Psychological thriller is a combination of a movie that has elements of both, a thriller and a mind-challenging film. Films of this genre, are often unsettling and can leave the viewers baffled and intrigued. They give the watchers a heightened feeling of excitement, anxiousness, and even anxiety, depending upon how deeply the person is engrossed in the film. While genres like rom-coms, comedies, adventure, romance are light and produce happy emotions, psychological thrillers can be jaw-dropping and spine chilling. Such movies often play with the notion of predictability, as viewers might believe that a certain thing would happen but suddenly they’ll be surprised with a shocking plot twist, which would leave a deep impact on the mind.
1. Orphan
Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
IMDb: 6.9/10
Metacritic: 42%
· Release date: 22nd July, 2009
· Running time: 2h 3m
· Where to watch: Hotstar subscription, YouTube rent, popcorn time
This movie always tops the list of psychological thrillers. A movie like this comes once in more than a decade. The reviews didn’t work out very well for the movie but it shocked its entire viewer population. Released in 2009, this movie is one of the greatest directions of Jaume Collet Serra, a Spanish director, and producer who has made successful movies like The Matrix, remake of a horror film House Of Wax and more.
Orphan has been popularly remarked as bone-chilling, crazy and horrifying. It can be disturbing, twisty, as well as gruesome for some viewers. The story revolves around a married couple, they have two children and the wife loses the third baby after which she decides to adopt a nine-year-old girl, Ether. Problems occur when Ether’s behavior seems icky to the mother and she discovers a terrifying truth about her. It all comes down to Ether not being who she pretends to be.
The climax is the hit of the film. The film builds up to the climax. If we speak of the cinematic and creative elements, this film creates an aura of a dark picture. This movie’s visualization and screenplay add on to the thrill and it doesn’t fail to bring horror sensations.
2. Get out
Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
IMDb: 7.7/10
Metacritic: 84%
· Release date: 27th Feb, 2017
· Running time: 1h 44m
· Where to watch: popcorn time, amazon rent
This movie is of the new generation and a classic example of a psychological thriller. It’s definitely not a cliché, rather a very smart and unique piece. It might take a while for you to understand what’s happening in the film and it can be called complex. In a gist, it’s about a dinner party, going horribly wrong. Chris, the protagonist of the film, visits his girlfriend Rose’s parents, who seem to be unhappy with his smoke addiction and the fact that he’s black. They’re often seen as passing hateful comments towards him. Rose’s mother, being a hypnotherapist, persuades Chris into therapy and things turn wired. This movie did very well at the box office and earned a lot of fame for the lead actors, as well as, the director.
3. Split
Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Metacritic: 62%
· Release date:24th Feb, 2014
· Running time: 1h 57m
· Where to watch: popcorn time
Split is a solid example of dissociative identity disorder, known as the split personality disorder in common terms. The surprise in the movie is the element of horror, which will be revealed only at the end.
The film stars James McAvoy, the ‘Dark Phoenix’ and ‘X-Men: First Class’ star, who has shown true brilliance in the movie. He plays a character who holds 23 alter egos. As the movie proceeds, he takes three teens into hostage. They struggle to survive and must protect themselves before he unshackles his 24th and the most dangerous personality. The last scenes of the movie provide jump scares. There is a buildup of tension, which makes the viewers stick to the screen until completion of the film. It’s a perfect blend of horror, thriller and it successfully plays with the mind. James portrays each of the twenty-four personalities with precision and masterfully.
It’s directed by none other than M. Night Shyamalan, who earlier shook everyone with the outstanding and ingenious movie, ‘The Sixth Sense’.
4. The Silence of the lambs
Rating
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
IMDb: 8.6/10
Common sense media: 4/5
· Release date: 14th Feb, 1991
· Running time: 2h 18m
· Where to watch: Popcorn time
Directed by Jonathan Demme, this movie is a masterpiece and made him bag the academy awards for best direction, while the movie won the best picture award. The very professional cast of the movie helped this creative film reach the audience well and perfectly enact the script.
