Psychological thrillers movies tends to mess with our heads. They twist reality and make us question everything, and keep us on edge of our sofa long after the credits roll on screen. Over the past few years, filmmakers have crafted some truly mind-blowing thrillers that haunt our thoughts and leave us with desperately for answers of questions which blogs our mind.
Here are 7 of the best—films that pull us deep into the unknown, where nothing is as it seems.
7.Burning (2018)
PLOT:
Jong-su is just an ordinary guy, drifting through life without much direction. Then, he runs into Hae-mi, a childhood friend who radiates an almost hypnotic energy. She asks him to look after her cat while she travels to Africa, and he agrees, secretly hoping for something more between them.
When Hae-mi returns, she’s not alone. She introduces Ben—a wealthy, mysterious man who oozes confidence and charm. Jong-su can’t quite place it, but something about Ben feels… off. The way he speaks, the way he watches people, the way he smiles without ever truly showing emotion.
Then, one evening, Ben confesses something chilling. He has a hobby—one he takes great pleasure in. He burns down abandoned greenhouses. Just for fun. And he’s planning to do it again soon. Jong-su is unsettled but unsure whether to take him seriously.
Then Hae-mi disappears. No calls. No messages. Nothing. As Jong-su desperately searches for her, Ben remains eerily calm, almost amused by the whole thing. The deeper Jong-su digs, the more reality starts to blur. Is Ben responsible? Did she vanish on her own? Or is there something far more sinister at play?
The tension builds slowly, like a fire smoldering beneath the surface, until it erupts in a shocking, unforgettable climax.
6.MOTHER (2017)
PLOT:
A woman wakes up in a quiet, isolated house with her husband—a poet struggling with writer’s block. She spends her days restoring their beautiful, secluded home, pouring her love into every detail. Everything seems peaceful. Perfect, even. Until a stranger arrives.
A man knocks on their door, lost and looking for shelter. The husband welcomes him in, offering food and a place to stay. The woman is uneasy, but before she can protest, the stranger’s wife arrives. Then their sons. And suddenly, the house is no longer a sanctuary—it’s a chaotic, suffocating space filled with tension and whispers.
As more guests flood in, their presence turns invasive. They wander the halls, touch her things, break what she’s built. The woman pleads for them to leave, but her husband insists they stay. He thrives in their admiration, in their obsession with his work. But something is deeply wrong. The guests don’t just feel like intruders—they feel like something much worse.
Then she realizes: she is losing control. Of her home. Of her life. Of reality itself. And the deeper she sinks into the madness, the more horrifying the truth becomes. The house isn’t just a home. It’s something far more sinister. And she’s trapped inside it.
A slow-burning nightmare that spirals into absolute chaos, Mother! is a film that lingers—long after the final, devastating scene.
5.THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020)
PLOT:
Cecilia Kass wakes up in the dead of night, her heart pounding. She moves carefully, afraid to make a sound. Her escape has to be perfect—because if he wakes up, she knows she won’t make it out alive. Adrian, her wealthy and brilliant boyfriend, isn’t just controlling—he’s a monster. After years of fear and abuse, she finally breaks free.
Two weeks later, the news arrives. Adrian is dead. A suicide. It should bring her relief, but something doesn’t feel right. Then, strange things begin to happen. Objects shift when she isn’t looking. Doors creak open on their own. Breath lingers in the cold air—when no one else is there. Everyone tells her she’s paranoid, that the trauma is making her see things. But Cecilia knows the truth.
Adrian isn’t gone.
As the terror escalates, she realizes she’s being hunted by something—or someone—she can’t see. The walls close in, her sanity is questioned, and every move she makes is shadowed by an invisible force. No one believes her. No one understands. But she won’t stop until she proves the truth—before he takes everything from her. Again.
A tense, nerve-shredding thriller that grips you from start to finish, The Invisible Man redefines fear—because how do you fight something that isn’t there?
4. THE GIFT (2015)
PLOT:
Simon and Robyn seem to have it all—a fresh start, a beautiful new home, and a bright future ahead. But then, an unexpected figure from Simon’s past appears. His name is Gordo. Quiet, awkward, and overly friendly, he claims to be an old high school classmate. At first, his surprise visits and small gifts seem harmless, if a little strange.
