--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The term 'psychological thriller' is an…" description: "\"The term 'psychological thriller' is an elastic one these days, tagged liberally on to any story of suspense that explores motivations while keeping bl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/susie-dent-8218_blood_the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-el_916271.jpg" --- # The term 'psychological thriller' is an elastic one these… ![“The term 'psychological thriller' is an elastic one these days, tagged liberally on to any story of suspense that explores motivations while keeping blood and chainsaws to a minimum.” quote by Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/susie-dent-8218_blood_the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-el_916271.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/susie-dent-8218_blood_the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-el_916271.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/susie-dent-8218_blood_the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-el_916271.jpg) > “The term 'psychological thriller' is an elastic one these days, tagged liberally on to any story of suspense that explores motivations while keeping blood and chainsaws to a minimum.” [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A psychological thriller focuses on characters’ inner motives and tension rather than graphic violence. **In simple terms:** Mind‑driven suspense, not gore. Key Takeaway Prioritize character depth over shock value. Themes suspense psychology genre storytelling Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - Screenwriting - novel writing - film analysis - marketing Key Concepts Narrative tension character motivation subtle horror Questions to Reflect On - How does minimizing gore affect audience engagement? - Can tension replace action in storytelling? A Different Perspective May overlook the need for visceral excitement in some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/) [Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Psychological Thriller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychological-thriller-1033066/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story Suspense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-suspense-1381365/) [Suspense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspense/) [Suspense Explores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspense-explores-1381366/) [Term Psychological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term-psychological-1381367/) [Thriller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thriller/) [Thriller Elastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thriller-elastic-1381364/) ## Related quotes > [If the student sitting in a class is unable to understand anything day in and day out, then that has a serious and long-term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atishi/if-the-student-sitting-in-a-class-is-unable-to-understand-anything/) [Atishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atishi/) > ['Ralph's Party' was supposed to be a psychological thriller, but I fell in love with all my characters and wanted only the best for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jewell/ralph-s-party-was-supposed-to-be-a-psychological-thriller-but-i-fell/) [Lisa Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jewell/) > [I would love to do something in the thriller category. Not so much horror, but I would love to do a full-on psychological thriller.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-nevin/i-would-love-to-do-something-in-the-thriller-category-not-so-much/) [Brooke Nevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-nevin/) > [The secrets of small towns have fascinated writers and readers since the first psychological thriller was penned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-barton/the-secrets-of-small-towns-have-fascinated-writers-and-readers-since/) [Fiona Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-barton/) > [I love a psychological thriller, particularly ones that are written by women. I've just finished 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn, which was so creepy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-alexander/i-love-a-psychological-thriller-particularly-ones-that-are-written-by/) [Sarah Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-alexander/) > [I love the psychological thriller piece of it. Because we are trapped in this isolated environment with a deadly virus, what's really interesting is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-zagorsky/i-love-the-psychological-thriller-piece-of-it-because-we-are-trapped/) [Kyra Zagorsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-zagorsky/) > [Throat clutching from the outset! The Never List stands as a sterling example of psychological thriller writing at its best. Cancel appointments and give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/throat-clutching-from-the-outset-the-never-list-stands-as-a-sterling/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [I like all of the mental, psychological thriller movies too. I enjoy horror movies across the board.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-bush/i-like-all-of-the-mental-psychological-thriller-movies-too-i-enjoy/) [Sophia Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-bush/) > [When you're making a psychological thriller, what you need to do is have an audience on shifting sand so they're never quite sure where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strong/when-you-re-making-a-psychological-thriller-what-you-need-to-do-is/) [Mark Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strong/) > [I don't like excessive violence. That's my thing. I don't like movies heavy with guns, any of that stuff, so I'm not into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/i-don-t-like-excessive-violence-that-s-my-thing-i-don-t-like-movies/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [I think everyone should read The Girl on The Train, especially if they loved Gone Girl. It's about Rachel, a girl who sees a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle/i-think-everyone-should-read-the-girl-on-the-train-especially-if-they/) [Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle/) > [Force Majeure is a jolt. You won't know what hit you. Director Ostlund shifts gears from humor to psychological thriller with cunning skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-travers/force-majeure-is-a-jolt-you-won-t-know-what-hit-you-director-ostlund/) [Peter Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-travers/) > [Most crime novels offer a curious kind of escape, to places that jag the nerves and worry the mind. Their rides of suspense give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/most-crime-novels-offer-a-curious-kind-of-escape-to-places-that-jag/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [“The truth is heavier than