Psychological Thriller

I have decided to do a psychological thriller. This being for many reasons. 1. Most short films are...well...short with a twist at the end. I have started brainstorming ideas and I think I have one that not only fits the genre, but my resources as well. Speaking of resources, Psych thrillers are also not known to have too many special effects which is something I am not at all an expert in. Before I get started with my plot and storyboarding, I need to further understand what a psychological thriller is. A psychological thriller is actually a sub-genre. The main being thriller. Here is a list of the thriller sub-genres according to hunterswritings.com,

Thriller

• Psychological Thriller
• Crime Thriller
• Police Procedural
• Mystery Thriller
• Suspense
• Action Thriller

Now that I've narrowed down my sub-genre things just got a heck of a lot easier. I have now starting to specifically research what makes a psychological thriller. The following is a list of common elements I plan on incorporating into my short film:

• Suspense, tension, raising of stakes for the protagonist. Typically the pace of this tension is faster in a thriller against a mystery.
• The protagonist must be proactive rather than reactive. He must make things happen, go into action, not sit around with events happening around him.
• As with most good fiction, the hero needs to have grown and learnt and ultimately changed by the end of the novel. This character growth is what leads to the main character’s ability to get through his darkest hour, and win during the climatic ending.
• Typical structural elements to the plot – an inciting incident or turning point that makes the main character move from their everyday and go on their journey to solve the issue, conflict, pace, complications, a darkest hour where everything seems lost, a climatic battle and denouement.
• The ending should resolve all loose ends, but provide a satisfactory twist if possible. Good should prevail over bad. And the hero should have learnt something about himself or the human condition.
• No Coincidences – although they happen in real life all the time – should be avoided in fiction, even though they can provide character conflict. Readers aren’t satisfied by coincidental events or conflict.

“Elements of the Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and/or Crime Fiction Genres.” Word Hunter, 15 Oct. 2012, hunterswritings.com/2012/10/12/elements-of-the-psychological-thriller-mystery-suspense-andor-crime-fiction-genres/.