Psychological thriller themes

There have been many Psychological thrillers in various media i.e. film, literature, television and radio, more notably since the turn of the 1990s-present. Though there have been many different variations of how they have been represented and how they are plotted, there have been general trends which appear. The most consistent trends include:

Reality - The quality of being real. Characters often try to determine what is true and what is not with the narrative.


Example: 


In the Matrix, there is reality and the Matrix. It is difficult for the characters to differentiate what is true from what isn't.

Perception - A person's own interpretation of the world around him through his senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them, or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative.


Example:

In Inception, the characters have to use the surroundings to be able to tell whether they are in reality or in fact in Inception. This can change their decisions and may misperceive things due to their subconscious and affects decisions.

Mind - The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new understanding or perception.


Example: 

In the film The Machinist, Trevor's paranoia makes him battle his own mind and he forgets his past due to insomnia. It's only at the end that he realises who he actually is.

Existence/purpose - The object for which something exists; an aim or goal humans strive for to understand their reason of existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and narrative's conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose.


Example: 

His purpose is to stop the bomber (Jake Gyllenhaal's character) however, he does not know if he's alive or dead as he's in another person's body. In fact, he is dead but his mind is kept alive in source code

Identity - The definition of one's self. Characters often are confused about or doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity.


Example:

In Blade Runner, Deckard is hunting the Blade Runners but doesn't realise that he is actually a replicant too.


Death - the cessation of life. Characters either have fear or fascination with death.


Example: 

In American psycho, Bateman is obsessed with killing. It becomes part of him in order to fill a vacuum. He shows his fascination with serial killers by quoting Ed Gein.