Entertainment
The Best and Scariest Psychological Thrillers of All Time
List Rules
Psychological thriller movies and psychological horror films only--no slasher flicks
What are the best and scariest psychological thrillers and psychological horror movies of all time? If you consider yourself a fan of psychological thrillers, browse through this list of the scariest psychological thrillers of all time to find a movie that will have you sitting in suspense and on the edge of your seat the entire time. Listed in order of the most popular scariest psychological thrillers to the least popular , you can easily see which scary psychological horror movie was good enough to earn top ranking. If a particular favorite is on the bottom of the list, go ahead and vote for it so that it can be raised higher on the list.
Horror movies with plenty of blood and gore are fairly easy to find, but it can sometimes be difficult to find just the right scary mystery movie that has more of a psychological plot. With this handy list, you will be able to pick some great psychological thrillers and psychological horror movies for a scary movie marathon.
Movies like Sixth Sense and the Secret Window keep the viewer guessing until the end, with plenty of thrills along the way. And, there are many other great psychological thrillers to choose from as well. Go ahead and look through the list. You may just find a new favorite for the best psychological horror or thriller movie that you’ll never tire of watching! And if you're in the mood to watch these ASAP, many of these psychological thrillers are on Netflix.
Ranked by
- 1Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant ...more - 2Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer's block. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and ...more - 3Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: David Fincher
When retiring police Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) tackles a final case with the aid of newly transferred David Mills (Brad Pitt), they discover a number of elaborate and grizzly ...more - 4James Caan, Kathy Bates, Frances Sternhagen
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Rob Reiner
After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie brings him to her remote cabin to recover, ...more - 5Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: William Friedkin
One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting odd -- levitating, speaking in tongues --Â ...more - 6Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. Cole is frightened by visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows. He is too ...more - 7Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
- Released: 1960
- Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), is overcome by exhaustion during a ...more - 8Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, James Ransone
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Scott Derrickson
True-crime writer Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence ...more - 9Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Alakina Mann
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar
Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the English coast during World War II. She awaits word on her missing ...more - 10Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter
- Released: 1982
- Directed by: John Carpenter
In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings ...more - 11Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: Roman Polanski
A young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move to a New York City apartment ...more - 12Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Gore Verbinski
It sounds like just another urban legend -- a videotape filled with nightmarish images leads to a phone call foretelling the viewer's death in exactly seven days. Newspaper reporter Rachel Keller ...more - 13Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
When attorney Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) knowingly withholds evidence that would acquit violent sex offender Max Cady (Robert De Niro) of rape charges, Max spends 14 years in prison. But after Max's ...more - 14Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Bill Paxton
Set in present day Texas, "Frailty" centers on the FBI's search for a serial killer who calls himself "God's Hands." McConaughey plays Fenton Meeks, a young man who approaches the lead investigator, ...more - 15James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
A newspaper photographer with a broken leg passes time recuperating by observing his neighbors through his window. He sees what he believes to be a murder, and decides to solve the crime himself. ...more - 16Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Bryan Bertino
Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay turns out to be anything but peaceful. First, a mysterious and dangerous ...more - 17Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, William Katt
- Released: 1976
- Directed by: Brian De Palma
In this chilling adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel, withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious ...more - 18Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: David Fincher
In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks its residents. Investigators (Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards) and reporters (Jake Gyllenhaal, ...more - 19Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds the grisly aftermath of a drug deal. Though he knows better, he cannot resist the cash left behind and takes it with him. The hunter becomes the ...more - 20Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Adrian Lyne
For Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas), life is good. He is on the rise at his New York law firm, is happily married to his wife, Beth (Anne Archer), and has a loving daughter. But, after a casual fling ...more - 21Anthony Hopkins, Ed Norton, Ralph Fiennes
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Brett Ratner
Ex-FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) is an expert investigator who quit the Bureau after almost losing his life in the process of capturing the elusive Dr. Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). After a ...more - 22James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
- Released: 1958
- Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock's romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear. A detective is forced to retire after his fear of heights causes the death of a fellow officer and the girl he was hired to follow. He ...more - 23Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Adrian Lyne
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and ...more - 24John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Mikael Håfström
Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a successful author who enjoys worldwide acclaim debunking supernatural phenomena -- before he checks into the Dolphin Hotel, that is. Ignoring the warnings of the hotel ...more - 25Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono
- Released: 1962
- Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) is an aging child star left to care for her wheelchair-bound sister Blanche (Joan Crawford), also a former child actress. Stuck living together in a mansion in old ...more
