50 Psychological Thrillers That’ll Have You Second-Guessing Everything
No, I’m not okay, thanks for asking!
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If you’ve watched all the best horror movies on Amazon Prime or powered your way through the scariest movies of all time, you might think you’ve seen it all. But you haven’t felt true terror until you’ve watched the very best psychological thrillers. Sure, the scariest horror villains are nightmare-inducing, but the inner workings of the human psyche? Now that's messed up.
All genres overlap, but psychological thrillers are typically defined by their ability to combine the mysteries of the human brain with heart-pounding action, and will often times leave you doubting everything you’ve ever seen, read, or believed. Because psychological thrillers don’t just play with your physical safety, they’re about the safety (or lack thereof) of the reality in your head. Sounds fun, right? Now that you've been warned, check out the 50 of the best psychological thrillers below. It's time to discover what twists and turns await!
Saltburn
Saltburn will make you question any and every random encounter you’ve ever had—and you'll never think of bathtubs the same way again. The movie stars Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick, an awkward, quiet student at Oxford who becomes enamored with the richest, coolest boy at school, Felix (Jacob Elordi). But after he scores an invite to stay with Felix’s family at their sprawling estate for the summer, those around the friends begin to question Oliver's true nature.
Kimi
This one’s a bit more of a mystery movie than a psychological thriller, but IMO, it still counts. The film follows Angela (Zoë Kravitz), an agoraphobic data analyst who hears audio of what she believes to be a murder at work. But, when her company seems unwilling to take it seriously, she faces her fears and goes outside to deliver the suspicious audio to someone who will take it seriously. And that’s just the beginning.
The Gift
A chance encounter with an old classmate turns into a sick and twisted game in The Gift. The movie from writer-director and star Joel Edgerton follows Simon (Jason Bateman) and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall), a couple whose married bliss is interrupted when Simon runs into an old high school classmate, Gordo (Edgerton). What starts as a harmless friendship soon turns when Gordo begins giving the couple mysterious gifts that suggest a secret from Simon’s past is coming back to haunt him.
Leave the World Behind
It’s the end of the world! Or is it? What starts out as a weekend away in a rented mansion soon becomes a matter of life and death for a white, upper-class family when a mysterious Black couple, claiming to be the homeowners, arrives and informs them that a cyberattack has crippled global infrastructure. But will the family believe them? Come for the anxiety-inducing plot, stay to watch Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali dance like nobody’s watching.
Don't Worry Darling
Alice (Florence Pugh) has an idyllic 1950s housewife life, taking care of her perfect home in a perfect neighborhood and taking care of her perfect husband, Jack (Harry Styles). But after a series of events causes her to question her own reality, the perfect facade starts to fall, revealing a sinister reality. Don’t Worry Darling’s theatrical release was overshadowed by the Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles relationship drama, but that shouldn’t stop you from watching it if you’re in the mood for a gorgeous, twisted look at suburbia.
Knock at the Cabin
If an intimidating group of weirdos showed up at your door and told you that one of you had to die to prevent the apocalypse, would you believe them? What if they came wielding weapons and one of them looked like Dave Bautista? This is the terrifying premise of Knock at the Cabin, a movie that puts the fate of the world on the shoulders of two dads and their young daughter, and, yes, I’m emotional thinking about it, thanks.
Enemy
Enemy is probably one of the most confusing psychological thrillers I’ve ever seen—and I mean that as a compliment. The 2013 film from Denis Villeneuve (now known as the filmmaker behind Dune) stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a man with a mundane life who decides to track down an actor after realizing that they look exactly alike. And it only gets weirder from there.
Along Came a Spider
The kidnapping of a senator’s daughter is just the beginning of the conspiracy at the heart of Along Came a Spider, as it soon becomes clear that the kidnapper isn’t after the innocent girl, but has his eyes set on detective Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman).
The Lodge
Grace (Riley Keough) is snowed in with her two soon-to-be step-children after her fiancé leaves them in an isolated cabin. As the kids learn more about Grace’s troubled past, her instability threatens to put them all in danger.
mother!
An expectant mother's life takes a turn when a strange group of visitors shows up at her house, and her partner welcomes them in with open arms. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, mother! is the kind of movie that you either love or hate, but no matter where you fall, you will be thinking about how effed up it is for days to come.
Psycho
Obviously you can't curate a list of psychological thrillers without including Psycho. It's right there in the name. Alfred Hitchcock's most famous film is about a woman who stays at the world's creepiest motel run by one Norman Bates, a man who's...um...way too obsessed with his mom.
Parasite
Bong Joon Ho condemns capitalism in this expertly told thriller focusing on two families — one wealthy, the other impoverished. After lying his way to a prime tutoring gig for an uber rich family, Ki Woo (Choi Woo-sik) begins manipulating his employers into hiring his entire family, only to be sabotaged by a dark family secret.
The Shining
Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel has basically ruined carpets, tricycles, twins, and hallways for me. It's a truly terrifying journey through one man's descent into insanity, and no, I have not recovered. REDRUM.
The Invisible Man
When her abusive ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) dies by suicide and leaves her his fortune, Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) is immediately skeptical. Over time, she becomes convinced that she’s being haunted by an invisible presence. But the more she fights back, the more those around her are convinced she’s losing her mind.
Shutter Island
Just a casual movie about Leonardo DiCaprio heading to an insane asylum on an island where a murderer has recently escaped. OR IS IT?! Like all good thrillers, literally nothing in this movie is as it seems, and you don't find out what's really going on until the very end—at which point you will be utterly and completely terrified. Have fun!
Eve's Bayou
The subjective nature of memory and truth takes center stage in Eve’s Bayou, Kasi Lemmons’ directorial debut about a girl, Eve (Jurnee Smollett), who catches her father, Louis (Samuel L. Jackson), having an affair, only to have her older sister, Cisely (Meagan Good), try to convince her that it wasn’t what it looked like. As tension in their family grows, Eve questions her own truth and the experiences of those around her.
Notes On a Scandal
Teachers Sheba (Cate Blanchett) and Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) become close friends, but when Sheba starts an illicit affair with a teenage student, Barbara uses it against her — not out of moral conviction, but jealousy.
The Conversation
Freelance surveillance expert, Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), makes a living out of recording private conversations, and though he tries never to think of the consequences these recordings might have, the murder of three people involved in a past recording haunts him. Convinced there is something off about his most recent job, Harry breaks protocols and decides to investigate the case himself. But is he stopping a murderer, or helping them?
Get Out
Get Out has elements of psychological thriller, horror, and suspense, but the movie—about a Black man who visits his white girlfriend's horrifying family upstate—can't really be defined by any one genre. Jordan Peele told Vulture that he views Get Out as a social thriller, saying, "The bad guy is society—these things that are innate in all of us, and provide good things, but ultimately prove that humans are always going to be barbaric, to an extent."
The Silence of the Lambs
You'd think a movie about a cannibal who spends his time eating people would fall more into the gore category, but The Silence of the Lambs is another genre-defier, all about understanding the dark mind of Hannibal Lecter, man who enjoys the taste of human flesh. Literally shuddering.
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