Best Psychological Horror

Rosemary’s Baby is a 1968 psychological horror film directed by Roman Polanski. The story centers on Rosemary, a Manhattan resident who experiences unsettling events surrounding her pregnancy and the behavior of her neighbors. Supporting cast members include several well-known actors in their first...

Dr. Kenzou Tenma, an elite neurosurgeon recently engaged to his hospital director's daughter, is well on his way to ascending the hospital hierarchy. That is until one night, a seemingly small event changes Dr. Tenma's life forever. While preparing to perform surgery on someone, he gets a call from...

Toni Morrison's 'Beloved' is a harrowing and profoundly moving exploration of slavery's enduring legacy on the lives of formerly enslaved people. The novels lyrical prose and incorporation of magical realism create a haunting atmosphere, delving into the psychological trauma and the desperate measur...

Get Out explores themes of racial tension and societal anxieties through a psychological horror story. The film follows Chris Washington as he uncovers a sinister plot during a visit to his white girlfriend’s seemingly idyllic family estate. It's notable for its sharp social commentary and suspensef...

After helping revive the legendary vampire Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade, Koyomi Araragi has become a vampire himself and her servant. Kiss-shot is certain she can turn him back into a human, but only once regaining her full power. Araragi has hunted down the three vampire hunters that d...

Jonathan Demme's 'The Silence of the Lambs' is a landmark thriller that seamlessly blends elements of crime, horror, and psychological suspense. Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, seeks the help of incarcerated cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter to catch another serial killer. The fi...

First season of the Monogatari Series, part 4/6. Contains the arc Koyomi Vamp from the Kizumonogatari light novel. With help from Meme Oshino, the apparition specialist, Koyomi defeats the three powerful vampire hunters: Dramaturgy, Episode and Guillotinecutter. Koyomi takes back all the limbs of...

“Wonderful Everyday Down the Rabbit-Hole” is a 2010 Japanese visual novel developed by KeroQ. It’s recognized for its award-winning scenario, specifically honored by the SCA-DI Moe Game Award. The game explores themes of mystery and psychological horror through an unsettling narrative centered aroun...

The 1960 French film explores the story of a surgeon’s obsessive efforts to reconstruct his daughter's appearance after a traumatic accident. Pierre Brasseur stars as the plastic surgeon, alongside Alida Valli and others, in a narrative centered on a complex face transplant procedure. The work is ba...

Peeping Tom is a 1960 British thriller centered on a man who murders women and films their deaths to create a personal snuff film. The narrative explores themes of obsession and voyeurism, utilizing a camera to document the final moments of his victims. The title references the concept of a person w...

'The Act of Killing' is a deeply unsettling and innovative documentary that confronts perpetrators of the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-68. By asking them to recreate their crimes as if they were making a movie, director Joshua Oppenheimer forces them to confront their actions in a surreal and di...

J-pop idol group CHAM! has spent the last two years entertaining its fans. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and CHAM! must see one of its members, Mima Kirigoe, leave the group to pursue her acting career. While Mima's choice is met with a mixed response, she hopes her fans will continue...

No longer truly human, Koyomi Araragi decides to retrieve Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade's severed body parts that were stolen by three powerful vampire hunters. Awaiting him are Dramaturgie, a vampire hunter who is a vampire himself; Episode, a half-vampire with the ability to transform...

Carrie is a horror-drama exploring the devastating effects of abuse and isolation. The story follows a teenage girl who develops extraordinary psychic abilities after years of torment. It’s notable for its portrayal of psychological trauma and the consequences of unchecked anger. This film is releva...

After befriending his classmate Tsubasa Hanekawa, Koyomi Araragi, a cynical and lonely high school student, begins to develop a more positive outlook on life. One night while walking home, however, he encounters an ethereal woman with severed limbs, barely clinging to life. Although reluctant at fir...

The Wailing is a 2016 South Korean horror film directed by Na Hong-jin. It depicts a police investigation into unexplained deaths and sicknesses occurring within a secluded village, involving a father’s efforts to protect his daughter. The film garnered both commercial and critical acclaim for its n...

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student. Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant any one of their wishes and in exchange, they...

Often cited as the pinnacle of psychological horror, Silent Hill 2 explores themes of guilt, punishment, and repressed desire. The game uses a surrealist landscape to manifest the protagonist's internal or mental state. Its mastery of atmosphere, combined with a deeply tragic narrative and iconic cr...

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is an adventure game where Sigma and eight others are compelled to participate in the Nonary Game. This game involves deadly scenarios and forces players to uncover the truth behind its origins and purpose. The narrative explores the characters’ attempts to survive...

The Witch, directed by Robert Eggers, portrays a Puritan family’s struggle against an unknown malevolent entity during the 1630s in New England. The film depicts their increasing paranoia and descent into violence as they confront suspicion surrounding witchcraft within their household. It centers o...

The 1931 film *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* adapts Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella about a scientist’s experiment resulting in a terrifying duality. Fredric March delivers a compelling performance as Henry Jekyll, whose scientific pursuit unleashes a monstrous alter ego named Hyde. This psychological...

The Invisible Man is a 1933 American horror film adapting H.G. Wells’ novel. It explores the consequences of scientific experimentation and psychological isolation. Dr. Griffin's transformation into an invisible man leads to escalating instability and violence. The movie examines themes of control,...

Hour of the Wolf is a 1968 psychological horror film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It centers on Alma Borg, whose husband Johan vanishes from their isolated island home, leaving her to confront disturbing hallucinations and sleeplessness. The narrative investigates the unsettling circumstances surroun...

The "Medicine Seller" is a deadly and mysterious master of the occult who travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called "mononoke" to slay. When he locates one of these spirits, he cannot simply kill it; he must first learn its Form, its Truth, and its Reason in order to wield t...

The quintessential anthology series. Each episode functions as a self-contained, thought-provoking fable, using science fiction or supernatural elements to explore deep human flaws, societal anxieties, and moral dilemmas. Its enduring legacy lies in its ability to be both thrilling and deeply philos...

Under the Skin is a psychological horror film exploring themes of identity and alienation through the unsettling perspective of an extraterrestrial being. Scarlett Johansson portrays an alien entity preying on men in the United Kingdom, utilizing a unique blend of science fiction and body horror to...

“Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” is a 1962 American exploitation film directed by Douglas Hickok. Notable for its unsettling portrayal of aging sisters consumed by jealousy and violence, it’s considered a landmark example of psychological horror within the exploitation genre. The film explores them...

A psychological horror deckbuilder that begins as a roguelike card game in a creepy cabin, but constantly subverts expectations with meta-narrative twists and escape room-style puzzles. The core card game is tense and strategic, using animal cards and sacrificial mechanics. However, the game repeate...

In the year 2011, a small percentage of humans began manifesting psychokinetic abilities known as "Cantus." Over a millennium later, in the small town of Kamisu 66, Saki Watanabe is the last of her friends to awaken her powers and join the Sage Academy, a school for psychics like her. Although every...