Lighting:
Lighting in films directly affects the audience psychologically, different colors and intensities of light have been shown to have direct correlation to the emotional responses the audience feel.
Lowkey lighting is known to best portray mystery and suspense, psychological thrillers utilize this type of lighting extremely often due to the added suspense. Additionally, lowkey lighting adds to the quiet or stillness of a psychological thriller, the low intensity provides a muted tone which can be unsettling because of the lack of action which contrasts the underlying mental struggle the character in the film is going through.
An example of this would be in the 2024 film "Blackwater Lane" where lowkey lighting is used to create a sense of eerie stillness further intensifying the main characters paranoia.
Framing and Composition:
Psychological thrillers use closed framing to cause tension and a sense of discomfort; this is due to the isolation of the character making them feel "trapped" in between objects; often combined with having the camera uncomfortably close to the characters on screen. This gives off a sense of claustrophobia that gives off a unique sense of anxiety, and paranoia, it focuses on the facial features and the body language of the actor in frame, trapping the character emotionally and physically relying on micro expressions to tell the story.
Psychological thrillers also utilize frames within frames; this is when a scene is shot through doors. windows, stair rails, or mirrors, this creates a sense of the character being watched by an external force adding paranoia which is a key theme in psychological thrillers. It may also impose a feeling of entrapment as if the character in frame is caught in a mental spiral of declining sanity and mental health, adding tension and leading to the breaking point which is usually seen as the climax of the film.
Mise-en-Scene:
Key elements of the mise-en-scene of psychological thrillers include the use of confined, isolated locations such as small rooms, basements, and hallways. Utilizes ordinary places and makes them unsettling with the use of lowkey lighting, and a muted color palette creates a sense of false safety and mystery.
Costumes include neutral clothing that is repetitive to give off a sense of a cycle that is subtly changed with the declining mental stability of the character. This shows psychological transformation without the use of dialogue. Little makeup is used to give a more authentic look to the characters and allow the characters' facial expressions to be fully exposed and show raw emotions that connect with the audience.
Props in psychological thrillers are often everyday objects that are turned threatening due to the context and circumstances they are shown in, objects that are often repeated gain symbolic meaning that may be recognized by the character causing a reaction or a symbol that goes unrecognized by the characters but has a connection to the audience and the plot.
Camera Movements:
Camera techniques used in psychological thrillers are often slow and simple, often excluding any startling movements as psychological thrillers aim to slow burn and keep tensions strong. Slow push-ins are when the camera slowly moves towards a character. This builds a sense of dread without action; slow push-ins are a signal of a character having an internal realization.
Static shots are utilized to force the audience to sit with discomfort. This raises tension and makes any movement feel emphasized as it contrasts with the still position of the camera. Additionally, the use of a rack focus, which is when focus shifts a shot from one subject to another, meant to reveal hidden threats or shifts in emotional or mental state.
Reflection:
Researching all of these technical conventions have helped me learn what techniques I need to utilize to make a film opening that is tense and unsettling in a way that does not require an actual external force to create the eeriness but instead use a combination of all of these technical elements to subtly give off a sense of mental decline, paranoia, false safety, discomfort, and most importantly be able to make viewers feel uneasy and anxious through my film opening.
Additionally, this research has been the least confusing and simple investigation I have done thus far this is due to me being focused on one sub genre so all research is based on the same topic and I also passively learned other important things about psychological thrillers while researching this topic.
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