Psychological Thrillers as a

Genre

Plot Twist: A radical change in the expected direction/ outcome of the plot. Commonly used near the end of the story to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation.

Macguffin: A goal or item that helps to move the plot forward. It can be used to increase suspense.

Devices + Techniques

Definition Psychological thrillers are a thriller story which emphasizes the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states. They are a sub genre of a thrillers which sometimes include a ‘dissolving sense of reality’.

Psychological thrillers can incorporate similar elements of mystery, drama, action and horror.

Reality: The quality of being real. Characters attempt to determine what is true and what is not within the narrative.

Perception: A person’s own interpretation of the world around them through their senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative.

Mind: The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding or perception.

Existence/Purpose: The object for which something exists; an aim or a goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative’s conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose.

Identity: The definition of one’s self. Characters often are confused/ doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity.

Death: The cessation of life. A Character may be threatened with death/ forced to deal to deal with the deaths of others. They can often have a fear or fascination with death.

Themes