Horror might be the most popular genre in movies. Part of the reason it’s so reliable, though, and has so many die-hard fans is that there are so many genres within horror that speak to the different ways humans can get scared.
One of the most effective types of horror doesn’t involve possessions or zombies or supernatural threats. Instead, it simply involves the psychology of the human brain, which, when exploited, can lead us to do things that we might never imagine. These psychological horror movies are all about the ways in which we can destroy ourselves, and because they’re some of the best ever made, they might linger with you long after the credits start rolling.
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Speak No Evil (2022)
97m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch, Fedja van Huêt
Directed by
Christian Tafdrup
Watch on Amazon
Speak No Evil does have a more American, 2024 remake that has its own merits. For this list, though, the 2022 film is a better fit. The movie tells the story of a Danish couple who become friends with a Dutch couple on vacation and are months later invited to the Dutch couple’s secluded wooded cabin. What starts as a slightly awkward comedy of manners between two families with different ways of life becomes increasingly tense as the boundaries of polite behavior are pushed to their breaking point. Speak No Evil is profoundly mean and unsettling, but the movie is best experienced if you go in totally spoiler-free.
Black Swan (2010)
109m
Genre
Drama, Thriller, Horror
Stars
Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
Directed by
Darren Aronofsky
Watch on max
One of the great things about some psychological thrillers is that you can be so tethered to the experiences of a single character that it can be difficult to even tell if what you’re seeing is real. That’s very much the headspace that Black Swan puts you in from the minute the movie starts. Telling the story of an elite ballet dancer who begins to unravel just as she finds out that she’s been cast as the lead in Swan Lake, the movie features a tour de force performance from Natalie Portman, as well as some of the most disturbing imagery Darren Aronofsky has ever put on screen.
Hereditary (2018)
128m
Genre
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Stars
Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne
Directed by
Ari Aster
Watch on Amazon
Ari Aster has proven to be one of the most interesting new directors to hit Hollywood in recent years, and Hereditary is the ideal calling card. Telling the story of a family who discovers the sinister legacy that they have inherited from their matriarch, the movie is really about how years of buried trauma can come to the surface following a single traumatic event. Hereditary is an exercise in extraordinary control of tension, and it features several virtuosic sequences where the acting and direction feel designed to make you clench your fist.
Saw (2004)
103m
Genre
Horror, Mystery, Crime
Stars
Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover
Directed by
James Wan
Watch on Peacock
The Saw franchise has become a fascinating exercise in watching people do terrible things to themselves and one another, but the first installment is great in part because it adds a pscyhological component. The film tells the story of two men who find themselves chained to opposite ends of a filthy bathroom with no idea how they got there. As they unravel the puzzle of their own kidnapping, they begin to realize that the man pulling the strings is looking to punish them for their past misdeeds.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
81m
Genre
Horror, Mystery
Stars
Rei Hance, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams
Directed by
Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Watch on Peacock
A movie so terrifying that many people thought it might be real, The Blair Witch Project follows three teenagers who are making a documentary about a local murderer of legend in a small town. When the trio lose their way in the woods, though, things take a sinister turn as they begin to realize that the legend they were there to document might be more real than they thought. Blair Witch is terrifying in part because of all the things that it only implies, and all these years later, it still has the same raw power it did when it first premiered.
The Wicker Man (1973)
93m
Genre
Horror
Stars
Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland
Directed by
Robin Hardy
Watch on Amazon
Telling the story of a police detective who travels to a small, secluded island because he is investigating the disappearance of a child. This conservative policeman finds himself at odds with this remote community, many of whom practice pagan rituals and flout their sexuality. Recognizing that something sinister may be at work, this policeman resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery, burrowing deeper into the island’s history in order to learn the truth. The Wicker Man is shocking and delightful and strange from minute one.
The Shining (1980)
144m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
Directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Watch on max
Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic likely belongs on any list in which it even remotely qualifies. Telling the story of a family who move to a resort in Colorado to serve as caretakers while it is closed for the winter, the film is chiefly about the father’s degradation into total madness. Featuring one of Jack Nicholson’s great performance, which is perfectly matched by the sinister setting of the Overlook Hotel, every sequence from The Shining is famous, and with good reason. Horror conventions have changed in the decades since it was released, but it remains one of the scariest movies ever made.
Misery (1990)
107m
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Stars
James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth
Directed by
Rob Reiner
Watch on Amazon
Stephen King is a master of psychological horror, and Misery is one of the best adaptations of his work. The film tells the story of an author of popular fiction who gets into a terrible car crash, and finds himself being taken care of by one of his biggest fans. Her obsession with his work takes a dark turn, though, when she discovers that he’s killing off her favorite character. In the seclusion of her cabin, she forces him to begin work on a new novel that will set right what she feels he did wrong, with increasingly severe consequences for bad behavior.
