Great Psychological Thrillers That Are Worth Your Time « Taste of Cinema. Repulsion. Directed by Roman Polanski, this is the first film in what was to become known as . In a truly unforgettable performance we watch Carol’s paranoia spiral out of control after her sister leaves the apartment for a few days. It leaves the viewer not knowing exactly what is real and what is purely imaginative in the claustrophobic, sexually repressed mind of Carol. Manhunter. Manhunter is the pioneer of all films Hannibal Lecktor. Directed in 1. 98. Michael Mann it stars William Peterson and Brian Cox. Telling the story of the hunt for a serial killer known as . However, in order to progress, Will must pay a visit to Lecktor (Cox), an imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer, who incidentally is the cause of Will’s retirement, after attacking him. Despite Lecktor agreeing to help capture the killer, Will now has to deal with Hannibals’s mind games as well as the psychological trauma of his past events. With time running out, a desperate pursuit leads to a thrilling final confrontation with . But between another victim and his own family, will it all be in vain? Based on the novel Red Dragon, Manhunter contains some great performances, most notably Brian Cox and Tom Noonan. If you are a fan of the Hannibal Lecktor series and are yet to see this, you are in for a suspenseful, atmospheric treat. Videodrome. Homicide, Sleaze, torture, S& M, nihilism – Videodrome. Welcome to the world of cult Canadian director David Cronenberg. James Woods stars as Max Renn, the president of a TV channel, searching for that quantum leap to the most in demand of broadcasting. The breakthough arrives when Renn discovers Videodrome, an Asian television show airing brutal torture and snuff TV. With his girlfriend Nicki (Blondie’s Deborah Harry), immediately aroused and obsessed with the show, they delve further and find that the show is in fact broadcast out of Pittsburgh, USA. Eager to audition for the show, Nicki sets off to Pittsburgh, however when she fails to return, Max starts to become apprehensive. The more Max explores, the more he submerges into a world of mind regulation, sex, violence and disturbing hallucinations. Available from 2 March and based on true events, The Long Drop is set in the 1950s Glasgow and is a standalone psychological thriller. William Watt is the prime.So sit back, relax and enjoy the visceral experience of Cronenberg’s 1. Videodrome. 1. 4. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Whatever happened to Baby Jane is a 1. American psychological horror. Directed by Robert Aldrich, the film infamously stars two screen icons together in Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The film is extremely intense and dark yet slightly comical. The story opens in 1. Baby Jane Hudson (Davis), the very spoilt, child vaudeville star and her rather neglected younger sister Blanche (Crawford). However, in teenage years, roles reverse and Blanche went on to achieve stardom, with Jane becoming no more than just a has- been. Years later, both women are now confined to a shared mansion, with Blanche now crippled and in a wheelchair, after a tragic car accident involving what was widely thought to have been Jane, at the wheel. With the insane and hysterical former child star becoming more violent, can the imprisoned Blanche escape Baby Jane’s stronghold? Both Davis and Crawford play the feuding sisters impeccably as they argue back and forth. Eyes Wide Shut. From the brilliant mind of director Stanley Kubrick, we have his 1. Eyes Wide Shut, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Kubrick once again leads us down a path trying to differentiate between real world and the subconscious. And then there are psychological thrillers like Black Swan and The Machinist, which trap the viewer inside a character’s breakdown without providing a complete. Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston. He’s published 10 novels, three of which (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and Shutter Island.
Dr. Bill Harford (Cruise) and wife Alice (Kidman) are a young married couple living in New York with their young daughter, Attending a Christmas party thrown by a rich patient, (during which they are both involved in separate sexual temptations) Bill is reintroduced to an old school friend Nick, who has been hired to play piano there. Upon his wife’s admission of a recent sexual fantasy involving a naval officer, Bill’s emotions are turned upside down. After meeting up with Nick again, finishing his set at the jazz club, Bill learns of an engagement Nick must attend to for his next set. However, to gain entrance to the party, one requires a mask, costume and finally a password. With the appeal of the party too difficult to turn down, Bill’s night unravels into an erotic, violent, unsettling sexual odyssey. Sadly, Eyes Wide Shut was to be Stanley Kubrick’s final film, being released just several months following his death. The Tenant. The last film in Polanski’s . Another brilliant psychological horror that this time has Polanski himself starring. Again, claustrophobic, disturbing and intense, the film shows how Trelkovsky (Polanski) moves into an apartment in which the previous tenant had thrown herself out of her window. Evidently, insanity and obsession gradually tiptoe in, resulting in a slightly comical yet tragic climax. The Tenant will leave you with more questions that it does answers but nevertheless, another Polanski masterpiece in my opinion. The Conversation. Most directors struggle to achieve that once- in- a- lifetime piece de resistance, yet in 1. Please step forward Mr Francis Ford Coppola. Despite missing out to Oscar winner The Godfather 2, The Conversation is still well and truly classified as one of the definitive films from the 7. The fantastic Gene Hackman ingeniously plays the paranoid, neurotic, freelance surveillance expert, Harry Caul. Running his own surveillance business in San Francisco, Harry is a loner, who rarely lets anyone into his apartment, let alone his life. After being given a job to tap into the conversation of a young couple talking in Union Square, the more Caul filters the recordings, the more unsettled he gets. Averting the opportunity to hand in the tape to his employer, due to what might happen to the young couple, he finds himself on the wrong end of the bugging. As his mental state collapse, can Harry find the solution before he self- destructs? Containing superb performances by none other than John Cazale, Harrison Ford and an electrifying cameo from Robert Duvall, The Conversation is a haunting thriller that lingers long in the mind. Hour of the Wolf. Regarded by many as one of the most important and influential directors of all time, Ingmar Bergman made many great films, a lot of which handled death, disease and the downfall of the human mind. Hour of the Wolf is no different. The film is set on a modest, harsh looking island, where Johan, played by Max Von Sydow, has sought refuge, along with his wife Alma (Liv Ullman). Johan is a painter who is battling insomnia and is haunted by the demons of his past. Despite coming across as being very cold and a bit of a bully, his loving wife is loyal and helps him through his obvious psychological illness. Things however take a turn for the worst, as Alma discovers Johan’s secret diary, followed by an eerie invitation for dinner with fellow islanders, who live in a nearby castle. A gritty, surreal work of art from a genius director, Hour of the Wolf is a beautiful but bleak movie that easily stands the test of time. The Wicker Man. Robin Hardy’s 1. The Wicker Man, is the cr. This is a haunting, chilling tale of desolation, symbolism and pagan rituals. Starring Edward Woodward and Hammer favourite Christopher Lee, this is a film that will shake you to your very core. Upon receiving a letter begging for help in finding a missing girl named Rowan, Sergeant Howie (Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish Island to investigate. On arrival, Howie instantly receives a rather inhospitable reception, which sets the atmospheric tone for the rest of the film. Realising that life is very contrasting here than on the mainland, Howie speculates that the disappeared may have been the subject of a ritual or sacrifice. Further delving leads him to a meeting with the seemingly sinister island leader, Lord Summerisle (Lee), where he soon grasps that there is much more to explore than a missing child on this isolated island. Those viewers in search of a gore- laden action flick will be disappointed, for this is a much more intelligent, thought- provoking, brutal- beast of cinematic brilliance.
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