A common theme in most psychological thrillers is Guilt. Many psychological thrillers contain the theme of guilt as it gives a context of ambiguity regarding what is real and what is imagined. Shutter Island is one example of a film that is based on guilt. Ultimately we learn that DiCaprio's character is actually an incarcerated patient at the institution, as he killed his wife after she drowned their children. His overwhelming guilt over this crime had caused him to create an elaborate story in his mind that gave him a new identity and could make him cope with what he had done. Inception and The Machinist also has elements of guilt and ambiguous reality are present at the movie's forefront.
Story lines
In addition to the traits of a regular Thriller, a Psychological Thriller incorporates elements of drama and mystery film. The suspense in this sub-genre comes from the mind, rather than from a psychical threat. The protagonists in Psychological Thrillers must rely on their mental resources to solve the situation. Because of their nature, many Psychological Thrillers cross over into the Horror genre.
The story of a typical thriller film will usually be shown from the protagonist’s point of view, following events that the heroes must overcome. This point of view allows the audience to become more involved in the events themselves and therefore closer to the characters, as they see how the characters interact with each other in different situations.
However, other points of view are sometimes included in the telling of the plot: often they will be short clips from the villain’s point of view, allowing the audience to see how the antagonist acts while by themselves, or how they used to act (i.e. in a flashback), which creates empathy for the villain and possibly allows the audience to understand why they have become the evil party.
Characters
Typical characters include an innocent victim who is watched/preyed on by a psychotic individual or stalker, like in Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock, where Norman Bates has a fond interest in the innocent woman.
Prison inmates are very typical in psychological thrillers as a lot of these films are set in prisons and mental institutes, e.g. Shutter Island and The Green Mile.
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