Sound in mystery thriller films

Like any other film, there is the use of sound. It is common in mystery films to have some mellow, eerie, orchestral music to add suspense to the mystery, however, the genre I am researching is the mystery thriller genre, Mystery films tend to be more old fashioned so mystery thrillers do have a bit of that element but are more modern. Non-diegetic sounds are still used to add suspense to the mystery but they are more modern, sometimes there will be old fashioned sounds to keep the old mystery element but it isn't as common now a days in mystery thrillers.

Like thriller films, mystery thrillers also use extreme silence to add to the suspense. The silence emphasises the loud sounds that suddenly happen which builds suspension and tension in the scene. Mystery thrillers also have music starting quietly and then it gradually gets louder, building to something which also builds suspense in scene. These techniques help make the film more exciting and gripping for the audience to watch, rather than it just being diegetic sounds which could make it boring and the audience may lose interest.

Along with non-diegetic sounds, mystery thrillers also use diegetic sounds such as dialog and background noise going on in the scene. This is to make it seem realistic because it’s unnatural for everything to be non-diegetic sounds.

The film, Pyscho, is a thriller and although it's not a mystery thriller, it has good non diegetic sounds that can be used in mystery thrillers. For example, the shower scene music is very eerie and helps to build suspense and tension for the audience.