The best psychological thriller films to watch on streaming

Psychological thriller films have a rare power: they don’t end when the credits roll. They are still alive, sparking debates, theories and interpretations on the networks. These are stories that poke the mind, defy logic and make the audience discuss endings, characters and even details of the setting.

With the platforms’ catalog increasingly filled with thrillers that shake your head, the question is: which one will leave you most uneasy? Below, 7 unmissable psychological thriller films, available on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+ and Apple TV+.

O Menu (HBO Max)

Imagine an exclusive dinner, led by an eccentric chef, where each dish is part of a meticulously cruel plan. Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy experience an intense duel between power and vulnerability in The Menu, transforming haute cuisine into a psychological battlefield.

But the real delight is in the subtext: the film is a critique of consumption, art and the obsession with status. With each dish served, the audience realizes that they are being provoked too, and the ending is as satisfying as it is disturbing.

2. Corra! (Netflix)

Jordan Peele reinvented horror with a plot that starts light and ends up becoming a nightmare. Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris, a young black man who goes to meet his white girlfriend’s family, but soon realizes that there is something deeply wrong with that apparent friendliness.

Without resorting to easy scares, Run! delves into the American mind and racial tensions with irony and surgical precision. The script is full of hidden details, every sound, every look and every dialogue has a double meaning. And when everything is revealed, the impact is inevitable.

3. The Invisible Man (Prime Video)

Elisabeth Moss delivers one of the most intense performances of her career playing Cecilia, a woman who runs away from an abusive relationship and begins to suspect that her ex, supposedly dead, continues to watch her every step.

The Invisible Man uses the invisible as a metaphor for trauma and gaslighting. The direction creates a suffocating suspense, in which fear is born of what cannot be seen. Each empty room seems to have a secret, and the constant doubt makes the audience feel the same panic as the protagonist.

4. Shutter Island (Netflix)

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Teddy Daniels in Shutter Island, a federal agent sent to an isolated psychiatric hospital to investigate the disappearance of a patient. As he delves deeper into the case, he begins to doubt his own sanity, and the viewer embarks along with this confusion of realities.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film is a visual and emotional maze. Each clue found opens up new questions, and the outcome is one that redefines everything you thought you knew. Shutter Island is a true test of perception, and audiences love trying to decipher its riddles to this day.

5. Or Black Swan (Disney+)

Natalie Portman plays Nina in Black Swan, a dancer obsessed with perfection who struggles to interpret the two sides of Swan Lake: the pure and the dark. As you surrender to the role, your mind begins to fragment between the real and the imaginary.

Darren Aronofsky takes the viewer through an elegant nightmare, where each scene mixes beauty and insanity. “The Black Swan” is about pressure, ego and the fear of failure, a frightening mirror of the search for perfection that dominates even the real world of social media.

6. The Pale Blue Eye (Netflix)

Christian Bale plays a veteran detective called in to solve a brutal murder at a military academy in The Pale Blue Eye. Alongside a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe, he discovers that there is something much darker behind those ritualistic deaths.

The film is engaging, gothic and dense. It mixes investigation, drama and philosophy, with a cold aesthetic that reflects the emotional weight of the characters. When the truth is revealed, the viewer realizes that the greatest crime there may be what the heart is capable of committing.

7. Split (Netflix)

James McAvoy shines when playing Kevin in Split, a man with multiple personalities, some kind, others violent, and one especially dangerous. When three girls are kidnapped by him, a race begins to understand who, inside his mind, is really in control.

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film is a rollercoaster of tension. In addition to the suspense, there is a powerful reflection on trauma, survival and identity. And for attentive fans, the ending brings an unexpected connection with another of the director’s classics, which left many people speechless.