The movie revolves around an FBI agent, played by Jodie Foster, who approaches Hannibal Lecter, who was a psychopathic serial killer to catch another serial killer who targets females.
Every thriller lover must watch this film as it’s a classic of this genre. Anthony Hopkins’s portrayal of Hannibal Lector, a psychiatrist turned psychopathic serial killer, is an example of mind-blowing acting skills, which could’ve been done only by Hopkins.
5. The shutter island
Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
IMDb: 8.1/10
Metacritic: 63%
· Release date: 19th Feb, 2010
· Running time: 2h 19m
· Where to watch: Popcorn time, Netflix
This movie is a master of plot twists, serious revelations and the right kind of plot twists that we seek from a psychological thriller. The creative elements used, aptly compliment the film. The location of the film is isolated, has a light tower and sets the right environment for a thriller. It is very intense and complex. One cannot understand this movie without fully focusing on each and every dialogue of it. The cast is the highlight of the film.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the lead. Just like all of these movies, even this one doesn’t fail to amaze the viewers. Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Williams deliver a power-packed and impactful performance. The plot proceeds as Teddy, the protagonist of the film, played by Leo reaches an asylum on an isolated island and discovers some shocking truths about the place.
6. Fight club
Ratings:
Rotten tomatoes: 79%
IMDb: 8.8/10
Metacritic: 66%
· Release date: 15th October, 1999
· Running time: 2h 31m
· Where to watch: Popcorn time, YouTube rent, google play
This Brad Pitt classic received a lot of praise. This movie has also been called a celebration of violence and alcohol abuse but amidst all this, the film was a huge success for director David Fincher who, till date hasn’t failed his audiences. He has brought great movies like Gone Girl, Seven, World War Z2, The Panic Room, Seven and more. The movie also stars, Helena Bonham Carter AKA Bellatrix Lestrange.
The movie is about a fight club started by an insomniac office worker, played by Edward Norton and Tyler, played by Brad, who sells soap. The club soon turns direful.
7. Vanilla sky
Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes: 42%
IMDb: 6.9/10
Metacritic: 45%
· Release date: 10th December, 2001
· Running time: 2h 17m
· Where to watch: Popcorn time, YouTube rent, google play
The movie shows Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz and Cameron Diaz in powerful roles. It is a little different, as a part of being a psychological thriller, it’s also science fiction. It’s a remake of a Spanish film, Open Your Eyes.
The movie also brings concepts like lucid dreams on screen. It begins with Tom Cruise being in prison and narrating his life story, where he tells about Penélope, how he falls in love with her at the same time when he’s seeing Cameron. When Cameron finds out about the two, she deliberately crashes her car, with Tom inside, which leaves, his face scarred. The story moves forward with him trying to cope with this new negative change, depression and more. This is a twisted story but won’t fail to amuse the viewers.
8. Gerald’s Game
Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
IMDb: 6.6/10
Metacritic: 77%
· Release date:2017
· Running time: 1h 43m
· Where to watch: Popcorn time, Netflix
Gerald’s Game is based on a Stephen King’s novel and is another jump scare thriller, all set to get a spine chilling experience. The movie is directed by Mike Flanigan, who has also directed movies like Oculus, Hush, Before IWake, Doctor Sleep and more. The screenplay has been co-written by Stephen King and Jeff Howard. The movie stars Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, and Kate Siegel, who was also lead in the popular horror series‘The Haunting Of Hill House’.
Carla and Bruce Greenwood are the protagonists. They are a married couple and things are quite rough between them. Considering which, they decide to take a holiday to spend some quality time alone and sort their differences out. The area is completely isolated, apart from the presence of a dog who apparently hasn’t been fed in a long time. Bruce’s character comes up with something kinky and a tragedy strikes.
This picture is packed up with thrill and fright. The plot is unique and will keep surprising the viewers every moment. It is very artistic and gripping, a must-watch for any psychological thriller fan.
