By Katie Hall

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF FILMS ON THE AUDIENCE

THE FOCUS

The focus of my research is to find out how films have a lasting effect on the audience, and how directors achieve this in psychological thrillers. I will be studying psychological films and secondary texts to see how the conventions of the genre are achieved and used by the director.

PRIMARY TEXTS

I have chosen 3 famous psychological films as my primary texts. I have a film from the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s in order to get an overview of the genre and highlight changes over time. I have chosen these films in particular as they have been some of the most successful of the genre, becoming iconic.

THE SHINING - 1980 A quote from Kubrick on the making of The Shining :

“The convention of telling the story primarily through a series of dialogue scenes. Most films are really little more than stage plays with more atmosphere and action. I think that the scope and flexibility of movie stories would be greatly enhanced by borrowing something from the structure of silent movies where points that didn't require dialog could be presented by a shot and a title card. Something like: Title: Billy's uncle. Picture: Uncle giving Billy ice cream. In a few seconds, you could introduce Billy's uncle and say something about him without being burdened with a scene. This economy of statement gives silent movies a much greater narrative scope and flexibility than we have today. In my view, there are very few sound films, including those regarded as masterpieces, which could not be presented almost as effectively on the stage, assuming a good set, the same cast and quality of performances. You couldn't do that with a great silent movie.”

CONVENTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Characters have to rely on their mind rather than their physical strength. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.Stream of Consciousness – Written equivalent of the character's thought processes. In psychological thrillers, through word usage, descriptions, or visuals we are invited into the characters mind.First Person Narrative – In the opinion of the character and thus able to understand the mechanics of the characters' minds.

EXAMPLES – FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE

Shutter island

Although there is no non-diegetic narration or voice over, the main character spends a lot of time talking to himself. This can be seen all the way from the beginning of the film, and helps to give the audience an insight into what is going on in the character's mind, showing the story from their perspective and showcasing their inner turmoil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F1-sTyGvwA

THE BACK STORY

• Back Story – what has happened before hand. This deepens the psychological aspect of the story since the audience is able to more fully understand the character; more specifically, what the character's motivations are and how his/her past has shaped their current way of thinking.

• Gaining a good understanding of these characteristics we allow us to be able to use some of these features in our film and narrative, for example for a first person narrative we could have a one of our characters doing a voice over, a stream of consciousness could also be done in this way.

EXAMPLES

Shutter Island

The backstory here is slowly explained throughout the film as the main character experiences flashbacks to his wife’s death and his time in the military. However, his past is eventually explained fully at the end of the film, where we find out that it has been influencing his behavior all along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eveUzWmTxl4

LITERARY DEVICES/TECHNIQUES

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.

EXAMPLES

The Shining

This film is a good example of a plot twist, where the normal family unit is torn apart by the father’s insanity. It is typical of a psychological film to take something which is associated with safety, such as the family, and make it into something twisted and dangerous. The plot twist here is when the father who was working hard to protect and provide for his family is now doing the opposite trying to kill them. There is also another twist as the end of the story which leaves unanswered questions, as there is an old photo showing the father in 1921, begging the question was he ever even real?

EXAMPLES

Shutter Island

This film also has a plot twist with a cliff-hanger ending, where the audience is left not knowing the true outcome. This is one of the techniques used to have an effect on the audience, even after the film is over, as the audience does not feel a sense of ending over the film, and is left only to guess at what might have actually been.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvQXi6duxRs

THEMES

Many psychological thrillers have emerged over the past years, all in various media (film, literature, radio, etc.). Despite these very different forms of representation, general trends have appeared throughout the narratives. Some of these consistent themes include:

RealityPerceptionMindExistence/PurposeIdentityDeath

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.” Common elements may include stock characters, such as a hardboiled detective and serial killer, involved in a cat and mouse game.

EXAMPLES

Se7en

In Se7en, the protagonist (detective) battles against the antagonist (serial killer) who’s crimes question existence and the modern society that he inhabits. Rather than being violent as you would see in a crime film, the killer here has a reason behind what he is doing, and sees it as a positive thing, hoping to be remembered for what he did. It is typical of psychological films to include a killer who murders for a deeper reason, rather than out of passion like you would see in a typical crime film. The killer in Se7en also has a lasting effect on the protagonist, who spends all of his time trying to figure out the madness behind the crimes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS4EJGh9mIg

MY FILM

The research I have found will help me in my own creative product as I can use the techniques, styles and conventions of the genre to create a film which has the desired effect on the audience. I will use micro and macro features to achieve this and hopefully, with a range of influences from my sources, make a successful product.

FILMOGRAPHY

10/Kubrik, Stanley, 1980. The Shining, Warner Bros.

11/Fincher, David, 1995. Se7en, New Line Cinema

12/Scorsese, Martin, 2010. Shutter Island, Paramount Pictures

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• http://www.slideshare.net/MediaBlog/psychological-horror-pp?related=1

• http://www.slideshare.net/tiffanyymchan/conventions-of-a-psychological-thriller-12728719

• http://www.galyakay.com/filmnarrative.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_thriller

• http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.ts.html