Entertainment
7 Forgotten Psychological Thrillers That Are Perfect From Start to Finish
Few cinematic genres are as popular or versatile as the thriller. Covering everything from horror to comedy and action, the thriller is maliable and enduring, offering audiences stories of mystery and anxiety that will have them on the edge of their seats. However, if there’s one subgenre that stands out from the others, it has to be the psychological thriller.
These movies toy with the audience’s perception, focusing on suspenseful narratives that deal with themes of mental distress, anxiety, paranoia, and distorted realities. They toy with their characters as much as with their audience, resulting in some of the best and most riveting movies in cinema. Movies like Memento and Oldboy are among the best-known examples of the subgenre, but many other great psychological thrillers have gone unnoticed over the years, and this list is our way to do right by them. If you haven’t seen the movies on this list, then do yourself a favor and seek them out; you won’t regret it.
‘Possessed’ (1947)
Joan Crawford received her second Oscar nomination for her work in Curtis Bernhardt‘s Possessed. The film sees Crawford as Louise, the nurse of wealthy Dean Graham (Raymond Massey) and his wife, who develops an unhealthy fixation with the neighbor, David (Van Heflin). When Dean’s wife dies, Louise becomes his new wife, but her enduring obsession with David will lead her down a path of violence.
Few classical actresses played women in various degrees of mental anguish as perfectly as Joan Crawford, and Possessed is one of her finest hours. Sure, the film is highly accentuated to the point of bordering on melodrama — it was made in 1947, after all. However, the film still offers a riveting story about the dangers of obsession and the past’s ability to ruin one’s future if one does not reconcile with it. Besides, Crawford’s work is reason enough to watch.
‘Manhunter’ (1986)
You may or may not know, but Anthony Hopkins wasn’t actually cinema’s first Hannibal Lecter. Five years earlier, Michael Mann adapted Thomas Harris‘ 1981 novel Red Dragon into Manhunter, with William Petersen as Will Graham and Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor. The film adapts the novel’s plot, which sees Graham coming out of retirement to catch a serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy. To do so, he must confront Lecktor, who tried to kill him years earlier.
Today, Manhunter has been all but eclipsed by the subsequent success of Jonathan Demme‘s The Silence of the Lambs, the superior adaptation of Harris’ novel. However, Manhunter is still quite a gripping thriller, with a radically different but no less compelling take on Hannibal Lecter. It might not reinvent the wheel or explore as many themes as Demme’s masterpiece, but Mann’s adaptation is as stylish as it is engrossing. The film’s approach to forensic science was also quite refreshing for the time, inspiring countless future thrillers.
‘Green Room’ (2015)
Jeremy Saulnier‘s claim to fame came in 2015 with the horror psychological thriller Green Room. The film focuses on a punk band playing at a remote club in the Pacific Northwest. Their night descends into chaos and horror when they unwittingly witness a murder, finding themselves the targets of Neo-Nazi skinheads. The late Anton Yelchin stars alongside Imogen Poots, Callum Turner, and Patrick Stewart.
A pretty perfect horror movie from A24, Green Room is as wild as its premise makes it sound. It is unapologetically gruesome, hyper-violent, and grimy, making the most of its limited setting and remarkable cast to deliver a story that might lack depth, but it more than makes up for it in sheer thrills. That said, Green Room does have interesting things to say about morality and how it ebbs and flows when one’s life is on the line. Those with weak stomachs are wise to stay away, but all those who love their movies with a hard edge will love this underrated gem from the 2010s.
‘Take Shelter’ (2011)
Oscar nominee Michael Shannon and Oscar winner Jessica Chastain star in Jeff Nichols‘ 2013 psychological disaster thriller Take Shelter. Shannon plays Curtis, a husband and father plagued with apocalyptic visions about a coming storm. As he begins building a shelter to protect his family from the doom, his unexplained and seemingly unreasonable actions begin to strain his relationship with his loving wife, Samantha (Chastain).
A low-key masterpiece of the thriller genre, Take Shelter is as thought-provoking as it is elusive. The film isn’t really concerned with whether Curtis’ visions are actually prophetic or not; instead, the focus is on the psyche and the importance of human connection. Take Shelter is haunting and uneasy, but Shannon’s humane performance and Nichols’ nuanced approach make it a deep examination of duty and paranoia that never sensationalizes Curtis’ struggle. The ambiguous ending might be the best-known part, but the entire movie is rich in food for thought.
‘Strange Darling’ (2024)
Strange Darling stars Willa Fitzgerald and certified scream king Kyle Gallner as a man and a woman who have a one-night stand that soon turns deadly. The plot follows a non-linear structure told across six chapters, each one a piece of a larger puzzle that only starts making sense about halfway through.
Subversive in the best possible way, Strange Darling makes the best out of its twisting narrative, largely thanks to a spectacular and frankly Oscar-worthy performance from Willa Fitzgerald. The film uses our preconceived notions of the psychological thriller to pull a trick on us, and the result is a refreshing game-changer that steps out of the genre’s boundaries. Released only two years ago, Strange Darling was severely underappreciated by both critics and audiences. Today, it continues to amass a small but loyal fanbase, but it still has a long way to go to secure cult classic status.
‘Don’t Look Now’ (1973)
Nicole Roeg‘s Don’t Look Now has become more popular in recent years; that is indeed true. However, it still lacks the recognition of other horrors of the ’70s. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie star as a married couple recovering from the death of their daughter by traveling to Venice. However, the pair begins dealing with strange and potentially supernatural situations that will push their sanity to the breaking point.
Don’t Look Now is perhaps best known for its ending and the long-standing yet now-debunked rumor that Sutherland and Christie had unsimulated sex on camera during its most famous scene. However, the film is a poignant and genuinely chilling exploration of grief and the inability to move on. The occult themes further support the film’s thesis regarding the inevitability of tragedy, crafting a mood of lingering dread that refuses to let go. Sutherland is particularly affecting here, and his work during the final moments has cemented Don’t Look Now as a classic, albeit an unsung one.
‘Repulsion’ (1965)
When you think of Roman Polanski‘s psychological thrillers, chances are you think of Rosemary’s Baby. However, he actually directed another one three years earlier, Repulsion, which was also his English-language debut. Starring a career-best Catherine Deneuve, the film sees the legendary French actress playing Carol, a young woman with an acute fear of interacting with men. Left alone in her apartment, she begins to experience hallucinations as she descends into mental anguish.
Repulsion is one of the best thrillers of the ’60s, a ruthless and profoundly eerie exploration of sexual repression, identity, and isolation. The film successfully places us in a claustrophobic and slowly escalating situation, often putting us in Carol’s actual perspective to enhance immersion. In its way, Repulsion is a statement on femininity and non-conformity, with Carol choosing violence rather than subjugation and submission. Powered by Deneuve’s outstanding work, Repulsion is a powerful chamber piece that’s hard to shake off.
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