These Psychological Thrillers on Netflix Are So Chilling, You'll Be Spooked For Days
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These Psychological Thrillers on Netflix Are So Chilling, You'll Be Spooked For Days
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"Nocturnal Animals"
Based on Austin Wright's novel "Tony and Susan," this drama follows a woman (Amy Adams) who becomes obsessed with the threatening symbolism of her ex-husband's (Jake Gyllenhaal) manuscript.
Everett Collection / Merrick Morton - 3/41
"The Devil All the Time"
A young man (Tom Holland) devoted to his family must protect his loved ones from corruption and sinister members of the postwar backwoods town they live in.
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- 4/41
"My Teacher, My Obsession"
After Riley transfers to a new school where her dad teaches English, she hits it off with Kyla - until Kyla starts to become obsessed with Riley's father.
Everett Collection - 5/41
"The Paramedic"
In this psychological thriller from Spain, a man who's left using a wheelchair after an injury decides to seek vengeance on those who turned their backs on him - including the woman who left him when he needed her most.
Netflix - 6/41
"Self/less"
A dying real-estate agent discovers that his only way to live is to transplant his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man. He goes through with it, but he quickly learns that both the procedure and company that did it are not what they seem.
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- 7/41
"The Platform"
Another Spanish thriller, this time of the sci-fi variety, "The Platform" balances dark violence with scathing class commentary. It introduces us to a dystopian future where prisoners in higher cells are fed, while those below starve with scraps.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 8/41
"The Occupant"
The Spanish thriller "The Occupant" tells the story of an out-of-work ad executive creepily following the people living in his old home, which he can no longer afford to live in.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 9/41
"1922"
Another film based on a Stephen King book, "1922" stars Thomas Jane as a farmer who confesses to the murder of his wife. But that's just putting it lightly.
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- 10/41
"In the Tall Grass"
When a pregnant woman and her brother hear a young boy in the fields, they go out to try and find him. Once they're in the fields, they're disoriented by a sinister force and realize that being lost in the tall grass is better than being found.
Everett Collection / © 2019 Netflix - 11/41
"Gerald's Game"
A secluded cabin by the lake sounds romantic - but when you add a husband dead as the result of some kinky bondage gone wrong, it suddenly becomes a nightmare. Based on Stephen King's book, this film starring Carla Gugino from "The Haunting of Hill House" brings psychological warfare in spades.
Everett Collection - 12/41
"Cam"
The 2018 Netflix original film "Cam" tells the story of a cam girl who logs in to her account only to find that some dopplegänger has stolen her identity and fan base. A meditation on what the industry has done to our sense of self, it's sure to shake you to your core.
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- 13/41
"The Warning"
A math genius discovers a pattern of deaths at a local gas station and uses his knowledge to warn the next victim - a 10-year-old who knows his life is in danger, even though no one seems to believe him.
Netflix - 14/41
"Hold the Dark"
Netflix's original film "Hold the Dark" stars Jeffrey Wright ("Westworld"), Alexander Skarsgård ("Big Little Lies"), and James Badge Dale. When a local boy is killed in the Alaskan woods, a naturalist is tasked with finding the wolf responsible - but it turns out the woods hold secrets far scarier than wolves.
Netflix / Netflix David Bukach - 15/41
"The Ritual"
Released in 2018, this Netflix original film will take hiking off your list of favorite activities. Four friends decide to brave the Swedish wilderness in honor of their murdered friend - but their trip doesn't end up being the Cheryl Strayed experience they were hoping for.
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- 16/41
"Secret Obsession"
Former Disney Channel darling Brenda Song stars in this psychological thriller as Jennifer, a young woman who suffers from amnesia following a violent attack. As her memories start to come back, she finds that she no longer knows who to trust.
Netflix / ALEX LOMBARDI - 17/41
"Bird Box"
We want Sandra Bullock to be around in a crisis - her character in "Bird Box" kicks serious butt. When the world sinks into terrifying, supernatural chaos, the only way to stay alive is to remain blindfolded and keep noises to a minimum. It's terrifying and will make you question the safety of the world around you.
Everett Collection / Merrick Morton - 18/41
"Mirage"
In this Spanish sci-fi thriller, a happily married mother named Vera learns that there is a possibility of saving the life of a boy who lived in her home 25 years earlier. This good deed, however, provokes a chain reaction - and Vera wakes up in a new reality in which her daughter has never been born and her husband doesn't even know her.
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- 19/41
"TAU"
"TAU" is about a woman who is kidnapped by an inventor and used as a test subject to perfect his robotic AI. She tries to escape her prison - but it's not going to be easy.
Netflix - 20/41
"Buster's Mal Heart"
Starring Rami Malek, this 2016 surreal mystery film has all the twists and turns you could ask for. Buster was once a family man, but a strange turn of events has him living alone on a mountaintop, hiding from authorities.
Everett Collection / Courtesy Everett Collection - 21/41
"Rebirth"
This 2016 thriller follows two long-lost college friends: Kyle, a suburban father, and Zack, who just started a self-actualization program. When Kyle goes on a weekend-long retreat with the program, he falls down a violent, seductive hole.
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- 22/41
"The Perfection"
Allison Williams stars in this intense thriller as a cello prodigy who abandons music after a family tragedy, only to return to the stage years later with the help of a rising star (and an insanely freaky reunion).
