing happens, the music plays with the audiences minds.

Throughout the clip of “the shinning” the clip uses natural lighting, this added to the mysterious music builds tension to the scene. The fact the car driving in the scene is on its own throughout the clip without any other cars helps trick the audience into believing that something is about to happen, this also helps represent the genre of psychological thriller by building up suspense in the opening. Throughout the clip there is a lot of water which represents psychological thrillers really well, as psychological thrillers have a lot to do with horrors the one main difference between the to is that the difference of blood (red) and water (blue). Horrors tend to have a lot of violence a blood in them whereas psychological thrillers tend to have a lot of water and mirrors help scare the audience. The titles that show throughout the clip are also blue which again helps reflect the genre of psychological thrillers.

Film two:


In the opening scene of “se7en”(1995) the background soundtrack starts with a slow robotic sound effect which stays the same throughout most of the clip. Added to this sound there are many sound effects from scratching sounds to twitching noises which are still quite slow paced then there is different pitched squeaks which are fast paced and continue to get faster throughout the film in order to build tension in the audience. Whilst adding suspense to the clip. This reflects the genre of psychological thriller through the building of tension in the audience for nothing to happen yet. The titles for the film are all in a scribbled white lettering style which shows the genre of psychological thriller by using a pale natural colour, Unlike a horror which would probably use a red or dark colour to show violence and blood already in the clip.

Film three:
American psycho(cant be embedded)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvNL_u6IaRM

In the opening scene of this film the soundtrack plays a vital role, it straight away shows the time that it is from, it is a song that is famous from the 1980’s. The song chosen is a very eerie song that echoes around the room, it creates a feeling of unease against a backdrop of people dancing and having a good time. This song helps this opening fit in with the theme of a psychological thriller. The dialogue seems normal until the female is out of ear shot when the man threatens her, this shows the seediness of the bar and its inhabitants through the initial view that all seems normal it shows that the film will not be a straight forward horror.

The genre of the film is of psychological thriller. This is shown through different methods, these include the sound and the dialogue, and they go onto other less obvious things. The actors are all shown to be shady characters through the backhand money transitions. The lighting also gives this view as it is low level which creates the sense of danger and unknowing, this coupled with the disco lights creates mystery. The people in the club are shown to be dancing and all happy, but the character at the stereotypical 80’s bar is shown to be a killer or a man to be in fear of. The costumes all points back to the film being set in the 1980’s through the fashion of suites, the makeup which is very extreme and the style of dancing which is “yuppie” dance.

The genre of psychological thriller is shown through the way that people are dancing and being happy when a man is threatening to kill a women. This shows that the film would not be an open horror but will be more a psychological thriller.