The best psychological thriller movies, from Se7en to Parasite

1990s: detectives and killers

The decade set the template: investigators facing minds sharper or stranger than their own.

• The Silence of the Lambs (1991): FBI trainee Clarice Starling trades personal memories with Hannibal Lecter for help catching a killer. Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor, and the conversations through the glass are more frightening than any chase.
• Se7en (1995): David Fincher's detectives hunt a killer staging the seven deadly sins. The ending, fought over by the studio and kept by Brad Pitt and Fincher, is one of the bleakest in mainstream film.

2000 to 2006: memory and identity

These films turn the camera inward and question what their heroes know.

• Memento (2000): Leonard has no short-term memory and hunts his wife's killer using notes and tattoos. Christopher Nolan tells it with colour scenes running backwards and black-and-white scenes forwards, so you share Leonard's confusion.
• Mulholland Drive (2001): David Lynch's Hollywood story splits in two and refuses to explain itself. It is often cited as one of the greatest films of its era and rewards repeat viewings.
• The Others (2001): Nicole Kidman's mother protects her light-sensitive children in a fog-bound house. The final twist recasts every scene.
• The Prestige (2006): two rival magicians destroy their lives trying to outdo each other. Its structure works like a magic trick, and the final reveal is earned.

2010 to 2014: obsession and control

Here the danger is a partner, a role or a machine.

• Shutter Island (2010): Leonardo DiCaprio's marshal investigates an escape from an island hospital. Martin Scorsese plants clues everywhere, and the last line changes the ending.
• Black Swan (2010): a ballerina cast in Swan Lake comes apart under pressure and rivalry. Natalie Portman won Best Actress for Darren Aronofsky's film.
• Gone Girl (2014): a man becomes the prime suspect when his wife vanishes on their anniversary. Gillian Flynn adapted her own novel, and Rosamund Pike earned an Oscar nomination.
• Ex Machina (2014): a programmer is asked to judge whether a robot is conscious. Alex Garland turns a Turing test into a game of manipulation.

2017 to 2019: social thrillers

The most recent picks use psychological tension to say something about society.

• Get Out (2017): a young Black photographer visits his white girlfriend's family and is drawn into the Sunken Place. Jordan Peele's debut won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
• Parasite (2019): a poor family takes jobs in a rich household under false identities. Bong Joon Ho's film won the Palme d'Or and four Oscars, including Best Picture.

How to pick the best psychological thriller movies for you

The common thread is an unreliable view of reality. Memento, Shutter Island and Mulholland Drive question the hero's mind. Se7en, Gone Girl and Ex Machina are about being outplayed by someone smarter. Get Out and Parasite use the same tension to explore race and class. If you liked one group, start with the others from the same section.

Questions people ask