Subgenre Sampler
Rental > Suspense/Crime > Psycho: 69 Films to Rent
- Coming Home in the Dark (2021)
- Dir. James Ashcroft
Feat. Miriama McDowell, Erik Thomson, Daniel Gillies…
- Not for the faint of heart, this Kiwi thriller is confrontingly grim yet takes the psycho–killer genre into thematic territory it rarely…
- Split (2016)
- Dir. M. Night Shyamalan
Feat. James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley…
- Twist–meister M. Night Shyamalan returns (to form) with this innovative thriller starring James McAvoy as a man with 23 different personalities…
- Ratter (2015)
- Dir. Branden Kramer
Feat. Ashley Benson, Matt McGorry, Rebecca Naomi Jones
- Slow–burn found–footage cyber–thriller with Ashley Benson in the role of graduate student being watched by a stalker who hacks into…
- Guest, The (2014)
- Dir. Adam Wingard
Feat. Dan Stevens, Sheila Kelley, Maika Monroe
- The director of YOU'RE NEXT returns with another entertainingly lurid thriller about a returning soldier ingratiating himself to a family whose son…
- Bates Motel (TV Series) (2013)
- Feat. Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot…
- A creepy, character–rich exploration of Norman Bates' formative years and the relationship with his overbearing mother, played deliciously by…
- Killer Inside Me, The (2010)
- Dir. Michael Winterbottom
Feat. Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba…
- Casey Affleck disturbs as a psychotic small town sheriff struggling to cover his bloody tracks in this grim, stylish neo–noir.
Adroitly…
- I'm Not Harry Jenson (2009)
- Dir. James Napier Robertson
Feat. Gareth Reeves, Ian Mune, Marshall Napier…
- Tensely conceived, enterprising Kiwi thriller finds a true crime novelist so deeply invested in the violent subject of his latest book, that he…
- Lakeview Terrace (2008)
- Dir. Neil LaBute
Feat. Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington
- Creepy suburban thriller focused on obsessive cop Abel Turner (Jackson) who will stop at nothing to rid his 'perfect' neighbourhood of an interracial…
- Shuttle (2008)
- Dir. Edward Anderson
Feat. Tony Curran, Peyton List, Cameron Goodman…
- An airport shuttle ride turn into a nightmare for its nubile passengers in this tightly contained indie adbuction thriller from first–time…
- Hannibal Rising (2007)
- Dir. Peter Webber
Feat. Gaspard Ulliel, Rhys Ifans, Gong Li…
- SILENCE OF THE LAMBS creator Thomas Harris pens this original back–story to Hannibal Lecter’s murderous reign, in which we’re privy to the…
- I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
- Dir. Chris Siverston
Feat. Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough
- Trash fans rejoice. This Lindsay Lohan career nadir won more Razzie awards than both SHOWGIRLS and BATTLEFIELD EARTH.
Lohan plays both a good…
- Sugarhouse (2007)
- Dir. Gary Love
Feat. Andy Serkis, Steven Mackintosh, Ashley Walters
- Ordinary Brit crime thriller focused on a middle–class man trying to buy a gun in the back streets of East London, and the deadly 'deal' he…
- All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
- Dir. Jonathan Levine
Feat. Amber Heard, Anson Mount, Whitney Able
- Above–average slasher flick following a group of Texan teens who invite the unobtainable 'hot girl' at their school to a remote weekend…
- Birth (2004)
- Dir. Jonathan Glazer
Feat. Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Danny Huston…
- An absorbing psychological drama about a young widow (Kidman) whose New York life is disrupted when a 10 year–old boy claims to be the…
- Fear Dot Com (Fear.com) (2002)
- Dir. William Malone
Feat. Stephen Dorff, Stephen Rea, Natascha McElhone
- Incoherent horror flick that goes on–line with the plot of Japanese horror film RING, this will be most compared to the American remake of that…
- One Hour Photo (2002)
- Dir. Mark Romanek
Feat. Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan…
- In a nifty piece of gimmick casting, Robin Williams shows his darker side as a lonely, middle–aged photolab assistant who develops an unhealthy…
- Hannibal (2001)
- Dir. Ridley Scott
Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta
- Anthony Hopkins reprises his iconic role as Hannibal Lechter in this controversially gruesome sequel to the serial killer classic, SILENCE OF THE…
- Session 9 (2001)
- Dir. Brad Anderson
Feat. Peter Mullan, David Caruso, Josh Lucas…
- A “haunted house” movie with a difference, this is an intense, thinking person’s spook session involving a team of tradesmen hired to clean up…
- Wendigo (2001)
- Dir. Larry Fessenden
Feat. Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, Erik Per Sullivan
