Sound and Music in Psychological Thrillers.

Sound and Music of a Psychological Thriller.

Sound is a huge factor for the success of a psychological thriller, as without it much of the tension and build up so crucial to the plot of a film would be lost.

Much of the music featured in psychological thrillers would also commonly appear in horror films, for example using instruments such as strings to create a mood instead of using computer software. The most memorable are often high pitched, as they shock the audience and almost put them in the position of the character

An iconic example of this would be a scene from Psycho.

Film clip;

Psychological thrillers may also contain diegetic sounds (sounds that are related to the occurrences on the screen.) Examples may be heavy breathing of the characters, screams, the sound of footsteps running or breaking glass. Certain sounds may also indicate a sense of the emotion in a scene e.g., slow, creeping footsteps for tension or heavy rain for tragedy. 

In this clip from Silence of the Lambs, Clarice Starling in trying to catch on armed murderer in pitch black. Here frantic, heavy breathing heard put more emphasis on her desperate race for survival.

Film clip;

Overall, music in psychological thrillers create a normality while also building up a tension of something about to happen, creating an eerie, unsettling  imbalance for the audience. During dialog, music  is often not used at all, to capture what relevant infomation to the film or the personality of a character.