Film Studies 397C - ST- Psycho Thrillers

Thrillers compel audiences even as they repel us with their narratives of dark secrets and cryptic menace. How can we understand the appeal of thriller movies? How does the effect of suspense lure us with its promise of mysteries that might be revealed, and what is revealed along the way about the nature of the film experience? What is the thriller's allure of transgression and violence, which horrify, tantalize, or spur catharsis? This class explores the psychological thriller in (mostly contemporary) international cinema, the roots and characteristics of the genre as well as the ways these films offer critical portraits of hidden truths of the self, of history, and of the inner workings of the social worlds around us. We will explore the ways that the thriller shines its dark light on issues of race, gender, sexuality, class, and age, and examine the intersections between the psychological thriller and related subgenres (political, erotic, action, supernatural, social, legal) as well as such genres as horror and film noir. Films by Alfred Hitchcock, Lynne Ramsay, Asghar Farhadi, David Lynch, Mary Harron, Lee Chang-dong, Lucrecia Martel, Jordan Peele, Christian Petzold, Christian Petzold, Bong Joon-ho, Kathryn Bigelow, David Fincher, Hossein Amini, and others. Film Studies Major Through BDIC Category: D&G, E Undergraduate Film Studies Certificate categories: III, V