But then the gifts keep coming. The unannounced visits become more frequent. Something about Gordo unsettles Robyn, but Simon brushes it off. Just an old acquaintance trying too hard. Nothing more.
Then, secrets start to surface. Gordo’s presence isn’t random—it’s deliberate. And the past Simon thought he left behind isn’t just lingering; it’s about to come crashing down. Robyn begins to dig, and what she finds makes her question everything she thought she knew about her husband. Who is really the victim here? And who is hiding the most dangerous secret?
As tension builds, the true nature of The Gift reveals itself—a slow, psychological burn leading to a shocking, unforgettable conclusion. Some past mistakes refuse to stay buried. And some people never forget.
3.THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019)
PLOT:
Two men. One desolate lighthouse. Endless, suffocating isolation.
Ephraim Winslow arrives on a remote, storm-lashed island, assigned to assist the grizzled, eccentric keeper, Thomas Wake. Wake is a tyrant—demanding, secretive, and obsessed with the lighthouse’s forbidden beacon. Winslow, younger and more reserved, is forced into brutal, backbreaking labor while Wake indulges in drunken ramblings and eerie superstitions.
At first, Winslow grits his teeth and endures. But the days stretch into weeks, the winds howl louder, and the isolation begins to gnaw at his sanity. Shadows move where they shouldn’t. The gulls seem to watch him with knowing eyes. And then, there are the visions—hallucinatory nightmares of writhing tentacles, impossible figures, and something lurking beneath the waves.
The storm arrives. The rations dwindle. The men drink, fight, laugh, and unravel. Who is the real threat—Wake, with his cryptic warnings, or Winslow, whose grip on reality is slipping? The light at the top of the tower beckons, its glow almost whispering to him. What secrets does it hold? And what happens when he finally looks?
A hypnotic descent into madness, The Lighthouse is a fever dream of paranoia, power, and the horrors that creep in when the world forgets you exist.
2.THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (2017)
PLOT:
Steven Murphy has everything—a successful career as a surgeon, a loving wife, two bright children. His life is clean, controlled, and perfectly in order. But there’s something—someone—lingering in the background. Martin. A quiet, odd teenage boy whom Steven has taken under his wing. Their interactions are strange, unspoken tension always bubbling beneath the surface.
Then, suddenly, Steven’s son falls ill. Paralysis. No diagnosis. No explanation. Then his daughter. Panic sets in, but medical tests find nothing. The family is unraveling, and Martin finally tells Steven the truth. This isn’t an illness. It’s a reckoning. A price that must be paid for a past sin.
Steven is faced with an impossible choice, one that no parent should ever have to make. And as the clock ticks down, the weight of his guilt presses heavier, the walls of his perfect life closing in.
A slow, suffocating nightmare, The Killing of a Sacred Deer lures you in with its eerie calm before plunging you into the abyss of fate, punishment, and the horrors of inevitability.
1.PARASITE (2019)
PLOT:
The Kim family is struggling—crammed into a dingy basement, barely scraping by, hustling to survive. Then, an opportunity arises. Ki-woo, the son, lands a job as an English tutor for the wealthy Park family. Their house is everything the Kims’ isn’t—spacious, luxurious, drenched in comfort. And the Parks? Gullible.
One by one, the Kims infiltrate the household. Ki-jung becomes an art therapist for the Parks’ young son. The father, Ki-taek, takes over as their chauffeur. The mother replaces the housekeeper. Carefully, methodically, they weave themselves into the Parks’ perfect world—without revealing their true connection.
But beneath the surface, something is festering. The house holds a secret. And when that secret is exposed, the Kims find themselves in a nightmare far worse than poverty. Tension mounts, control slips, and in one shocking instant, everything spirals into chaos.
Darkly humorous and deeply unsettling, Parasite is a masterful tale of deception, survival, and the thin, dangerous line between privilege and desperation.
These films make us uncomfortable. They challenge our minds and force us to think out of box. They make us question our own reality. That’s the power of a great psychological thriller. Which one left you sleepless at night?