a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/the-truth-is-heavier-than-a-sword/) [Naiyem Chowdhury Rony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/) ## More by Susie Dent > [According to my parents, I've always liked to tune into the conversations of others. But rather than hope for a snippet of salacious gossip,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/according-to-my-parents-i-ve-always-liked-to-tune-into-the/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [As dialect began to be collected in the late 19th century, such words as Yorkshire's 'gobslotch' emerged, revealing the burgeoning association between gluttony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/as-dialect-began-to-be-collected-in-the-late-19th-century-such-words/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [In the earliest days, make-up and moralising were intertwined. The 'cosmetic slops and washes' of the 17th and 18th centuries aimed to smooth complexions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/in-the-earliest-days-make-up-and-moralising-were-intertwined-the/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [I don't intentionally eavesdrop. I'm not looking for salacious gossip, I'm just looking for vocabulary items.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/i-don-t-intentionally-eavesdrop-i-m-not-looking-for-salacious-gossip/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Above all, Jane Goodall continues to teach us that, as humans, we are no more entitled to our glorious planet than the chimps she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/above-all-jane-goodall-continues-to-teach-us-that-as-humans-we-are-no/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [The notion of 'Queen's English' is usually applied to our pronunciation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-notion-of-queen-s-english-is-usually-applied-to-our-pronunciation/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Slang has different functions: many of the words we use are playful and a lot are tribal - we speak the same way as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/slang-has-different-functions-many-of-the-words-we-use-are-playful/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [English has always been a mongrel tongue, snapping up words from every continent its speakers encountered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/english-has-always-been-a-mongrel-tongue-snapping-up-words-from-every/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [As a nation we love our dialects, and there is a lot of regional variance in the names for different foods - barmcake, bap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/as-a-nation-we-love-our-dialects-and-there-is-a-lot-of-regional/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [The one thing - apart from assumptions about German - that I have to challenge frequently is people assuming that lexicographers are fierce protectors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-one-thing-apart-from-assumptions-about-german-that-i-have-to/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [The character of our language defines us, and dictionaries say as much about us as about the way we speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-character-of-our-language-defines-us-and-dictionaries-say-as-much/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Almost half the adult population finds discussing the subject of money difficult. Slang words help us to navigate these conversations by making us feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/almost-half-the-adult-population-finds-discussing-the-subject-of/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Youthquake' wasn't an entirely predictable choice for Oxford's Word of 2017. It hasn't been on the lips of an entire nation, nor is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/youthquake-wasn-t-an-entirely-predictable-choice-for-oxford-s-word-of/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [We are surrounded by hundreds of 'tribes,' each speaking their own distinct slanguage of colourful words, jokes and phrases that together form an idiosyncratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/we-are-surrounded-by-hundreds-of-tribes-each-speaking-their-own/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Language is essentially tribal, so jargon can actually be a really good thing because it unites people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/language-is-essentially-tribal-so-jargon-can-actually-be-a-really/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) [Explore all 83 Susie Dent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) ## More Blood quotes > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Don't trust everyone, because one day you will shed tears of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-trust-everyone-because-one-day-you-will-shed-tears-of-blood/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [I have no intention of retiring. Even my blood sugar is better when I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-even-my-blood-sugar-is-better-when-i/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [What about you three, where are you going?" Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [A day without blood is like a day without sunshine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/a-day-without-blood-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. 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Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Browse all 6,234 Blood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The term 'psychological thriller' is an elastic one these days, tagged liberally on to any story of suspense that explores motivations while keeping blood and chainsaws to a minimum.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susie Dent" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-elastic-one-these-days-tagged/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-elastic-one-these-days-tagged/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/susie-dent-8218_blood_the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-el_916271.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/susie-dent-8218_blood_the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-el_916271.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/susie-dent-8218_blood_the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-el_916271.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The term 'psychological thriller' is an elastic one these days, tagged liberally on to any story of suspense…” — Susie Dent", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Susie Dent", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The term 'psychological thriller' is an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-elastic-one-these-days-tagged/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-term-psychological-thriller-is-an-elastic-one-these-days-tagged/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```