Psycho-Noir (Definitive List and Guide)
150 items • Updated 4/10/2018
Psycho-noir is a sub-genre of neo-noir (itself a modern and post-modern continuation of classic film noir tropes) which is much more surreal and twisted then ordinary neo-noir. As I'm a big fan of the genre, which certainly lacks comprehensive list, I've decided to do a list of everything that I feel belongs to psycho-noir (and in case of any noir genre "feels" is a key word). While feature films prevail, short films, TV- and Web-Series (at times certain episodes) are still included. I'll do my best to keep list in chronological order.
There are, of course, certain criteria, which are also genre's tropes they are: -Usual tropes of film noir and/or neo-noir: unusual angles (Dutch tilts) and photography, use of rain and wet asphalt, shadows, minimal lighting, night-for-night shots, smoke, smoking, femme fatale, antihero/private eye/beat cop protagonist, moral ambiguity etc. -Use of surrealism, mysticism, symbolism, dream sequences, unreliable narration and flashbacks, unexplained scenes, non-linear narrative and other unconventional methods of story-telling which imply that both protagonist and audience are either deluded or have their perception manipulated; -Surreal details and/or backgrounds, at times using chess, geometrical patterns, mirrors, tattoos, photographs to great extend; -Eclectic editing (unusual transitions, single-frame inserts etc.) and/or photography (use of different types of camera and film); -Eclectic soundtrack, which combines different genres of music and ambient noises (Note: for some reason a lot of psycho-noir movies use song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins); -Shocking, genre- and mind-bending ending and/or climax; -Doppelgangers and/or double identities; -Shots of driving, highway, road, usually at night; -Use of "screen within a screen" - television sets, cinemas, displays, etc.; -Interesting, at times unique design of main titles and end credits (Note: a lot of psycho-noir titles use dark shades of blue for color of titles and credits, such as marine blue and navy blue);
Titles with no IMDb page (work in progress): 2008: "Mad November" (Bezumny noyabr) and "Bezumny noyabr 2";
Recommended reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_film_noir_titles&oldid=454506550#Psycho-noir - a list of psycho-noir titles on Wikipedia, deleted from "List of film noir" but saved in edits history; http://smallcrimes-novel.blogspot.com/2007/08/defining-psycho-noir.html - Defining Psycho-Noir, a great article by Dave Zeltserman on the subject. http://www.imdb.com/list/ls073371107/ - a list by ronbouwheer.
If you have time for weird videos, here's my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/PictureProductStudio http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWkcL-G3OwVvVb1B94bH5hQ
There are, of course, certain criteria, which are also genre's tropes they are: -Usual tropes of film noir and/or neo-noir: unusual angles (Dutch tilts) and photography, use of rain and wet asphalt, shadows, minimal lighting, night-for-night shots, smoke, smoking, femme fatale, antihero/private eye/beat cop protagonist, moral ambiguity etc. -Use of surrealism, mysticism, symbolism, dream sequences, unreliable narration and flashbacks, unexplained scenes, non-linear narrative and other unconventional methods of story-telling which imply that both protagonist and audience are either deluded or have their perception manipulated; -Surreal details and/or backgrounds, at times using chess, geometrical patterns, mirrors, tattoos, photographs to great extend; -Eclectic editing (unusual transitions, single-frame inserts etc.) and/or photography (use of different types of camera and film); -Eclectic soundtrack, which combines different genres of music and ambient noises (Note: for some reason a lot of psycho-noir movies use song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins); -Shocking, genre- and mind-bending ending and/or climax; -Doppelgangers and/or double identities; -Shots of driving, highway, road, usually at night; -Use of "screen within a screen" - television sets, cinemas, displays, etc.; -Interesting, at times unique design of main titles and end credits (Note: a lot of psycho-noir titles use dark shades of blue for color of titles and credits, such as marine blue and navy blue);
Titles with no IMDb page (work in progress): 2008: "Mad November" (Bezumny noyabr) and "Bezumny noyabr 2";
Recommended reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_film_noir_titles&oldid=454506550#Psycho-noir - a list of psycho-noir titles on Wikipedia, deleted from "List of film noir" but saved in edits history; http://smallcrimes-novel.blogspot.com/2007/08/defining-psycho-noir.html - Defining Psycho-Noir, a great article by Dave Zeltserman on the subject. http://www.imdb.com/list/ls073371107/ - a list by ronbouwheer.
If you have time for weird videos, here's my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/PictureProductStudio http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWkcL-G3OwVvVb1B94bH5hQ
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