Max contains a treasure trove of both well-known, beloved films and hidden gems that you might not have ever heard of before. Its list of psychological thrillers, consequently, consists of mainstream hits, lesser-known classics from many decades ago and smaller, independent movies released within the past few years. The streaming service has, in other words, a wide array of films to choose from whenever you find yourself in the mood for a thriller that is as cerebral as it is thrilling, or as contemplative as it is propulsive.
With that in mind, here are the seven best psychological thrillers streaming on Max right now.
“Heretic” (2024)
“Heretic” is a psychological thriller that will unbalance you and leave you reeling on your heels just as forcefully as it does its protagonists. Written and directed by “A Quiet Place” writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, this 2024 gem follows two young, female Mormon missionaries (Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher) as they end up the prisoners of an eccentric middle-aged man named Mr. Reed (a career-best Hugh Grant), who decides to put their faith to the test.
The more time they spend at his mercy, the more sinister Reed’s intentions and more dangerous his tests become. “Heretic” ultimately has less to say than its initial, show-stopping monologues would have you believe, but that does not mean it is a thriller without any bite. On the contrary, it is a relentlessly gripping and audacious film, one that manages to instill a level of uncertainty and dread in its viewers that is, at times, terrifying. Grant has never been better onscreen, and “Heretic” makes the most out of its star’s charismatic, commanding performance.
“The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)
Based on Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel of the same name, “The Silence of the Lambs” is a chilling, terrifying psychological thriller that is about, among other things, being a woman in a predominantly male world and staring evil in the face. It follows Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a young, up-and-coming FBI trainee who is sent to seek the advice of an imprisoned, cannibalistic killer and former psychologist, Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), as part of an investigation to find and capture a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) before he gets the chance to skin his next female victim.
Filmed through an unflinching yet deeply empathetic lens by director Jonathan Demme and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, “The Silence of the Lambs” is a thriller that leaves you spellbound and frozen in your seat, unable to look away even in the moments when you feel compelled to do exactly that.
“Civil War” (2024)
On its surface, writer-director Alex Garland’s divisive “Civil War” is an explosive, pulse-pounding war epic. There is more going on beneath its surface than meets the eye, though, including questions about the proper way to engage with real-world tragedies and the destructive effects that constant exposure to death, war and violence can have not only on a person but an entire nation. Massive and yet not a minute too long, the film follows a seasoned, disillusioned photojournalist (Kirsten Dunst) as she is joined on a journey across a wartorn, near-future America by two longtime colleagues (Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a young, aspiring photographer (Cailee Spaeny).
The action that unfolds throughout “Civil War” is underscored by the slow breaking down of Dunst’s Lee, who desperately tries to hold onto her own humanity. That internal struggle reaches its climax in a brutal conclusion that leaves viewers to wonder about the cost of looking at the world’s atrocities head-on, as well as the point at which said exposure becomes self-serving.
“High and Low” (1963)
The inspiration for Spike Lee’s forthcoming Denzel Washington drama “Highest 2 Lowest,” Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 masterpiece “High and Low” is both a procedural crime drama and a moral and philosophical thriller. Based on a novel by American crime author Evan Hunter, “High and Low” follows a wealthy Japanese business executive (Toshiro Mifune) whose plan to gain full control of his shoe company is thrown into disarray when kidnappers intending to abduct his son accidentally kidnap his chauffeur’s son instead but still end up demanding a costly ransom in exchange for his safe return.
Torn between his own professional ambitions and his human, moral obligations, Mifune’s Kingo Gondo finds himself on a collision course with a criminal whose animosity toward him is laid bare in a climactic scene that ranks high among the most impactful that Kurosawa ever composed — and that is saying a lot.
“I Saw The TV Glow” (2024)
A psychedelic, deeply felt psychological thriller about media, identity and coming of age in a terrifying, uncaring world, “I Saw the TV Glow” is the sophomore feature directorial effort from writer-director Jane Schoenbrun. It follows two high school outcasts (Justice Smith and Jack Haven) who bond over their shared love of a niche TV show. They slowly begin to question their own identities and reality — using plot points and characters from their favorite show as proof that the truths they’ve been forced to accept may not, in fact, be true.
Pulling clear inspiration from both David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” and Schoenbrun’s own life, the film features an original soundtrack of songs by alternative and pop artists like Caroline Polachek, Phoebe Bridgers, Snail Mail and Sloppy Jane. The resulting film is a cinematic experience that feels alternately like a dream and a nightmare — one powered by cult classic 2000s TV shows, shoegaze-esque pop music and electronic static. It is a film that holds your attention at all times, delivering images, ideas and emotions that are designed to reverberate and echo in the days after you watch it.
“Odd Man Out” (1947)
An underrated thriller from “The Third Man” director Carol Reed, “Odd Man Out” is a contemplative exploration of guilt, violence, isolation and identity loss. Based on a 1945 novel of the same name, the film follows Johnny McQueen (James Mason), an Irish nationalist who is wounded after a robbery and left to wander, bleeding through the muddy, snowy alleys of Belfast on his own, all while trying to evade police capture.
A British noir overflowing with pitch-black shadows and long, seemingly endless corridors and alleyways, “Odd Man Out” keeps viewers on their toes at all times, engendering sympathy for its protagonist even as he stumbles closer and closer to death, trapped on a path that feels doomed from the very start. The lack of a memorable villain like Orson Welles’ Harry Lime means “Odd Man Out” is not quite as electrifying as Reed’s “The Third Man,” but it is no less emotionally and thematically piercing.
“The Lighthouse” (2019)
One of the only films on this list that contains thrills that are not just nerve-wracking but also darkly humorous, “The Lighthouse” is a nightmarish psychological thriller and an intense battle of wills between two deranged men. Directed by “Nosferatu” and “The Witch” director Robert Eggers, the film follows two 19th-century lighthouse keepers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) who end up trapped on a New England island outpost by a violent storm.
Before long, Pattinson’s younger lighthouse keeper begins to lose his grip on his own sanity, experiencing lapses in time and horrifying visions that are only exacerbated by the cruel manipulations and demands of Dafoe’s older overseer. What emerges from the two characters’ inevitable psychological battle is a mesmerizing, purposefully surreal and slippery thriller that defies all standard genre and narrative conventions. In its look, purpose and darkly comic sense of humor, “The Lighthouse” stands entirely — and fittingly — on its own.
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