Psychological Thriller Iconography.

Psychological thriller iconography.

Confined Spaces feature commonly in psychological thrillers. This is done to almost capture the own mental state of the character feeling trapped, represented in a psychical state. The use of confined spaces also plays on the audience's own fears of being imprisoned in a small area, allowing them to engage with the character and get a sense of panic much more relatable, complex and stronger than in a horror movie.

An example of this might be from Silence of the Lambs, when a young girl is kidnapped and kept in a small, confined well by her captor. She sees fingernails from when previous prisoners and is unable to get out- this scene is really effective as it allows the audience to have legitimate fear of being in her position.

Running Water also helps create suspense through iconography. This can have connotations to a character slowly losing grasp of their lives or of something coming to an end or alternatively act as the calm before the storm, making the audience uncomfortable and nervous.

Hitchcock used running water frequently to foreshadow how his character's would die; in The Lodger, the film begins with the death of character drowning, and in Rebecca, where a character contemplates killing themselves by jumping into the sea as well as the murder of a young woman in the shower in psycho

Low lighting is used in psychological thrillers to create a sense of danger and uncertainty. Low lighting on a character's face may say something about the character themselves, as being evil or unreliable, having a split personality or a dangerous element to them, as if to forewarn them of what is to come.

Low lighting is used here in The Black Swan, to emphasise the danger of this character.

Shadows- Creates tension, as a shadow on the wall does not reveal the identity of figure that it belongs to. A character may also be about to encounter a situation putting them in grave danger they are unaware of, even if the audience is.