Best Psychological Thriller Movies

The best psychological thriller movies are tense and unpredictable, which makes these thrillers unafraid to explore the human mind. Many people love this genre for this reason. Therefore, we made a list of the best must-see psychological thriller movies.

Many movie lovers like the psychological thriller genre as it explores the dark and mysterious corners of the human mind. We have put together a list of the most entertaining psychological thrillers that have received a lot of critical acclaim. Much of the movie’s drama occurs in this genre is from the things that happen in characters’ head, struggling with paranoia, trauma, delusions, prejudice, abuse and addictions. In today’s list, we have included both old and new classics and they are strongly recommended. Some of them are even among the best movies ever made. Without further ado, let’s get to the list of the best psychological thriller movies of all time.

Best Psychological Thriller Movies

Although watching horror movies can bring actual nightmares, psychological thrillers jump into the complexities of human mind and that is another level of scary. Therefore, it is more entertaining for some people. Here are the best psychological thriller movies of all time. Let’s get to it.

11. Shutter Island 2010

  • Genre: Thriller/Mystery
  • Director: Martin Scorsese
  • Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 68%, IMDb 8.2

Shutter Island is another amazing movie in which Leonardo DiCaprio collaborated with Martin Scorsese. This is one of the best psychological thriller movies of all time. Moreover, it is considered one of the best performances of DiCaprio’s career. He performs as a US Marshal, Teddy Daniels, investigating a murderer’s disappearance. The woman escaped the criminally insane hospital. While he goes deeper into his operation in the asylum, he realizes he is losing his grasp on reality. There are a lot of disturbing imagery and lingering dread in the movie, but Scorsese was incredible and had DiCaprio lead an earnest performance. Shutter Island is one of the greatest psychological thriller movies ever.

Read more: Best Leonardo DiCaprio Movies of All Time

10. Joker 2019

  • Genre: Thriller/Crime
  • Director: Todd Phillips
  • Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Glenn Fleshler, Frances Conroy
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 69%, IMDb 8.4

One of the best Joaquin Phoenix movies of all time that came out in 2019 was Joker. He was exceptional in this movie and hid dedication to the film’s cause was mind-blowing. He had to lose a lot of weight to become really skinny for the role, and they say that some days, he only ate an apple to go buy. His portrayal of the character Joker was so amazing that many are wondering who the best Joker is: Heath Ledger or Joaquin Phoenix. No matter what your opinion on this debate is, you cannot deny that Joker was intense. It is an alternative story of how Arthur Fleck becomes the Joker.

This is more than a thriller crime film as it is also a psychological thriller. It revolves around a sad story of how people’s treatment and society can affect a psychologically ill person. We highly recommend this as one of the best psychological thriller movies of all time.

Read more: Best Joaquin Phoenix Movies of All Time

9. The Shining 1980

  • Genre: Horror/Mystery
  • Director: Stanley Kubrick
  • Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 82%, IMDb 8.4

Even if you haven’t watched this incredible movie, you most likely have heard of The Shining. The next one on our list of the best psychological thriller movies of all time is an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. However, the author hated the movie so much that he made his own. The Shining film is about a man and his family going to The Overlook hotel as the winter caretaker. Moreover, this unsafe, evil movie shows the man descending into murderous insanity and you have no idea what will come next as it feels like it is driven by a drunk mad man. After watching the movie, you may feel like the lurking beast will stay will you for a while.

Read more: Best Mystery Movies of All Time

8. Se7en 1995

Source: IMDb.com
  • Genre: Crime/Mystery
  • Director: David Fincher
  • Stars: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 82%, IMDb 8.6

One of the best psychological thriller movies of all time is Seven directed by David Fincher. The movie shows a classic young buck who becomes a partner of a veteran who is on the verge of retiring. Brad Pitt plays the role of a hardheaded rookie who has recently joined the homicide department as a detective. He then starts to track a serial killer who is obsessed with the seven deadly sins with the help of Somerset (Morgan Freeman). The two come across horrors that even Somerset, with that level of experience, has never faced. Pitt’s performance was remarkably great, giving a genuinely flawed and rough nature. The end climax is indeed one of Pitt’s most dramatic and greatest performances, masterfully showing what one might feel like in such a situation.

Read more: Best Brad Pitt Movies of All Time

7. Black Swan 2010

  • Genre: Drama/Thriller
  • Director: Darren Aronofsky
  • Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey, Sebastian Stan
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 85%, IMDb 8

Black Swan is arguably the best psychological thriller movie of all time, where Natalie Portman plays the role of a committed dancer. She is struggling with her sanity after she gets the leading role of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” for the New York City Ballet company. This Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller, Portman won an Oscar. Portman plays the role of Nina, who is brilliant. Although in the #MeToo era the controlling figure using sexual assault as a directing technique is not so complacent, the movie makes the damage a central plank of the character’s breakdown. Portman really deserved the Oscar and this is indeed one of the best psychological thriller films ever.

