Movies Psychological Horror

Introduction

Psychological horror is a genre that’s almost as old as the horror genre itself. It all started with The Exorcist in 1973, and since then, movies like Carrie and The Shining have scared audiences senseless. But what are some of the best psychological thrillers to watch today? We’ve gathered together our favorite movies from every decade of the 20th century—and we promise you won't be disappointed!

The Shining

The Shining is a 1980 horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick and adapted from Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Jack Nicholson as tormented writer Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as his wife Wendy, and Danny Lloyd as their son, Danny.

The Shining tells the story of an elderly man who takes a job as caretaker of an isolated hotel during its winter off-season in order to escape his own demons while attempting to cope with them through writing. However, when he realizes that something sinister lurks within its walls, he must summon all his strength if he hopes to survive long enough for help to arrive...

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street was released in 1984. The movie is based on a character from the book The Dream Warriors, which was written by Robert Bloch and published in 1959. In the story, a group of teenagers are stalked by Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund), who kills them one-by-one while they sleep before returning to their bodies during the day. The film follows several teens who each have their own reasons for being targeted by Freddy Krueger: Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), Johnny Depp's character Glen Lantz (Glen Lantz), Chris Sarandon's Jesse Walsh character Jesse Walsh).

Scream

Scream is a classic horror movie and one of the best psychological horror movies. It was released in 1996, directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. The film stars Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, a teenager who must deal with being stalked by a killer while dealing with her own personal problems at home.

Scream also features supporting performances from Courteney Cox (as Gale Weathers), David Arquette (as Dewey Riley), Courtney B Vance (as Higgins), Rose McGowan (as Catherine Earnshaw) and Skeet Ulrich (as Johnny Lawrence).

Don’t Look Now

You may not have heard of this movie, but it's one of my favorites. Don't Look Now is a 1973 British psychological horror film directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. It is based on the short story "The Children" (1934) by Daphne du Maurier.

The story follows Christopher D'Amecourt (Donald Sutherland), who travels with his wife Laura (Julie Christie) to Venice after their daughter dies in a car accident. While there, they witness several bizarre events involving children being murdered or drowned in shallow water at various locations throughout the city—one even happens right outside their hotel room window!

It's definitely worth watching if you're into psychological horror films because it has some pretty intense moments where you'll feel like your heart is beating out of your chest while watching these characters deal with what happened to them during those crucial moments onscreen!

Rosemary’s Baby

Rosemary's Baby is a movie that was based on the novel of the same name. It tells the story of a woman who becomes pregnant with the child of Satan, and she must protect him from those who want to harm him. The film was directed by Roman Polanski and released in 1968.

The plot follows an American Catholic couple living in New York City who are expecting their first child together: they have chosen to name her Rosemary after her mother (Rose), while they chose a middle name for their baby boy that would honor his grandfathers: Frank (his father's name) and Thomas (his mother's). However, just days after giving birth to Rosemary, something goes wrong with her health; eventually leading up until she dies during childbirth due to complications caused by preeclampsia—a condition where high blood pressure occurs during pregnancy due to some unknown cause or reasons related thereto

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film, Psycho, is a classic horror movie that is still terrifying today. It follows the story of Norman Bates, a man who takes over his mother's hotel business after she dies. The viewer learns that he killed her and buried her body in an underground container under the swimming pool of their home. The police suspect him because they find blood on his shoes and also see him carrying bags with clothes inside them (which contain decaying flesh). As we learn more about this character's past, it becomes clear that he has been murdering people for years—and keeping their bodies in different places around town so they can be found later by curious onlookers or law enforcement officers investigating suspicious activity at those locations (including hotels).

Because it's based on real events involving actual people who committed crimes against others while under influence from drugs like LSD or mescaline at parties where other partygoers were present as well as during vacations away from home where there was no supervision whatsoever provided by parents/guardians/family members etcetera

Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In is a Swedish vampire horror film released in 2008. It was written and directed by Tomas Alfredson, and stars Kåre Hedebrant as Oskar and Lina Leandersson as Eli. The film adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's 2004 novel of the same name follows Oskar (Hedebrant) who befriends another boy named Eli (Leandersson) who lives next door to him after his mother dies when he was young. As they grow older together, they become inseparable until one night when Eli disappears without explanation or warning leaving Oskar alone again after many years apart from his friend

The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods is a horror movie directed by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, who also wrote the screenplay. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Fran Kranz as four friends who go on a trip to the remote cabin in the woods where they spend their time drinking beer and watching movies while they wait for something bad to happen.

The Cabin in the Woods was released on April 13th 2012 with an unknown budget but went onto become one of Hollywood's most profitable films ever made. The film has won several awards including best director at Sundance Film Festival 2013; 3 Golden Globe nominations (including best picture), 7 Saturn Award nominations (including best science fiction film), 5 BAFTA Nominations (including Best Film Not In English Language)

Scream 2

Scream 2 is the second installment of the Scream franchise. It was released in 1997 and stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox.

The film follows Sidney Prescott (Campbell) after she receives a tape from her mother's killer that contains information about her murder. She teams up with Dewey Riley (Arquette), a detective who has recently moved to town; Stu Macher (Skeet Ulrich); Joe Gellar/Ghostface; Detective Tuttle/Creeper; Randy Meeks/Stabler; Officer Betty Driver/Sidney's Mother's Killer; Sheriff Brody/Sidney's Father

The Best Psychological Horror Movies to Watch Today

  • The Shining (1980)

  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

  • Scream (1996)

  • Don’t Look Now (1973)

  • Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

  • Psycho (1960)

  • Let the Right One In (2008)

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this list of psychological horror movies! If you want a good scare, these films will give it. The best part about these movies is that they break all kinds of taboos, which means they can be watched by people of all ages. If there’s anything we learned from our research into these films, it’s that they are timeless classics that always have something new to offer viewers every time they watch them.