Because the psychological thriller is more of a sub-genre that combines elements of different genres, it has a broader range of history and origin. As the title suggests it shares much of its style and history with the thriller genre that focuses on suspense, tension and excitement. These elements are believed to have originated as far back as 8th century BC in ancient poems such as Homer’s The Odyssey, which is not particularly a thriller but features similar basic concepts of modern day thrillers.

History of the Genre and Significant Events:

Simialrly, psychological thriller in film has an equally broad history dating back to the early 1900’s. One of the most iconic and influencial master’s of the genre is Alfred Hitchcock who is known to be one of the first to incorporate the element of character’s or plotlines with a disturbed emotional and psychological state into his films, hence the psychological element. His most famous works include The Birds, Vertigo, Rear Window and most importantly Psycho which features the groundbreaking shower scene which is considered the most influential scene of all time for the horror and thriller genres.

Just like the horror genre which the psychological thriller tends to overlap with, the genre has roots and is influenced by works of gothic fiction which were some of the first to attempt to shock or horrify its audience as opposed to humour or simply entertain. For example Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde tells the story of a man who creates an evil alternate personality. This theme is often associated with split personality disorder. Themes of dark mental conditions often occur in psychological thrillers such as Fight club.

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

Vertigo (1958)

Psycho (1960)

Carrie (1976)Manhunter (1986)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

American Psycho (2000)

Shutter Island (2010)