Psychological Thriller Film Research

We looked at the most popular films of our chosen genre for our opening to investigate their story lines.

One of the most popular psychological thrillers includes Silence Of The Lambs (1991). This film is about a psychiatric who is turned to a serial killer when he gets told to interview a patient at a hospital for the criminally insane.

Another popular psychological thriller is Rear Widow (1954) which is about a man who suspects that his naighbour may have murdered his wife and so turns to his girlfriend and nurse for help.

The Manchurain Candidate (1962) tells the story of dark secrets being held in the government and army and the reoccurring nightmares of two soldiers.

Taxi Drive (1976) is set in New York and shows a taxi driver slowly becoming disturbed by his own loneliness and alienation of the horrible and ugly world in which he reflects on.

American Psycho (2000) is about a man who is living the American dream but at night begins to experiment with fear and violence.

All of the main protagonists in these plots appear to find themselves in potentially dangerous situations unconsciously. The main protagonists all also appear to have lead a standard lifestyle. Also, in each of the films a dark secrete or a mysterious even occurs. In all of these films apart form American Psycho, either no or very little physical damage appears to occur within the film, but rather the event has a psychological impact on the protagonist.