Hey all, I've got a question (or a few). But first a bit of explaining.
A psychological thriller has little to no action in it. In fact from what I've seen, most don't even have an edgy beginning, books or movies. Instead, psychological thrillers have strong elements of mystery and drama of all things, and sometimes dabble into the Horror section.
The so-called suspense of the psychological thriller comes from a focus on characters and, I suppose, a "battle of the mind", hence the psychology. The thrill part seems geared towards psychologists and those who study psychology in an effort to try and figure out a source or reason for the error in the mind.
In addition, psychological thrillers, to my understanding, have a great amount of focus on characters and very little focus on plot or action (which is the exact reversing opposite of other thriller types).
One of my favorite examples (but by no means the best I'm quite sure) of the psychological thriller sub-genre is the movie Hide and Seek (2005) staring Dakota Fanning. It's listed as a thriller, but there isn't a single piece of chilling or heart-pumping action till close to the last 30 minutes of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3G9Qm2dLWU
Some of you might've seen the horror movie Orphan, which is very similar to the psychological thriller aspect. Both movies kinda give you the creep aspect I guess, to put it in my own words.
If you like guns and knives, a lot of guts and blood, or chilling, creepy things keeping you constantly on the edge of your seat and screaming every 5 minutes, this thriller is NOT for you.
Does anyone know the history on this genre, like where it came from, who might've started it (I'm sure Edgar Allen Poe is a good example, not 100% sure), and my biggest question: why it hangs around the Thriller section? Also, is the psychological thriller just unpopular or appeal to a specific audience? Please post your references and experiences (or discussion with an agent, etc. I won't take your own words as a cited source).
Specifically I tried posting a piece of psychological thriller in the thriller section because according to my research, that's exactly the type of story it was. So into the Thriller SYW it went. Then I got a great amount of bullshit about people asking where all the action and hair-raising thrill is. I was rather surprised at little people seemed to know about psychological thrillers.
A psychological thriller has little to no action in it. In fact from what I've seen, most don't even have an edgy beginning, books or movies. Instead, psychological thrillers have strong elements of mystery and drama of all things, and sometimes dabble into the Horror section.
The so-called suspense of the psychological thriller comes from a focus on characters and, I suppose, a "battle of the mind", hence the psychology. The thrill part seems geared towards psychologists and those who study psychology in an effort to try and figure out a source or reason for the error in the mind.
In addition, psychological thrillers, to my understanding, have a great amount of focus on characters and very little focus on plot or action (which is the exact reversing opposite of other thriller types).
One of my favorite examples (but by no means the best I'm quite sure) of the psychological thriller sub-genre is the movie Hide and Seek (2005) staring Dakota Fanning. It's listed as a thriller, but there isn't a single piece of chilling or heart-pumping action till close to the last 30 minutes of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3G9Qm2dLWU
Some of you might've seen the horror movie Orphan, which is very similar to the psychological thriller aspect. Both movies kinda give you the creep aspect I guess, to put it in my own words.
If you like guns and knives, a lot of guts and blood, or chilling, creepy things keeping you constantly on the edge of your seat and screaming every 5 minutes, this thriller is NOT for you.
Does anyone know the history on this genre, like where it came from, who might've started it (I'm sure Edgar Allen Poe is a good example, not 100% sure), and my biggest question: why it hangs around the Thriller section? Also, is the psychological thriller just unpopular or appeal to a specific audience? Please post your references and experiences (or discussion with an agent, etc. I won't take your own words as a cited source).
Specifically I tried posting a piece of psychological thriller in the thriller section because according to my research, that's exactly the type of story it was. So into the Thriller SYW it went. Then I got a great amount of bullshit about people asking where all the action and hair-raising thrill is. I was rather surprised at little people seemed to know about psychological thrillers.