It’s not easy to conjure up something as complicated as a psychological thriller. Movies that are really good with getting into the audience’s mind has me second-guessing reality time-to-time. Sometimes I even wonder how genuine or truthful the people around me are. With psychological horrors/thrillers, they’re a special genre because it is in a way intimate with its watchers. It keeps you guessing, keeping you glued to the screen, holding you vulnerable to the story as it progresses. They keep you coming back after the plot twist to put the pieces of the puzzle together. With that said, here are my top five psychological horror/thriller movies:
- Gothika (2003)
- Orphan (2009)
- Triangle (2009)
- Anna/Mindscape (2013)
- The Invisible Man (2020)
Gothika
This movie features known-actress Halle Berry as the main protagonist who works as a psychiatrist named Miranda Grey. On her way home one night, she encounters a girl on the road that she almost hits while driving. Afterwards, Miranda wakes up in the mental hospital that she works at — disoriented with no memory of what happened — as a patient accused of murdering her husband. The plot progresses leaving you confused considering Miranda has no memory of what happened after encountering the girl, although it shows flashbacks of her killing her husband as if she is possessed. The story will unravel as it goes. While not many seem to like this movie, I really liked how the reasoning in the end answers the “why” of “what happened” to Miranda and the murder of her husband. The plot twist definitely shatters Miranda.
Orphan
Many people really like this movie simply because it is indeed mind-boggling. It is not what you expect at all. The movie is about a couple who lost their baby and are looking to adopt an older child, somewhere in between toddler and adolescent. That is when they meet Esther at the orphanage, and she has a great reputation as a good kid. She turns out to be artistic, and really mature for her age as the one running the orphanage says. After adopting her, it was okay for a bit but their young son did not like her and their young daughter would follow in Esther’s steps (not saying anything that would happen because she was scared). The tables begin to turn, such as when Esther is bullied in school and she gets her revenge by pushing the bully off the playground tower, however she denies it. Her true colors show when she tried to seduce her adoptive father. The biggest plot twist is saved for the end. It is truly such a magnificent and terrifying plot twist, that I will leave it there.
Triangle
This movie is also not what it seems to be. For the duration of the movie when I was watching it, I thought maybe it had to do with ghosts or something of the sort- but I was wrong. There’s nothing paranormal or ghost-y about the movie. It just happens to be a really strange, confusing, and EXTREMELY mind-boggling experience. It’s a really interesting twist, but after I finished watching it I couldn’t comprehend it. I still don’t understand it, but it is a really entertaining movie. A group of friends go on a boat ride, and get caught in a storm. After finding their boat capsized after a storm, they find themselves lost at sea. Until they eventually find refuge on a seemingly abandoned cruise ship, but not everything is as it seems and the plot soon takes several dark, twisted turns. Without spoiling, I will leave it to you to watch and go through the full confusing experience without expectation. This is a good movie for people who like metaphysics.
Anna/Mindscape
This movie goes by Anna in North America and Mindscape in other countries in Europe. The plot of this movie features Detective Mark Strong who can get into people’s minds through some sort of psychological technique which he is asked to do with a troubled teenager named Anna. Others believe that he will not be successful in doing so for how complicated she is as a person. As Anna says, “I’m not a sociopath, but I’m smart enough to think like one.” (Anna). The plot twist of this movie was crazy as well, as it reveals that what we are watching is not what we thought we were watching.
The Invisible Man
This movie is not technically a remake (considering the original Invisible Man movie states back in 1933, and the probable remake of that was coined Hollow Man in 2000, and then another remake also called The Invisible Man released in 2018). What makes The Invisible Man (2020) completely different is that it is modern-based about a woman escaping an abusive relationship with her boyfriend by running away. It turns out that he fakes his suicide soon after, which was a manipulative tactic to make her think he was gone and leaving everything he owned in her possession. However, she soon realizes something isn’t right and believes that he found a way to be invisible and stalk her. The trailer pretty much gives away the plot of the movie itself, which is why I explained the general idea of it, but it’s worth watching for the story and heart-racing action of the main character trying to convince the cops that she isn’t crazy.
Overall, if you don’t have a taste for gore, or you’re looking for variety, then psychological horror is a good selection to still kick it with the spooky vibes. I hope you enjoy it!
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