Worst2First: My Top Ten Psychological Thrillers

Worst2First: 

My Top Ten Psychological Thrillers

While trying to wrap my head around what specifically a psychological thriller would be, I found that wikipedia has the best definition:
"A psychological thriller is a thriller story which emphasizes the unstable psychological states of its characters.  In terms of classification, the category is a subgenre of the broader ranging thriller category, with similarities to Gothic and detective fiction in the sense of sometimes having a 'dissolving sense of reality,' moral ambiguity and complex and tortured relationships between obsessive and pathological characters."

It is with that vein I came up with my personal top ten psychological thrillers, Worst2First.

**There will be no spoilers.**

#10

The Invitation

One of the best psychological thrillers in recent memory, "The Invitation" is a small independent movie starring Logan Marshall-Green as Will, a man haunted by the death of his young son.  He moves on with his life, gets a new girlfriend, then receives an invitation to a party hosted by his ex-wife and her new man.  What he hoped for was a chance at reconciliation and resolution, but he soon realizes the party isn't a normal one, and the movie begins taking wild twists and turns where you don't know if what Will is seeing and thinking is real - or all in his head.  A terrifying story with a compelling, capable cast.

#9

Jacob's Ladder

Tim Robbins stars as Jacob Singer, a Vietnam War vet who is also mourning the loss of his child, while trying to uncover mysteries of his past while struggling with psychotic dreams, terrifying delusions and his fear of his own mortality.  The film is filled with nightmarish visions, edge-of-your-seat drama and easily Tim Robbins' best performance.  The story is extremely well-written and leaves you feeling totally empty, but dying to watch it again to see the small things you missed the first time.

#8

Memento

Before directing his own dark version of Batman, Christopher Nolan wrote and directed "Memento," a unique story of Leonard - played brilliantly by Guy Pierce - who is trying to find the murderer of his wife while also suffering from a form of amnesia that prevents him from keeping short-term memories.  He tattoos clues to his body and also takes Polaroid pictures in order to string together a complex story, and it's one that we as the audience follow as closely as he does.  Needless to say the film is complex, confusing and calling for a second viewing, but that's what makes it a great psychological thriller.

#7

Seven

Before "Saw," there was "Seven."  A film before its time, the movie is downright gory, bloody and unnerving, but also displays a brilliance that can't be denied.  Featuring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman at the top of their games, the movie focuses on two detectives - one on his way out, the other trying to get in - who are investigating a series of gruesome deaths patterned around the seven deadly sins.  The story is gripping, the acting is superb, and it's one of those films that you'll remember long after it ends.

#6

Pi

 Darren Aronofsky is one of the most twisted, dark, mind-bending directors of our time (and you'll be seeing more of his films on this list), and I say that in a good way.  He's not afraid to take the viewers into the darkest, most depraved parts of our minds and leave us more puzzled than before.  His debut as a director and writer comes with "Pi," a film about a paranoid mathematician who believes numbers are the way of bringing balance to the world, and searches for the perfect number to unlock the natural pattern.  Blending religion, mysticism and mathematics, the movie bends the mind and forces you to think of things in a totally different light.

#5

Fight Club

I bet if I say the following words, "What's the number one rule of Fight Club?" you would answer "you do not talk about Fight Club."  For a film to have such a profound effect on the audience decades after its release tells something about the staying power it possesses, and it's due to the highly cerebral story, superb acting and thrilling moments that make "Fight Club" a film you want to watch over and over.  Edward Norton stars as John Q. Everyman, someone who wants to spice up his life, and along the way he meets his total opposite in Brad Pitt, who forms an underground fight club - but that's just the start of this bending, twisting tale of suspense, action and dark humor.

#4

A Clockwork Orange

Before Aronofsky, there was Stanley Kubrick.  Known for his mind-bending tales including "2001," "Eyes Wide Shut" and "The Shining," the man was a masterclass in messing with the mind.  However it's his 1971 work "A Clockwork Orange" that takes the cake, centering on a wild, charismatic, psychotic man named Alex DeLarge who runs rampant in Britain with his friends as they cause panic and mayhem, until he's turned into a government experiment to combat crime.  This is easily Malcolm McDowell's defining role and has a huge impact in entertainment today, as it's been spoofed, analyzed and used in countless other films and television series.

#3

Black Swan

 Darren Aronofsky makes a return to the list with "Black Swan," a truly mind-bending tale of the pressures of perfection.  Nina wants nothing more than to have the part of the Swan in Swan Lake, but she's too goody-goody to be the Black Swan, so she sets out to attain perfection for her director and show that she really has what it takes, which leads her down a dark road where neither she - nor the audience - know what's real and what's in her mind.  Natalie Portman scored her first Oscar win here, and it's no surprise why - she was downright awe-inspiring.

#2

Silence of the Lambs

It's very rare that a movie teetering on the genre of horror can ever be nominated for one Academy Award, let alone five.  It's even rarer to see that film do what very few films before (or since) has been able to accomplish: winning the big five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay), but "Silence of the Lambs" accomplished just that, showcasing how brilliant the film truly is.  Hannibal Lecter is known worldwide as one of cinema's most terrifying villains, yet he only appears in the movie for a total of 15 minutes.  The main villain is the sadistic serial killer Buffalo Bill, but it's Anthony Hopkins's unnerving portrayal that people remember to this day.  Seeing two brilliant actors in Hopkins and Jodie Foster match wits is pure cinematic genius, and the entire movie is simply thrilling.

#1

Requiem for a Dream

 Darren Aronofky takes the top spot in my top ten psychological thrillers with "Requiem for a Dream," a film that is so dark, so depressing, so depraved that I haven't seen its equal.  The film centers around four Coney Island people - Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans and Ellen Burstyn - who struggle with their own different drug abuses, but it goes much deeper than that and ultimately shows the dangers of addiction.  The film is claustrophobic, terrifyingly disturbing, and yet so real.  It's one of those rare films that sticks with you years after watching it.