- Elaborating on a renowned ‘urban legend’ with a refined script and a no–nonsense commitment to storytelling, this is a project fostered in…
- When Strangers Appear (Shearer's Breakfast) (2001)
- Dir. Scott Reynolds
Feat. Radha Mitchell, Barry Watson, Kevin Anderson…
- A piquant little thriller set at a lonely country rest–stop – Foxton standing in for Oregon – with dir. Reynold’s (HEAVEN, THE…
- Harry, He's Here to Help (With a Friend Like Harry,Who Needs Enemies?) (2000)
- Dir. Dominik Moll
Feat. Sergi Lopez, Laurent Lucas
- French festival–hit that invokes the delicious menace of Alfred Hitchcock with its insidious central character, Harry (Sergi Lopez) who invites…
- Tell Me Something (2000)
- Dir. Chang Yoon-Hyung
Feat. Han Suk-gyu, Shim Eun-ha
- A fine slice of Korean “giallo”, this is detective pulp of the lacquered–black, rain–drenched variety, with perverse/macabre…
- Nightwatch (1998)
- Dir. Ole Bornedal
Feat. Ewan McGregor, Nick Nolte, Patricia Arquette
- Ewan MacGregor checks in for morgue attendance in this Anglo remake of the director's own Danish thriller.
Must confess, we never watched this…
- Psycho (1998)
- Dir. Gus Van Sant
Feat. Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore
- Colour remake of Hitchcock's most famous film closely follows the original but never comes close to being anything other than a cheap gimmick.
The…
- Fear (1996)
- Dir. James Foley
Feat. Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, Alyssa Milano…
- Thriller from the Hollywood cookie–cutter about a chaste Daddy's girl who gets involved with creep Mark Wahlberg, who just gets creepier by…
- Seven (Se7en) (1995)
- Dir. David Fincher
Feat. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow…
- Director David Fincher imbues the hackneyed serial–killer genre with astonishing directorial flair, while bringing an influential 'underground'…
- Machine, La (1994)
- Dir. Francois Dupeyron
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye
- Gerard Depardieu goes into mad–doctor mode for this high–tech mind–transplant thriller, as a shrink/inventor whose fleeting…
- Jack Be Nimble (1993)
- Dir. Garth Maxwell
Feat. Alexis Arquette
- Alexis Arquette gets his American tongue around a Kiwi accent to portray an abused twin who finally reunites with his estranged sister. Though this…
- Sliver (1993)
- Dir. Phillip Noyce
Feat. Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger
- Sharon Stone rents an apartment which has not only hosted a number of in–house murders, but is also under constant surveillance by a perverted…
- Vanishing, The (1993)
- Dir. George Sluzier
Feat. Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis…
- The director remakes his classic Dutch thriller for subtitle–phobes. Keifer Sutherland anguishes while Jeff Bridges hams it up as the eccentric…
- Hand That Rocks the Cradle, The (1992)
- Dir. Curtis Hanson
Feat. Rebecca De Mornay, Annabella Sciorra, Julianne Moore…
- Scheming psycho–nanny Rebecca De Mornay dismantles the idyllic homelife of Annabella Sciorra, to compensate her own miscarriage. Slick suspense…
- Knight Moves (1992)
- Dir. Carl Schenkel
Feat. Christopher Lambert, Diane Lane, Tom Skerritt…
- Chess champion Christopher Lambert finds his psychological profile and alibi make him a prime murder suspect. A battle of intelligent wits ensues…
- Raising Cain (1992)
- Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer…
- De Palma's tongue–in–cheek return to the psycho–thriller contains many flashy set pieces including an elaborate ten–minute…
- Single White Female (1992)
- Dir. Barbet Schroeder
Feat. Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh
- Bridget Fonda shares her flat with a lonely neurotic who turns out be her psychotic nemesis. Another triumph for Jennifer Jason Leigh, on her way to…
- Cape Fear (1991)
- Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange…
- Excruciating but masterful telling of a convicted rapist (Robert De Niro) who calculates revenge on his former attorney by way of his family. Scores…
- Deceived (1991)
- Dir. Damian Harris
Feat. Goldie Hawn, John Heard
- Goldie Hawn in her first dramatic role plays a mother–of–two who learns that Hubby is not who she thought he was. Nothing new here, but…
- Pacific Heights (1991)
- Dir. John Schlesinger
Feat. Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton
- Part of a mini–wave of couple–in–peril thrillers, this better example has what it takes to tie your tum in knots. Melanie Griffith…
- Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
- Dir. Joseph Ruben
Feat. Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson
- Julia Roberts tries to escape her sadistic husband by faking her death and assuming a new identity miles from home.
