A psychological thriller is meant to titillate your senses by showing you intense stories exploring the characters' innermost feelings. To put it simply - the characters of such a movie are usually put in circumstances where their beliefs, mental state, and morals are challenged. The circumstances, most likely, being a crime of some sort, since these are thrillers, after all. These mind-bending movies are definitely made so you'll question reality and your own abilities to understand it. Exciting! If you do agree that these movies are rather intriguing, you've opened the exact right article, for this is our roster of the best psychological thrillers to date.
So, which movies made it to this list? Well, for starters, a couple of Stephen King stories sure did; namely, the absolute gem by Stanley Kubrick called The Shining and the slow-burning but super intense Misery. Then, of course, there's a whole selection of David Fincher movies since the guy seems to have tapped so deep into the human psyche that everything he brings out turns into an instant classic. Besides these gems, you'll also find some more obscure movies, ones that might have slipped under your radar before but are nonetheless worthy of your time.
Well, are you ready to dive deep into the world of psychological thrillers? If so, scroll down below to meet the suspenseful movies that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Give your vote for the best movies of your choice and share this article with your friends!
#1 The Silence Of The Lambs
1991 | 1h 58m | Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Ted Levine
The Silence Of The Lambs is a psychological horror-thriller that continues to be celebrated by movie lovers and critics alike. It remains the only one to have won Academy Awards in all of the top five categories – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. When it was released back in 1991, the critics praised its tense atmosphere, intelligent story, and exceptional performances from Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, who played Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, respectively.
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43points
#2 Seven
1995 | 2 hours 7 minutes | Directed by David Fincher
Starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey
Se7en is a neo-noir psychological crime thriller film that tells the story of a rookie detective David Mills, who's paired with the retiring William Somerset to track down a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his killing motif. It's a shocking, unbearably suspenseful movie that is as gothic as the Notre Dame cathedral. Se7en offers a very dark ride from the beginning right until the end, and we wish we'd never seen this movie so we could watch it again without knowing how it ends!
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40points
#3 The Sixth Sense
1999 | 1 hour 47 minutes | Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
1999's The Sixth Sense is the fourth movie by the director M. Night Shyamalan and the one that truly cemented his title as the maker of the most chilling psychological thrillers known for their unique visual style. Okay, so since you've probably already seen this movie and all the other pages give away this detail in their descriptions of The Sixth Sense, we'll tell you this - Bruce Willis is actually the one who's dead. Although you might not suspect it or believe it unless you see this movie for yourself. Yes, there's Haley Joel Osment being unimaginably cute and innocent, and yes, there's Willis showing his broad acting range, but most importantly, there's an amazing plot twist right in the end that's so brutal it'll leave you shaken.
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35points
#4 Shutter Island
2010 | 2 hours 18 minutes | Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo
2010 saw at least a couple of stellar mind-bending movies, and, wouldn't you guess it, two of them star Leo DiCaprio. Much to our content, of course. So, as you've guessed, Shutter Island also came out in 2010, and it's a neo-noir psychological thriller by Martin Scorcese. And yes, it is one of those movies where you have no idea what to believe in up until the end credits start rolling. To make it even more baffling and eerie, Shutter Island is set on a desolate and barren island in which there's a maximum-security psychiatric institution leading questionable practices. There's seemingly no escape and no relief for our protagonist who came to investigate a crime there, but we've hit a point where telling anything else would be spoiling the movie for you. So, have a go at it, but prepare to feel very uneasy.
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35points
#5 Misery
1990 | 1 hour 47 minutes | Directed by Rob Reiner
Starring James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth
Misery is a psychological thriller based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. To try to strip the plot to its basics - saying that a murderous fan keeps her favorite writer hostage to force him to write a book - would do no justice to this freakishly intense story. In fact, it is a nerve-wracking survival story, an analysis of a psychotic murderous villain, and a great deal of entertainment! Besides The Shining, Misery might just be one of the best adaptations of mister King's works to date.
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35points
#6 The Shining
1980 | 2 hours 26 minutes | Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
What do you get by pairing the works of one of the best horror writers (Stephen King) and the ingenious movie-making talent (Stanley Kubrick)? The Shining - in all its gory glory with blood rivers, creepy twins, and a call for murder. Oh, and don't forget about the good old burial ground under a hotel that's right in the middle of a very desolate nowhere. A not-so-typical horror movie, The Shining, will give you a couple of sleepless nights nonetheless and a looming suspicion about your significant other's mental health state.
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34points
#7 Fight Club
1999 | 2 hours 19 minutes | David Fincher
Starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter
As the rule states, we should be keeping mum about David Fincher's 1999 Fight Club, but after all, it's been well over a decade since its release, so let's say that the limitation period is over. Based on a 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club stars Hollywood's heartthrob Brad Pitt, the man of many talents Edward Norton, and Tim Burton's muse Helena Bonham Carter. Here Norton is a white-collar office worker and a very discontented one at that. Getting more bored by the minute, he forms a fight club with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). But is Tyler really here, and was he really the mastermind behind the upcoming revolt? Well, those questions can only be answered by you after watching or reading Fight Club.
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28points
#8 Psycho
1960 | 1 hour 49 minutes Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
Psycho is a psychological horror-thriller produced and directed by the one and only Alfred Hitchcock. The story here goes like this - on-the-run embezzler Marion Crane stays at a motel run by the shy Norman Bates. Lo and behold, Marion disappears. Now, those close to her hire a private investigator to get to the root of her disappearance, and boy, oh boy, are they in for a surprise! Now, hear me out - some of you shy away from these older movies led by faulty thinking they might be subpar in quality or story but think of them as the living history of cinema. And if you do finally decide to watch Psycho, don't be surprised if you love it from the first minute.
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28points
#9 The Devil's Advocate
1997 | 2 hours 24 minutes | Directed by Taylor Hackford
Starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron
The Devil's Advocate is a supernatural horror film based on Andrew Neiderman's novel of the same name. Here's how it goes - an exceptionally bright Florida lawyer is offered a job in a high-end New York City law firm. This is the biggest opportunity in his life so far, and he dives deep into it, but as his career soars, his life starts to slip through his fingers. Although The Devil's Advocate received plenty of negative reviews, we still suggest you try it - the main trio of actors does a stellar job in bringing the story alive.
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28points
#11 The Exorcist
1973 | 2 hours 2 minutes | Directed by William Friedkin
Starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair
Filming marked by accidents and release riddled with controversies and even riots, The Exorcist sure made a grand entrance into movie industry history. And if you haven't seen it already, here's the plot in its basics - The Exorcist follows a twelve-year-old girl that has been possessed by a demon and needs it to be expelled. With such a sure-shot horrifying premise, great acting, and severe shocks throughout, The Exorcist is still one of the best paranormal horror movies some 50 years after its release.
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27points