Read more: Best Natalie Portman Movies of All Time

6. Gone Girl 2014

Source: IMDb.com
  • Genre: Thriller/Mystery
  • Director: David Fincher
  • Star: Matt Damon, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Emily Ratajkowski, Kim Dickens,
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 88%, IMDb 8.1

The movie Gone Girl was directed by David Fincher, the father of crime/thriller movies. It is an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel that has the same name. The story revolves around Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck, who turns out to be the lead suspect in the missing case of his wife. The female star is Rosamund Pike, playing Amy Dunne, Nick’s wife. The husband has to prove his innocence before it is too late. Many believe that this character was Affleck’s most compelling one to date. It is mostly because the character underwent immense pressure and emotional turmoil. The movie is quite surprising and unpredictable as a modern thriller. Gone Girl is indeed one of the best psychological thriller movies of all time.

Read more: Best Ben Affleck Movies of All Time

5. Zodiac 2007

Source: www.slashfilm.com
  • Genre: Mystery
  • Director: David Fincher
  • Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Chloë Sevigny, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Cox, Dermot Mulroney
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 90%, IMDb 7.7

One of the best psychological thriller movies of all time is Zodiac, directed by David Fincher. The movie tells the story of fear pervading San Francisco in the 1960s and early 1970s when a serial killer named Zodiac was terrorizing the people in the city. Investigators and journalists became dedicated to find out who this murderer is and bring him to punishment. While they are doing that, Zodiac keeps taking victims, tormenting police with messages and clothes soaked with blood as well as newspaper ciphers.

Robert Downey Jr. plays the role of Paul Avery, who is a real-life journalist of the same name. When he gets a letter that threatens his life, he becomes paranoid and starts taking drugs and alcohol to an addiction level. Moreover, other MCU star actors like Mark Ruffalo, Hulk, and Jake Gyllenhaal, Mysterio, also feature in the movie. Therefore, it is a rare treat for the fans who really want to watch these actors together but not in an MCU movie.

Read more: Best Mark Ruffalo Movies of All Time

4. Us 2019

  • Genre: Horror/Thriller
  • Director: Jordan Peele
  • Stars: Jordan Peele, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Shahadi Wright Joseph
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 93%, IMDb 6.8

A group of attackers come to Adelaide’s house and realize her worst nightmare. Adelaide was concerned that something terrible was about to happen as she was haunted by traumatic experience from the past. The strangers wore masks and attacked their house and Wilsons had to fight for their lives. When the family finds out that each of the attackers are actually a resemblance of their own, things get far creepier. The story behind the whole thing is scarier that the very premise. This is yet another one of the best psychological thriller movies ever made.

Read more: Best Survival Movies of All Time

3. The Silence of the Lambs 1991

  • Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Horror
  • Director: Jonathan Demme
  • Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Ted Levine, Frank Seals Jr., Brooke Smith
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 95%, IMDb 8.6

By far one of the best psychological thriller movies of all time is The Silence of the Lambs, where Anthony Hopkins plays Dr. Hannibal Lector. He plays alongside Jodie Foster in this film that is regarded as one of the greatest movies ever. The two actors won their first Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Actress for this movie and their performance. In addition, the movie won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Starling is a top student at the FBI training academy and he interviews Dr. Hannibal Lecter who is a psychiatrist and psychopath. She appears as an insight into a case and wants to get him to reveal what he knows that can help in solving the mystery of a new killer.

Read more: Best Anthony Hopkins Movies of All Time

2. Get Out 2017

  • Genre: Horror/Thriller
  • Director: Jordan Peele
  • Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Catherine Keener
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 98%, IMDb 7.7

Photographer Chris is about to meet his girlfriend’s parents, but he is pretty nervous as he asks Rose: “Do they know I’m black” but she ensures him that her father is a big fan. So, what could go wrong? Well, Everything. This modern horror masterpiece has profound social commentary and is layered with goosebumps as well as harsh humor. The director aims for the audience’s attention to go to the real terrifying truths in the identity politics of contemporary America. Moreover, the grand reveal is far more horrific than anything you would have imagined. Get Out is one of the best psychological thriller movies of all time.

Read more: Best Horror Movies of All Time

1. Parasite 2019

Source: IMDb.com
  • Genre: Thriller/Drama
  • Director: Bong Joon-ho
  • Stars: Song Kang-Ho, Sun-Kyun Lee, Yeo-ieong Cho
  • Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 99%, IMDb 8.5

The movie Parasite gives us a sense of a black comedy about differences in class and that is what it actually is. However, it also brings in surreal darkness and pushes us to guess until the very end. Making it to the list of the best psychological thriller movies of all time, this movie pulls zero punches and every one of them lands hard. This thought-provoking, unforgettable movie has an exceptionally well-written script, and in some moments, it urges the audience to think/feel deeply. If you have not watched this incredible movie yet, we strongly recommend it as it is quite engaging and thought-provoking. The director Bong Joon-ho did a wonderful job as usual.

Read more: Best Drama Movies of All Time

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