With the evolution of cinema, new subgenres make their way with force from a film that falls in love with critics and especially at the box office. We can highlight several titles that, given their proposal, demand a little more from their viewer.
Psychological terror leaves us a large number of titles. In this article we want to highlight the best psychological horror movies and discover new titles that not everyone knows about.
1. Session 9
Brad Andersson dazzled horror lovers with this title that navigates between madness and possession.
Session 9 is a psychological thriller directed by Brad Anderson and starring David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Josh Lucas, Peter Mullan and Brendon Sexton III. A team working in rehabilitation is tasked with removing an abandoned psychiatric hospital with a horrible past. Tensions begin to rise and some things are not all they seem as they go further and further down the rabbit hole.
2. The Lodge
Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s “The Lodge” extends the hair-raising tension of a domestic crisis to an inhospitable couple cut off from society and surrounded by snow.
Once again, the children and a mother figure (as they already did in Goodnight Momy) are the main protagonists of this increscendo of bad vibes and madness.
3. The Devil’s Seed (Rosemary Baby)
A cult movie within this list, I don’t know if there is currently anyone who has not seen this movie yet and if we can still say something for you to see this title.
4. At the Bottom of the Stairs
A film that has been highly influential in psychological terror. A film in which the house is one more character in the plot and in which what happened in the past marks the present.
5. Jacob’s Ladder
Tim Robbins takes us with Jacob’s Ladder to a descent into hell after returning from the Vietnam War. In 2019 an attempt was made to make a remake of this version, but the result was very poor.
6. Midsummer
One of the films that generates a great division between the detractors and those who see in it a film that will go down in the history of the genre. Without a doubt, it should be on this list and you will be the ones to judge it.
7. Saint Maud
It was a surprise at the 2020 Sitges Festival. A film that delves into devotion and faith as the main argument to build the psychology of the protagonist. Highly recommended.
8. Silent Night
Silent Night is one of the films that will give a lot to talk about, although it has not yet been released in Spain, it is already available online for your enjoyment. A context of the end of the world and a meeting of friends to say goodbye.
9. The Invitation
In the same vein as the previous movie this is another people meeting thriller. A couple invites another after the fateful drama they have experienced in the loss of their son.
10. The Machinist
We still wonder why Christian Bale didn’t get an Oscar nomination for this performance, just seeing the radical change Bale had to make to embody the role of the lead, he deserves to be on this list. The Machinist was the film that made Brad Andersson known.
11. The Night House
Rebecca Hall stars in The Night House, which tells the story of a woman mourning her late husband, when mysterious things begin to happen in the house he built. This is one of those movies that is best if you know as little as possible, but know that the visual effects are stunning and you’ll probably be shocked by any of the numerous story twists.
12. Get Out
Now you know. Get Out isn’t just one of the best horror movies of recent years , but one of the best movies of the 2010s overall – it made Jordan Peele a household name and a force in Hollywood for good reason.
Peele himself calls the film a “social thriller,” but there’s more than enough to give you goosebumps and give you goosebumps before it blows your mind off at the end. Daniel Kaluuya obviously carries the film as the lead, but Bradley Whitford, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, Lakeith Stanfield, and Catherine Keener are perfect in their respective roles.