8 Most Shocking Psychological Thriller Movies of the 21st Century

Psychological thrillers turn characters' own minds into battlefields, drawing on roots in Gothic writers like Edgar Allan Poe and the cinematic work of Alfred Hitchcock. While classics such as The Sixth Sense, The Shining, The Silence of the Lambs, Taxi Driver, and Fight Club shaped the form, this roundup focuses on post-2000 films that linger for their shocking twists, extreme subject matter, or the horror of self-recognition.

Nightcrawler centers on Lou Bloom, an unhinged freelance journalist who prowls downtown L.A. for violent footage, a film that shocks by forcing viewers to confront society's fascination with tragedy and features Jake Gyllenhaal in a role often compared to Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle.

Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher and based on Gillian Flynn’s novel, follows Nick Dunne as he becomes the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance, delivering jaw-dropping twists and moral provocation.

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