The appeal of thrillers mainly comes because we humans crave for an adrenaline rush every once in a while. Whether it is the cliff-hangers, the final reveals, or the fact that this may as well might have happened to them, everybody loves a good thriller every once in a while; hence, we present to you a list of the most thrilling psycho thrillers ever, for you to binge watch this weekend!

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Probably Matt Damon’s best work ever, the film taps into the ‘obsessive’ part of human behaviour. It tells the tale of a ‘nobody’ who feels that it would be better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody! Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is sent to bring back Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) to his father, but ends up, through the length of the film, coveting his lifestyle and identity and developing a rather disturbing obsession with being like him. The film is based on a novel by the same name penned down by Patricia Highsmith; the book is a part of a series of books based on the workings of the mind of the protagonist, Tom Ripley.

2. Insomnia (1997)

Imagine being feeling guilty about an action that you not only lose sleep over, buy it slowly drags you over the edge of sanity. A 1997 Norwegian thriller film about a police investigation gone wrong, when one of the partners in investigation shoots the other by accident; the title refers to Jonas Engström’s (the protagonist) inability to sleep as a result of his guilt (represented by the relentless glare of the midnight sun). Insomnia was the film debut of director Erik Skjoldbjærg.

3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

This film gave cinema its most famous characters – Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter. The film is based on Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel of the same name, his second to feature Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer, who in this film is behind bars and is being asked help by the psychiatrist to understand the workings of the mind of another serial killer. The two characters share similar problems in their respective lives, though the two are so different from each other, which is one of the many things that will keep you intrigued throughout the film (not that you need reasons.)

4. Psycho (1960)

Every time somebody mentions Psycho, your mind automatically goes to its infamous ‘shower scene.’ There is however so much more to this Alfred Hitchcock film than just that. Hitchcock deliberately wanted the film to look like a cheap exploitation film. He shot it, not with his usual expensive feature crew, but with the crew he used for his television show, and filmed in black and white; long passages contained no dialogue. His budget, $800,000, was cheap even by 1960 standards. We couldn’t be more grateful!

5. Fight Club (1999)

David Fincher’s directorial venture, Fight Club, gave a new outlook to people in regard with pink soap. A film with actors like Helena Bonham Carter, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt simply cannot go wrong. The unraveling at the end of the film is one of my favourite reveals of all time. Though the film may seem to be hard to follow at times, it is so engaging that the viewers will have a hard time taking their eyes off the screen. Few of the film’s dialogues have etched their mark on Hollywood history; fans will always keep in mind that the first rule of fight club is…

6. Gone Girl (2014)

A film that makes men all over the world have a second thought about their wives’ personalities and scar them for life in regard to simply the idea of cheating on them. The film seems simple in the beginning, showing a quintessential happily married couple. Things take a turn when the wife mysteriously goes missing one day. We wouldn’t want to let out any spoilers about the film, so if you haven’t seen this one yet, please spend your Saturday night watching it. We promise it’ll be worth it.

7. The Shining (1980)

Only a horror film can make somebody be afraid of little girls in blue frocks, or freak out over a simple line like ‘Here’s Johnny’!  Hoping to cure his writer’s block, protagonist Jack Torrance takes the job of winter caretaker of an isolated hotel. Little does he know, that this isolation will result in him having psychic premonitions. What happens next is a series of events that succeed in keeping the viewers of the film at the edge of their seats.

8. Vertigo (1958)

Yet another Hitchcock masterpiece! Like promised in the film’s trailer, the film gives new meaning to the word ‘vertigo’. A detective (Scottie) who suffers from acrophobia is hired to investigate the strange activities of an old friend’s wife. Scottie becomes dangerously obsessed with her over the course of his investigation, while the wife commits suicide. Confused? Watch the film to know what happens next.

9. Zodiac (2007)

Most films about a serial killer on the loose manage to keep their audience entertained; so what makes Zodiac different? How about the fact that it was based off true events and the fact that the person who was thought guilty, might have not done it at all?! Intrigued? Who wouldn’t be? The reason why the film seems so much more interesting is probably because it is not merely “based” on California’s infamous ‘Zodiac killings’, but seems to exude the very stench and provocation of the case. The film may be longer than usual, but its gripping story-line keeps you entertained throughout.

10. Se7en (1995)

We are ending this list with yet another film about serial killings. There’s something about serial killing related films that keeps their audience hooked on, irrespective of how confused they may be. Mystery neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher, stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and John C. McGinley, to name a few. A brutal, relentlessly grimy shocker with solid performances and mind blowing gory effects, this list would be incomplete without the mention of this film.