History of a psychological thriller:

In 1926 Alfred Hitchcock made the British psychological thriller 'The Lodger' it was a black and white silent film, with an age rating of 12. This show's that it isn't scary or thrilling and because of the time that it was made it lacks the technology to be believable.

 

In 1932 'The Most Dangerous Game' was produced by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack this film was 78 minutes long. It has been said that the key words of this film are the following; madman, escape, psychopath, slaughter, these are common conventions of psychological thrillers. The certificate of this film is 12 as there are themes of brief violence, therefore there is much less emphasis on the murder than there would be if the film was of a higher age rating. 

In 1940 Alfred Hitchcock made the famous film 'Rebecca' this was a black and white film that appealed mainly to an older audience, due to the lack of technology used to create it. However, the music used in the film go together well with the genre as it helps build tension and suspense which are needed in psychological thrillers. 

During WWII Felix E. Feist made the film 'The man who cheated himself'. Reviews from this film said that the cinematography of the film was good as well as the editing, soundtrack and cutting, even though there were a few frames missing. This showed that technology was improving. 

In 1961 the psychological thriller directed by Edward D. Wood 'The sinister urge' was created. There was no age rating for this film, but the caption on the poster read "Compulsive killer strikes terror"and "a psycho with an urge to kill". These caption would have drawn the audience in as the product is being advertised in different ways. 

In 1972 the film 'Sleuth' was made by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, this was a colour film. As the title suggests this film was based on a sleuth, but the title doesn't go with the genre of the film meaning when this film was brought out the audience may have been confused what the product actually was. however the key words used to describe this film were actually codes and conventions you would expect from a psychological thriller. 

'Brimstone and Treacle' was released in 1982 by Richard Loncraine, it had an age rating of 18. This film was rated an 18 as it showed scenes of extreme violence, sexual violence and gore. 

In 1991 the film 'The silence of the lambs' by Jonathan Demme was released. The age certificate was an 18. This film incorporates aspects needed for the genre which weren't incorporated in earlier psychological thrillers e.g. it shows skin being ripped off a body and eaten. 

Now in present day we have a lot more technology to make thing look more realistic e.g, with the use of CGI. However a film can be just as scary by using a range of camera shots, angles and cuts.