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- Dir. James Cameron
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
- The ultimate Sci–fi action picture, it shamelessly flaunts its $100 million budget with Big Arnie playing second fiddle to a plethora of…
- Unlawful Entry (1991)
- Dir. Jonathan Kaplan
Feat. Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta, Madeleine Stowe
- Ray Liotta makes a perfect cop from hell, abusing his civil privileges to manifest obsessions with the wife of the man he is hired to protect. A…
- Misery (1990)
- Dir. Rob Reiner
Feat. James Caan, Kathy Bates
- You'll have a far from miserable experience watching novelist James Caan nursed back to health by his psychotic number one fan (Kathy Bates in an…
- Apartment Zero (1989)
- Dir. Martin Donovan
Feat. Colin Firth, Hart Bochner
- Weird tale in which a loner (Colin Firth) rents half of his apartment to a man of dubious motives and background (Hart Bochner). Pays homage to many…
- Dark Woods, The (1989)
- Dir. Jacques Deray
Feat. Beatrice Dalle
- Beatrice Dalle (BETTY BLUE) marries a stranger on a whim, and lives to regret it when her affections for his brother leads to a brutal crime of…
- Vanishing, The (1988)
- Dir. George Sluzier
Feat. Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Berroets, Johanna Ter Steege
- A genuinely creepy psychological thriller – a woman vanishes while on holiday in France, later her boyfriend is taunted in a battle of wits…
- Honeymoon (1987)
- Dir. Patrick Jamain
Feat. Nathalie Baye, John Shea, Richard Berry
- A French woman marries through an agency in order to stay in America. Soon a man she's never met knocks on her door with the groceries! A real…
- Stepfather, The (1987)
- Dir. Joseph Ruben
Feat. Terry O'Quinn, Shelley Hack
- This psycho doesn't waste time with marriage guidance when a few waves of a machete is the quick and easy solution! Superior…
- White of the Eye (1987)
- Dir. Donald Cammell
Feat. David Keith, Cathy Moriaty, Art Evans…
- Smartly executed, disturbing thriller set in a small Arizona town where a psychotic balances his marital problems with his penchant for homicide.
- Cassandra (1986)
- Dir. Colin Eggleston
Feat. Tegan Charles, Tessa Humphries, Dylan O'Neill…
- Quite watchable Aussie horror is set around a young woman's visions of her brother stabbing somebody to death during her childhood years. Using a…
- Blackout (1985)
- Dir. Douglas Hickox
Feat. Richard Widmark, Keith Carradine
- Above–average stalker whodunit.
- Mean Season, The (1985)
- Dir. Phillip Borsos
Feat. Kurt Russell, Mariel Hemingway, Richard Jordan…
- Hack reporter Kurt Russell's propensity for a story edges him dangerously close to crazed psycho Richard Jordan.
