Friday, July 24, 2026

5 psychological thrillers that shook me to my core

July 24, 2026

5 Psychological Thrillers That Shook Me to My Core

Welcome back to Worth the Watch!

Psychological thrillers have always been near and dear to my heart. When I think of the movies and shows that have left the longest-lasting impressions on me—Parasite, The Silence of the Lambs, and Black Mirror, just to name a few—a majority of them fall into this category. But as Worth the Watch nears three months old, I’m realizing I’ve yet to do a deep dive into my favorite genre, which is simply unacceptable! So today, it’s time to change that. Keep reading to discover the edge-of-your-seat psychological thrillers that live rent-free in my head. P.S., I bet there are at least two on my list you’ve never seen!

Before we dive in, I wanted to give you a friendly reminder that Friday, August 7 will be our next movie club! And the pick is… drumroll... Song Sung Blue! This feel-good musical starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson tells the true story of Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee husband and wife who formed a Neil Diamond tribute band. It’s been sitting on my “2025 movies I missed but still want to watch list” for months, so after a few of you responded to last month’s movie club newsletter recommending it to me, I thought to myself, “There's no time like the present!”

Now, let’s get into it. Here are 5 psychological thrillers that shook me to my core.

The Two-Season Tragedy

Mindhunter

Streaming on Netflix

In the late 1970s, two FBI agents investigate the psychology behind murder and end up getting too close to real-life monsters.

Watch the trailer

I admittedly haven’t watched Mindhunter since it premiered seven years ago, but the fact that it resurfaces in my mind every few months speaks to how incredible it was. Based on real people and the creation of the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, it’s one of Netflix’s most historically accurate crime thrillers. By far the most memorable parts of the series are the chilling interviews that Holden (Jonathan Groff) and Bill (Holt McCallany) conduct with serial killer Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton) in Season 1. Major props to Britton, because he clearly did his homework. To see just how terrifyingly similar the actors were to the real killers, check out this side-by-side video. The most unnerving part is that the killers come across as genuinely intelligent people, but completely stripped of empathy and remorse.

There’s a running meme in the Netflix community that whenever a trailer releases for a new original series, people flock to the comments to say, “Bring back Mindhunter.” Or, any time there is a big cultural event, people will comment on social media, “We got _________[insert major cultural moment] before Mindhunter Season 3.” It really is a tragedy that the show was canceled, and, at this point, all we can do is hope for a legacy reboot in 10 years from now.

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