Psychological Horror is a subgenre that disturbs by tapping into mental and emotional vulnerabilities, exposing repression, paranoia, and self-doubt rather than relying on gore or monsters. It uses atmosphere, suspense, and unreliable perspectives to unsettle, think Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) with Norman Bates’ fractured psyche, Jennifer Kent’s grief-fueled The Babadook (2014), and modern indies like Hereditary (2018) or The Invitation (2015), which probe familial trauma and creeping paranoia. These films haunt long, proving that true terror often comes from within.
Movies about schizophrenia, They Look Like People is just one of many horror films about mental illness. Explanation & more movies like it.
The Vigil is a Jewish horror movie. Watch the trailer for The Vigil & find out why writer-director Keith Thomas wants you to have nightmares.
A psychological thriller & horror movie, Kindred shows you how to fear things you can’t control. A pathological nightmare by Joe Marcantonio.
What Lies Below movie is streaming on Netflix. Liberty returns from camp to find her mother shacked up with a charming man called John.
“Scare Me” is streaming on Shudder. A directorial debut from Josh Ruben follows two strangers who decide to tell scary stories to each other.
A psychological horror-thriller movie, The Honeymoon Phase wants to ponder whether the honeymoon phase can last or be controlled.
