Vote up the psychics you’d want on your team while battling the Other Side.
Psychics in film capture the minds - almost literally - of audiences in all movie genres, but it's often horror/psychological horror films that really stick with viewers. Whether it's a spiritual medium talking to the dead or a girl using untamed power to set the world ablaze, everyone loves to root for the psychic heroes and tremble in fear of villainous masterminds.
Authors like Stephen King and directors like David Cronenberg have featured powerful psychics in multiple films for a reason: We just can't get enough of expanding the capabilities of the human mind, especially when it eradicates bullies and bleeds into telekinetic wizardry.
This list will feature psychics, telekinetics, mediums, and various mind magicians from horror movies. A “psychic score” for each member of the list subjectively rates their powers based on raw strength, how much control they have over said powers, and how much damage/influence their abilities bring to the world.
The Fury features two psychics. The first is Robin, a young man with known powers; however, this makes him vulnerable, and a covert agency kidnaps him in order to militarize his abilities. They pamper Robin in order to disguise their true intentions.
The second psychic is a teenage girl named Gillian Bellaver, who accidentally stumbles upon her powers when she inadvertently harms some of her classmates when they bully her. The same covert operation that kidnapped Robin is now trying to lure Gillian into their organization.
Gillian is unbelievably powerful, and unlike Robin, she has better control over her abilities. Throughout the movie, she manages to communicate with other psychics, move objects, and even make a person explode. You’d love to have her on your side since she's a rare case of a youth with almost full control of her psychic abilities.
Poltergeist remains one of the most beloved American horror movies of all time. The film kicks off with a successful family moving into a new home. Odd happenings soon begin, such as furniture moving on its own and a glass shattering. The house then goes all out and attacks both children. While the son is saved from a violent tree, 5-year-old Carol Anne is sucked into an unknown dimension.
The family turns to spiritual medium Tangina Barrons to help them find their daughter. Barrons locates Anne and discovers spirits are attracted to her life energy. The psychic’s most famous scene occurs when she locates Anne and discovers a portal to a different dimension hidden in the closet. She then helps the parents speak directly to the missing child and her captors.
Barrons remains a fan favorite, and she’d be great to have on your side if you're dealing with any missing persons or supernatural events. She's a force of good, and her old age and high-pitched, raspy voice make her extra endearing.
Annabelle Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is shoved into a murder case when a vision shows her the school principal’s fiancé being killed and left in a pond. Wilson goes to the authorities to search the pond, and after some hassle, they discover the body and arrest Donnie Barksdale, the abusive husband of one of Wilson’s patients.
The movie has quite a few twists and turns that include a different suspect emerging, a mentally ill teenager who tries to light his father on fire, and a duel with the actual killer. Just when things appear to be set mostly straight, audiences are treated to a surprise ending involving Wilson’s family.
Wilson is a powerful psychic with a varied skill set. She can see the future to some extent, and she has visions pertaining to the supernatural. Wilson would be great to have on your side since she's resourceful, multi-talented, and out to do good, even if she makes a mistake or two along the way.
If you’ve still never seen The Sixth Sense, stop reading and go watch it. The classic M. Night Shyamalan flick features Bruce Willis as Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who gets shot by one of his ex-patients at the start of the film. Months later, he meets a 9-year-old boy named Cole Sear, who reminds him of the homicidal ex-patient.
Cole can see ghosts, except the ghosts don’t typically know they're dead. He gradually becomes less scared of them and more willing to help the deceased, which allows him to fit in at school and nab the lead role in a play. The film ends with a traumatic scene in which Crowe tries to speak to his wife, but she simply asks why he left, and if you haven’t watched, maybe you can piece together the twist ending.
Sear is an incredibly powerful psychic, not just because he can see and communicate with ghosts, but because, even as a child, he warms up to the idea of assisting them and allows them to make peace with themselves. Sear is the hero you need, even if you don’t want to admit you're already dead.
If movies with dreams that can fling you into demonic realms is your thing, then Insidious has you covered. Dalton, a young child, starts sleepwalking and freaks out his family, especially his brother.
The psychic, Elise Rainier, is called in, and she tells Dalton's parents he can astral travel in his sleep, meaning he can explore other realms. Unfortunately, he traveled too far, and now demons are trying to reenter the physical world by using his body. This forces Elise to attempt to bring him back before some other twists and turns turn up a new villain - and a surprise ending.
Elise is a powerful psychic who shows off her chops by confronting a demon directly and sending people into a trance so they can practice bi-location to battle spirits. She’d be great to have on your side, but you’re probably in a lot of trouble if you have to call her in the first place.
Carrie is one of Stephen King’s darkest novels. It tells the tale of a young girl with telekinetic abilities who is bullied by both her classmates and her pious mother. When Carrie lands a prom date with the handsomest guy at school, she worries it's just another practical joke at her expense. Things ignite (no pun intended) when Carrie and her date are doused in pig’s blood by jealous classmates - with the bucket's blow killing her date.
In a fit of uncontrollable rage, Carrie locks the doors and roasts most of her classmates alive. The ones who do escape are soaked by sprinklers and electrocuted on the school grounds. By the end of the movie, Carrie’s death count totals in the hundreds.
Carrie is a young girl who doesn’t have full control over her powers. She’d make an unstable ally, and being on her side might put you in direct danger, whether it be from her many bullies or her uncontrollable rage. Just be sure to watch out for buckets of pig’s blood falling from the sky.
