Psychological thrillers are probably my favorite genre of movie of all time- here are my top 5 favorites!
- Gone Girl
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This is probably my favorite movie of all time, but nothing beats watching the film or reading the book for the first time. The movie premise is about a woman who goes missing on the day of her wedding anniversary, and the husband increasingly becomes more suspicious as a suspect. The movie watcher is taken on the roller coaster of questioning everybody involved. The plot twist midway is one of the best I have ever watched, and makes you reconsider everything you might have thought in the first half. If you like movies to explain everything in the end and not leave you with questions, this is also a great movie for you! The film successfully explains and ties together all of the plot holes and logical information to the watcher, making it quite satisfying to finish.
- The Girl on the Train
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This is another one of my all time favorite movies, and like Gone Girl, the movie is based originally on the novel by Paula Hawkins. Additionally, similarly to Gone Girl, there are major twists and turns throughout the story as the lives of three women collide and intertwine together as the movie progresses. Unlike the book, the movie mainly focuses on one of the women, an alcoholic, unreliable narrator that the watcher feels torn believing or not. However- don’t fret! If you like movies that have a logical answer that is explained at the end, this movie is for you, too. Everything is explained in the end, bringing sense to the complicated connections, disappearances, and deaths in the film.
- Silence of the Lambs
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While I, as well as many others, believe this is one of the greatest films ever made (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) I want to write a disclaimer that this is one of the more disturbing films included on this list. The film follows the protagonist, Clarice Starling, after she’s pulled out of FBI training at Quantico and assigned to interview an incarcerated cannibal, Hannibal Lecter. Starring Jodie Foster, who plays Starling, and Anthony Hopkins, who plays Lecter, this film will definitely be like one you have never seen before. While there aren’t really pop-outs, the content of the film might leave viewers a little woozy or disturbed, but it will definitely entertain you!
- Black Swan
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I remember when this movie first came out, my parents banned me from watching it because I was a dancer in high school and they told me it was “too disturbing.” However, when I discovered psychological thrillers to be my favorite genre of movie, I had to watch it, and was extremely impressed with the unique plot the movie offers. This film stars Natalie Portman as a professional ballerina rehearsing for an upcoming production of Swan Lake, and overtime, her innocence is lost through the struggles and tribulations involved in the professional dance industry. However, unlike some of the other movies mentioned, there is a bit more ambiguity in this film, as the viewer is forced to question what is reality and what is just imagination. Nevertheless, my eyes were glued to the screen the entire time, and I obviously had to search for an “Ending Explained” video on YouTube afterwards- my favorite types of movies are ones that can be analyzed after watching.
- Get Out
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Lastly, I was debating whether or not to include Get Out because technically it could fall under the genre of both thriller or horror. However, I couldn’t not include it because it has to be one of my favorite movies I’ve ever watched. I’ve probably watched it about fifteen times, and each time I notice something else that I missed the time before. The story is about a girlfriend who brings her boyfriend home to meet her family for the first time, and weird things start to happen. There’s really not much else to explain without giving it away. It’s fascinatingly thorough plot is weaved with many symbols and details throughout the film, making it one you can’t just watch once! Like all the others I have included, there is a huge plot twist in the end that left me with a big shock factor, as well as the satisfaction of a nicely tied up ending.
Happy watching :)