Psychological thrillers are very popular due to their “What the f**” factor. Often requiring viewers to peer into a disturbed mind, they ultimately end up doubting their own. There have been so many great watches over the years, but the following are some of the best. Ladies and gentlemen, our pick of the top psychological thrillers to stream if you’re looking to spill your Diet Coke and laser-focused with your eyes glued to the screen. No spoilers!
The Silence of the Lambs
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95%
A sequel to Red Dragon and prequel to Hannibal, The Silence of the Lambs is without a doubt the most successful of the three Thomas Harris adaptations. It was a huge box office success when the movie was released on February 14, 1991, having grossed $272.7 million at the box office with a production budget of $19 million. It was directed by Jonathan Demme and considered to be one of the classics, so much so that it ranked number 48 on Empire’s 500-long list of the greatest movies of all time. It was deemed culturally and historically relevant enough to be selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress in 2011.
What makes this Hannibal adaptation a classic is the quality of the dialogue between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, played by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. The dialogue ranges from everyday mundane conversations to discussions about severed heads discovered in abandoned warehouses.
The movie is older than many people reading, which means it will be hard to find on most streaming sites. It’s certainly not on Netflix U.S., but you can explore other locations using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) like PureVPN, which is said to be the most secure VPN according to Techopedia’s Software Reviews Expert Aleksandar Stevanovic. He came to this decision after having tested over 20 of the best VPN providers, analyzing performance, security features, and pricing so you do not have to. VPNs can come in handy not only for watching movies but also for streaming TV shows and playing games online. They’re worth investing in as they can bring many forms of entertainment to you — like this Anthony Hopkins gem.
2. Missing
Cast: Storm Reid, Nia Long, Megan Suri, Thomas Barbusca
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
From cannibalism to missing people, Missing is the sequel to Searching. It is the feature directioral debut for Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, who gave the movie life from Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty’s story, which they co-produced alongside Natalit Qasbian. The movie was released in the United States on January 20, 2023, although it premiered the day before at the Sundance Film Festival.
This $48 million box office masterpiece from a $7 million budget takes a familiar concept but perfects it as the entire movie is seen through the lens of a camera. It follows the frantic ordeal of the main protagonist, June Allen, played by Storm Reid, as she suspects and then confirms that her mother is missing on vacation. Using the resources available, she goes on an international manhunt only to find out some dastardly truths about her mom’s past and hers.
3. Gone Girl
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87%
Gone Girl puts the psycho in the psychological thriller. It was directed by David Fincher—director of The Social Network, Panic Room, and Fight Club, among others — and adapted from a book of the same title written by Gillian Flynn. The movie premiered as the opening film at the 52nd New York Film Festival on September 26, 2014, before being released in theaters on October 3, 2014. Gone Girl was a box office sweetheart, stacking $370 million from a $61 million budget.
Before Ben Affleck became Batman, he was your everyday town guy who, in the blink of an eye, found himself thick in the middle of a murder mystery. A girl was indeed gone, and all the breadcrumbs led back to writer Nuck Dunner, portrayed by Ben Affleck, whose dearly beloved wife, “Amazing Amy,” played by Rosamund Pike, vanishes on their fifth wedding anniversary.
Missing wife? It’s always the husband, wouldn’t you say so?
4. Parasite
Cast: Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Park So-dam, Choi Woo-shik
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 99%
Parasite is hands-down one of the watches of the decade; from the excellent casting to the directing and photography, there’s a lot to appreciate about this masterpiece. It is the brainchild of Bong Joon-ho, the director of Memories of Murder and Snowpiercer. He not only directed Parasite but also adapted it from a 15-page draft, which was created from a script he wrote in 2013. Together with Han Jin-won, this South Korean Comedy thriller was produced and premiered at the 2019 Canned Film Festival on May 21, 2019, where the movie bagged the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the event, making Parasite the first ever Korean film to do so.
The movie was released nine days later in South Korea on May 30th and saw box office success of $262 million worldwide from a production budget of only $11.4 million. The Palme d’Or was only the start, as Parasite won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Feature Film, and Best Original Screenplay at the 92nd Academy Awards. It became the first non-English film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and the first South Korean movie to ever receive an Academy Award. Having already won the Palme d’Or priori, it became one of three movies in history to win both the Palme d’Or and the Academy Award, the last of which was some 60 years ago. Bong Joon-ho says an HBO Parasite series is currently in the works, and fans of his good work are beyond excited.
The movie touches on serious undertones that plague modern society, like the struggle for money and how it can push people to tap into the dark side. We observe the Kim family scheme and essentially become parasites to the Park family, and the movie ends on a dark, twisted note. It’s a must-watch, family-friendly, and perfect for younger viewers as it teaches and encourages core values like hard work and self-dependence.