Netflix / Copyright Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection - 23/41
"The Weekend Away"
While on a girls' trip in Croatia, Beth's best friend vanishes. She races to find her and figure out what happened. But as she starts putting together clues, things seem to make less and less sense.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 24/41
"Calibre"
Netflix's original film "Calibre" focuses on two lifelong friends who take a hunting trip to Scotland. Things get out of control, and the two find their morals and friendship called into question.
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- 25/41
"Inception"
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a thief who has the ability to enter people's dreams and steals secrets from deep within their subconscious. For his final job, he is tasked with planting an idea in a target's mind - but the mission proves to be a lot more dangerous than expected.
Everett Collection / Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection - 26/41
"The Son"
In this Argentinian thriller, a 50-year-old painter named Lorenzo attempts to rebuild his life while he anxiously awaits the arrival of his first son. His pregnant wife, however, exhibits increasingly aggressive and obsessive behavior, threatening their relationship and his relationship with his son.
Netflix - 27/41
"Fractured"
In this thriller, Sam Worthington plays Ray, a father who rushes his daughter to the hospital after she breaks her arm during a road trip - only to wake up in the waiting room to find that no one in the hospital has any recollection of his family ever having checked in.
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- 28/41
"In the Shadow of the Moon"
This psychological thriller starring Boyd Holbrook, Cleopatra Coleman, and Michael C. Hall follows a police officer in 1988 Philadelphia as he struggles with his lifelong obsession with a mysterious serial killer. Is anyone else getting some "Dexter" vibes?
Netflix / mixed > - 29/41
"Clinical"
While still struggling with the after-effects of a terrifying attack, the psychiatrist in the 2017 Netflix original film "Clinical" must help a patient who was disfigured in an accident. Get ready to fangirl, because the movie stars Vinessa Shaw from "Hocus Pocus."
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 30/41
"Lavender"
In this 2016 thriller, a photographer suffers memory loss after an accident. After looking through her photos, she learns that she might be the reason her family is dead.
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- 31/41
"Black Mirror: Bandersnatch"
From the producers of "Black Mirror," this mind-bending, interactive film allows audience members to decide the fate of main character Stefan Butler with a touch of the remote. He might succeed in adapting his favorite dark novel into a video game or lose his sense of reality - you decide.
Watch "Bandersnatch" on Netflix now.
Everett Collection / Copyright Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection - 32/41
"The Woman in the Window"
Based on the bestselling novel, Amy Adams plays an agoraphobic psychologist who witnesses a brutal crime from her window. While working to investigate the truth, she begins to confuse her phobia with reality.
Watch "The Woman in the Window" on Netflix now.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 33/41
"Fatal Affair"
Ellie Warren is trying to keep her family afloat after her husband suffers injuries from a car accident. After rekindling a flame with an ex-lover from college, she learns that he is more dangerous than he appears.
Watch "Fatal Affair" on Netflix now.
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- 34/41
"The Vanished"
A family camping trip comes to a halt when the daughter suddenly goes missing. While working with the police to find her, they stumble on an even bigger revelation.
Watch "The Vanished" on Netflix now.
Everett Collection / Saban Int'l/Courtesy Everett Collection - 35/41
"The Call"
After Kim Seo-yeon loses her cell phone, she uses an old phone and comes in contact with a woman claiming she lives in the same house as her - but in 1999. The two work together to save Kim from a serial killer.
Watch "The Call" on Netflix now.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 36/41
"The Girl on the Train"
This Bollywood adaptation shows a young divorcee who becomes fixated on a perfect couple living nearby - until a fatal turn of events prompts her to investigate the truth.
Watch "The Girl on the Train" on Netflix now.
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- 37/41
"The Call"
Halle Berry plays a 911 operator who receives a call from a kidnapped teenage girl. The two must work together over the phone to save the young girl's life.
©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection - 38/41
"The Last Thing He Wanted"
A reporter becomes entangled in the story she's working on after helping her father broker an arms deal in another country.
Watch "The Last Thing He Wanted" on Netflix now.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 39/41
"Deadly Illusions"
A novelist with writer's block hires a seemingly perfect nanny. However, her trouble differentiate reality from fiction makes her question the intentions of the person she hired.
Watch "Deadly Illusions" on Netflix now.
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- 40/41
"Hush"
A deaf author living alone in the woods encounters by a masked killer outside her window. She must fight in silence to stay alive.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection - 41/41
These Psychological Thrillers on Netflix Are So Chilling, You'll Be Spooked For Days
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If you're a fan of scary movies, you know that there are different types of terror within the overall genre of horror movies. The genre is sweeping; from monsters and slashers to zombies and paranormal activity, the list goes on. Some viewers prefer a certain subsection of horror movies to others, but they're all the same in offering that little feeling of fright that you may crave. In short, there are lots of different creative ways to approach a scary movie or TV show. With that being said, it's one thing to pull off a quick jump scare but a different thing entirely to create a psychological thriller that burrows deep into the viewer's subconscious and oftentimes refuses to leave for days on end. These films stay in our heads long after the film ends and the movie credits roll, making us rethink that really quiet neighbor living next door with curtained windows - or that casual invitation to a wilderness camping trip. If you're hungry for some terrifying horror, Netflix has plenty of psychological thrillers that are sure to scare you to your core. Read on to see our picks, and get ready to be spooked like never before.
- Additional reporting by Lauren Harano, Haley Lyndes, Corinne Sullivan, Sheneca Sharpe, Emily Cappiello, Kalyn Womack, and Charlotte Kho
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