Is there an oversaturation of psychological thrillers/thrillers?
Courtesy of Vijay Sadasivuni
Introduction
In this day and age, there are more psychological thrillers than ever before. With the advent of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, it has become easier than ever to watch these types of films whenever you want. However, with so many psychological thrillers being made these days, is there an over-saturation? To answer this question we need to look at how many psychological thrillers/thrillers have been made in recent years along with how many more are in development or being considered by studios. Also, cultural attitudes towards the genre have changed over time so let’s look at those as well!
Thriller films have become a dominant force in cinema and have made their way into our homes with the advent of streaming services such as Netflix.
Thriller films have become a dominant force in cinema, and it's not hard to see why. They offer the same visceral thrills found in horror movies, but with an added element of realism that makes them even more frightening. In addition to being able to experience these feelings onscreen, thriller fans can now watch their favorite thrillers from home thanks to streaming services like Netflix or Hulu.
Thrillers are popular because they make audiences feel scared, tense, and anxious--and those emotions are exactly what people want from their entertainment experiences. Thrillers also tend to have twist endings that keep viewers guessing until the very end!
With the presence of film and television shows based on thrillers, it raises the question if there is an over-saturation.
It's a good time to be a psychological thriller fan. The presence of film and television shows based on thrillers raises the question of whether there is an over-saturation.
Psychological thrillers are a popular genre that often relies on real-life events, true stories, and real people for inspiration. This means that many stories will overlap in some way or another which can lead viewers to ask themselves: "Am I watching another one?"
THREE FACTORS CAN be examined when answering whether there is an over-saturation of psychological thrillers/thrillers.
Three factors can be examined when answering whether there is an over-saturation of psychological thrillers/thrillers.
How many have been made? Psychological thrillers are a relatively new genre, with the first film being released in 1960 and the second coming out in 1964. Since then, over 100 films have been made within this genre with more currently in development. This makes it easy to see why some people might think there's a saturation point for these types of movies--but we're still only looking at less than 150 total films! It's important to consider how long each type of movie takes on average: while some take years (or decades) before they're released into theaters or onto streaming services like Netflix, others can be completed within months because they don't require as much shooting time or special effects work needed by others who involve bigger budgets than usual (such as superhero movies).
Firstly, we will look at how many psychological thrillers/thrillers have been made in recent years.
Psychological thrillers have been popular for decades. Films like Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" and Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" helped define the genre in the 1960s, while Brian De Palma's work has been influential since then. In more recent years, directors such as Christopher Nolan ("Memento," "Inception") have explored psychological aspects of storytelling while still keeping things thrilling.
So why are there so many psychological thrillers/thrillers being made right now?
Secondly, we will explore how many psychological thrillers/thrillers are in development or being considered by studios.
Secondly, we will explore how many psychological thrillers/thrillers are in development or being considered by studios. There are many different ways to measure this, but here are some numbers:
According to data from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), there were 789 movies with "psychological thriller" or "thriller" in the title released between 2005 and 2017. That includes some films that are not actually psychological thrillers but use these words as marketing tactics (i.e., The Dark Knight). When we remove those films from our dataset, our final count comes out to 572 unique titles during this period.*
For comparison's sake, here's another stat: According to Box Office Mojo's list of highest-grossing films at the North American box office since 1980--which includes inflation-adjusted figures for ticket sales--there have only been about 300 movies that reached $100 million domestically during their initial run.*
Thirdly, we will discuss how cultural attitudes towards the genre HAVE changed over time.
The third and final point is that the genre has become more popular in recent years. The psychological thriller has been around for a long time, but its popularity has recently hit an all-time high. For example, films like Gone Girl (2014) and The Girl on the Train (2016) were both very successful at the box office when they were released - despite being based on novels that had already been written several years earlier!
In addition to this increased interest from audiences, there are also more television series airing each year featuring characters with psychological disorders or who commit violent crimes against others. For example, Mindhunter (2017-) focuses on FBI agents interviewing criminals to better understand how their minds work so that they can catch other criminals; Criminal Minds (2005-) follows various members of an FBI team who investigate murders committed by serial killers; Dexter (2006-) follows Dexter Morgan--a forensic analyst working for Miami Metro Police Department's Homicide Division--as he hunts down murderers while simultaneously attempting not to get caught himself because he's actually one himself...and so forth!
There are a lot of psychological thrillers out there but not all of them are good so you should watch all of them before you decide if there is an over-saturation
You can't really make a decision without seeing all of them.
There are a lot of psychological thrillers out there but not all of them are good so you should watch all of them before you decide if there is an over-saturation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is no doubt that there are a lot of psychological thrillers out there but not all of them are good so you should watch all of them before you decide if there is an over-saturation. I’d love to know what psychological thrillers/thrillers you’ve seen lately? Right now I’m so excited to see Ari Aster’s third feature film called “Beau Is Afraid”. Please feel free to leave a comment on your favorite psychological thriller/thriller that you think I’d like! Thanks for stopping by and make sure you come back for more!
