• Psychological – Elements that are related to the mind or processes of the mind; they are mental rather than physical in nature.
• Thriller – A genre of fiction that attempts to "thrill" its audience by placing characters at great risk. This constant unease throughout the story makes the narrative suspenseful to the reader by creating a tense atmosphere.
• Psychological + Thriller – By combining these two terms, the definition changes to a narrative that makes the characters exposed to danger on a mental level rather than a physical one. Characters are no longer reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies (which is often the case in typical action-thrillers), but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind.

• Brad Anderson – Works effectively in the psychological horror genre. He is the director of The Machinist and Session 9.
• Dario Argento – Italian director considered the master of giallo. He often create mysteries that are very psychological in nature, with the past of characters influencing their present actions.
• Park Chanwook - Korean director who significantly explored the genre in his "vengeance trilogy" (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance).
• David Cronenberg – Canadian director who focuses on the psychological horrors of our minds. His storylines often make issues of the mind explicit, as in The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, Dead Ringers and Spider.
• Brian DePalma – Infuses eroticism with the thriller genre. Often uses the motifs of doubling and splitting in the characters minds, as in Sisters, Obsession, Dressed to Kill, Body Double and Raising Cain.
• David Fincher – Dark and ominous thrillers that focus on the psychology of men, as in Se7en and Fight Club.
• Alfred Hitchcock – The master of suspense, Hitchcock often applied Freudian concepts to his thrillers, as in Rebecca, Spellbound, Vertigo, Psycho and Marnie.
• David Lynch – Surrealistic director whose mysteries are usually puzzles of the mind. Both the audience and the characters themselves must figure out what is real and what is not.
• Christopher Nolan – British director whose narrative structures often reflect the mental construction of the characters, as in Memento and Following.
• Roman Polanski – Polish director whose thrillers focus on the alienation and isolation of the characters.
• M. Night Shyamalan - freak director well-known for making psychological thrillers which often have a twist ending in them. Successfully executed the psychological thriller in The Sixth Sense.

Labels: genre, psychological thriller, Tilly Wood