- Terminator, The (1984)
- Dir. James Cameron
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
- Breakthrough film for Schwarzenegger and its director, it's a high–powered action fantasy that set a precedent for the genre. And 'I'll be…
- Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
- Dir. Richard Loncraine
Feat. Sting, Joan Plowright, Denholm Elliott…
- Scripted by Dennis Potter, this cult psychodrama is set in the unstable household of Joan Plowright and Denholm Elliot, which is invaded by an…
- Tenebrae (Unsane) (1982)
- Dir. Dario Argento
Feat. Anthony Franciosa, Daria Nicolodi
- Compelling Argento thriller, with a typically contorted plot design – about a crime writer, whose books stimulate copycat killings – used…
- Dressed to Kill (1980)
- Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen
- A slick video nasty involving a murderer, a prostitute, a psychiatrist, a bored housewife and her resourceful son. In reworking PSYCHO, De Palma…
- Fight For Your Life (1977)
- Dir. Robert A. Endelson
Feat. William Sanderson, Robert Judd
- A racist hillbilly and two sadistic jail–breakers terrorize a black minister and his family, who eventually fight back and take bloody…
- Frenzy (1972)
- Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Feat. Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster…
- Hitchcock's last really great thriller, concerning a Cockney strangler plaguing the streets of London and setting up Jon Finch as the wrong man.…
- Hustler Squad / Wild Riders (1971-1976)
- Dir. Cesar Gallardo, Richard Kanter
Feat. Alex Rocco, Elizabeth Knowles, Sherry Bain…
- A double feature of 70s drive–in "classics".
WILD RIDERS (1971) has Alex Rocco playing a misogynistic biker who goes on a sleazy killing…
- Play Misty for Me (1971)
- Dir. Clint Eastwood
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills…
- The film that inspired FATAL ATTRACTION stars Clint Eastwood as a late night radio talkhost whose female fan goes way over the line.
- And Soon the Darkness (1970)
- Dir. Robert Fuest
Feat. Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice
- Minor slasher thriller concerns a pair of holidaying Brits who run into nasty perils on the backroads of rural France. Not as interesting as dir.…
- Boston Strangler, The (1968)
- Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy
- Undeniably fascinating but somewhat static docudrama about placid 1960s serial–killer Albert De Salvo (Tony Curtis), who underwent…
- Pretty Poison (1968)
- Dir. Noel Black
Feat. Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld
- A fan of PSYCHO? Then check out Anthony Perkins in this chilling tale of a couple of psychos in love. Tuesday Weld glitters as a teenage bad seed.
- Twisted Nerve (1968)
- Dir. Roy Boulting
Feat. Hywel Bennett, Hayley Mills
- Hywel Bennett is suitably creepy as a homicidal youth who befriends a nubile Hayley Mills. Unnerving gothic melodrama is well served by Bernard…
- In Cold Blood (1967)
- Dir. Richard Brooks
Feat. Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe…
- A masterpiece of crime fiction adapted from Truman Capote’s novel about events surrounding the senseless murder of an innocent family by two…
- Wait Until Dark (1967)
- Dir. Terence Young
Feat. Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna
- A blind Audrey Hepburn is trapped in her apartment by psycho–beatnik Alan Arkin, who's looking for hidden heroin. Based on a stageplay, this…
- Sadist, The (1963)
- Dir. James Landis
Feat. Arch Hall Jr.
- Like BADLANDS, this little–known drive–in flick is based on the infamous Starkweather murder spree of the late 50s, and is never less…
- Knife in the Water (1962)
- Dir. Roman Polanski
Feat. Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz
- The old adage 'three is a crowd' is chillingly played out in Polanski's directing debut about a couple's troubled yachting weekend with a…
- Peeping Tom (1960)
- Dir. Michael Powell
Feat. Karlheinz Bohm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey
- While Hitchcock's PSYCHO received raves reviews and general acceptance, Michael Powell's equally contentious but brilliant film was condemned as…
- Kiss Before Dying, A (1956)
- Dir. Gerd Oswald
Feat. Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Joanne Woodward…
- The first and best version of Ira Levin's (ROSEMARY'S BABY) early novel, in which status–anxious student Wagner plots the murder of his…
- Most Dangerous Game, The (1932)
- Dir. Ernest B Shoedsack, Irving Pichel
Feat. Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks
- This mother of all chase–movies was adapted from Richard Connell's book by the makers of KING KONG. A fresh–faced Joel McCrea is…