Genre: Psychological Thriller
Main-Genre: Thriller
Sub genre: Psychological
In terms of classification, the category is a sub genre of the broader ranging 'Thriller' category. The phrase 'dissolving sense of reality' is suitable to use when describing what most psychological films are like. Some Psychological Thrillers tackle real life issues. "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" is not a Psychological Thriller, it is a comedy, it does tackle real life issues but in comparison to a true Psychological Thriller the situation is different. The films takes a less serious approach, while the average Thriller tackles things like "Death" or "Loss of loved ones" in a more gritty approach.
The typical themes are:
Death
Reality
Perception
Mind
Identity
Depression
Rage
Society
As well as many others.
One such example of 'Identity' being tackled in films is in the film Shutter Island directed by Scorsese and released in 2010. The film is about Teddy Daniel who has a troubled mind thanks to his past actions, the murder of his wife because she had drowned his children. He also has to deal with his actions within the second world war as he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Especially because he had witnessed a lot of death in Nazi concentration camps and had even executed the camp guards. He suffers to the point where he creates a new identity as a last defence mechanism, he slowly becomes back to his real self and then at the end his made up character becomes completely destroyed.
Psychological and Horror have similarities. The differences are, a Horror film is meant to scare the viewer while a Psychological film is meant to make the viewer feel uncomfortable or bring up social issues.
The film "The Cell" released in 2000 in America (Director Tarsem Singh), is a science fiction horror film with a strong Psychological Thriller plot. The film is based around the concept of 'Virtual Reality'. Throughout the film, the characters sense of reality is strewed and bent.
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