Psycho-thriller - audiences (Research)

Psycho-Thriller Audiences

Since most psychothrillers are still produced by mainstream institutions there will be certain basic gratifications that will apply such as....

Star Appeal;, eg. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in Seven.
Diversion;, Basic entertainment or pleasure from the narrative.
Personal Identity;, As Se7en is seemingly more 'complex' than other typical Hollywood films that use Star appeal, people may associate themselves with this film to appear more intelligent.

Personal relationships;, Sin City and Se7en are bothcommerciallypopular and as such, people may watch the film for social purposes, to be able to engage in social conversations about the film.

However there may be other gratifications such as.......

Transgressive pleasures - This is where voyeurism (watching something through anothers perspective, often the lead characters, that we are not 'supposed' to see) provides pleasure. Eg. Watching Marion Crane through the 'peep hole' that we see Norman using.

Enigma of revealing the mystery or crime through a clue based narrative may be one of the biggest pleasures (Barthes HERMANUTIC CODE). Eg. Seven through its seven deadly sins.

Visceral Thrill and Oneiric feel

Since it is more "complex" and deep, sometimes villains can be ambiguous or sympathized with, eg. (seven) where John doe explains the art of his crime and makes fun of Brad. Because of this most of these films tend to be rated R.
Or a simple gratification may be the binary oppositions between brad and freeman or the battle between Freeman and Johndoe's battle.

In Psycho, the male roles are 'active' as they advance the plot. The woman is still the victim. In Seven, the role of women in the film is less significant than the males, like Psycho they are often victims. Therefore It could be argued that a male audience would be more attracted to this genre as they can identify or aspire to the 'tough', 'cool' or 'desirable' male representation.
However in Sin City, a contemporary text, there is a more prominent and 'active' role for females (for example the dominance of women in Old Town). However the film also draws upon the traditional and somewhat sexist use of women as sex objects and victims.

The target audience of many psycological thrillers are 15/18+. This is because they usually include a lot of violence and psycological issues which can be very disturbing for many younger viewers. There are usually warnings at the back of a dvd stating the reasons for the rating e.g. Violence, Drugs and Sexual scenes.


Films With a Similar Target Audience 
‘Vacancy’ directed by Nimrod Antal

• ‘Memento’ directed by Christopher Nolan

• ‘Fatal Attraction’ directed by Adrian Lyne

• ‘American Psycho’ directed by Mary Harron

• ‘Se7en’ directed by David Fincher

• ‘Rear Window’ directed by Alfred Hitchcock

• ‘Silence of the Lambs’ directed by Jonathon Demme