Sayak Basu
The psychological thriller film ‘Horse Girl‘ premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, from where it was picked up for distribution by Netflix. The story of this film centers around a girl called Sarah (Alison Brie), who enjoys watching TV shows and living by herself, more than having an active social life. However, Sarah slowly starts slipping into a situation where it becomes challenging for her to differentiate between truth and the surreal daydreams she keeps having.
However, she does fondly remember the beautiful horse she used to own but somehow cannot ride now. The film is funny, poignant, dramatic, and works as a solid character study of a person whose idea of reality is slowly fading away. If you have enjoyed watching ‘Horse Girl’, here are certain films you might want to check out as well. Many of them are available on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
7. Black Swan (2010)
Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan‘ is a film about a ballerina called Nina who does not take it well when she is not offered the iconic character of the White Swan, Princess Odette, for a performance. We take a look at Nina’s life as she slowly slips into depression and takes an extreme route as a means to cope up with her loss. Natalie Portman’s performance in the leading role left everyone spellbound and also helped her win the Academy Award for Best Actress In A Leading Role.
6. Shutter Island (2010)
‘Shutter Island‘ is an intense psychological thriller by Martin Scorsese which tells the story of two detectives who find themselves on an island, in order to investigate a crime that has happened at a mental institution. However, one of the detectives, Teddy Daniels, finds it difficult to hold on to his own sanity, when a lot of issues of his own past start resurfacing one by one.
He carries on the investigation while trying to find out the difference between reality and the visions he constantly sees. Loaded with symbolism, and more stylized than any other work by Scorsese, ‘Shutter Island’ is a film you must check out.
5. Enemy (2013)
How would you react if you come to know that a person looking exactly like you is roaming around in this world, and any action of his can have severe repercussions on you as well? This is exactly the thing going on in the mind of college professor Adam when he discovers the identity of his doppelganger.
Adam creates such confusion that their lives start intertwining in the weirdest of ways. How far will Adam take his obsession before it is too late? One of the best films by Denis Villeneuve, ‘Enemy‘ is one of the best psychological thrillers of the 2010s with an exceptional performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.
Read More: Movies Like Shutter Island
4. Rebecca (1940)
‘Rebecca’ is the story of an unnamed woman who has just married a rich widower and moved to his family home. There, she is constantly reminded of her husband’s former wife whom everyone loved dearly. The housekeeper Mrs. Danvers constantly tells this young woman how great her predecessor Rebecca was.
As time passes, the shadow of the dead Rebecca looms large on this young woman’s life. Moreover, the mysterious circumstances under which Rebecca passed away also need some clarification. Hitchcock’s mastery over the craft of filmmaking is pretty evident in every frame of this movie. The story and the performances are top-notch as well.
3. The Tenant (1976)
A film by Roman Polanski, ‘The Tenant’ is the story of a man who moves into an apartment building where all the residents have difficulty in trusting each other. He comes to realize that everyone in this building is constantly spying on his/her neighbors.
With the passing of time, our protagonist begins to believe that all of his neighbors are planning to kill him. This paranoia keeps growing as his sanity starts bordering on the edge. Polanski is a master filmmaker who needs very little resources in order to create something extraordinary, and he does exactly that in ‘The Tenant’.
2. Gerald’s Game (2017)
A Netflix original film, ‘Gerald’s Game‘ is the story of Jessie who is at a country house along with her husband. When her husband dies in an accident, Jessie is left all alone, handcuffed to a bedpost. She is in this position as the two of them were trying to act out a rape fantasy her husband has always had.
After the death of her husband, Jessie starts seeing some strange visions, and it slowly dawns on us why she was unwilling to act out this fantasy in the first place. Although a horror film, ‘Gerald’s Game’ traverses into territories this genre hardly explores. Well-written characters and a fresh plot away from the run-of-the-mill stories have made ‘Gerald’s Game’ a must-watch.
1. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
One of the best psychological thrillers of all time, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ is a harrowing study in paranoia. The leading character of this film is a pregnant woman who has moved into a new house along with her husband. After a few days, she starts realizing that something is wrong with her neighbors and even her husband.
Rosemary starts fearing that all of them are together in a conspiracy against her and this somehow involves her unborn child. The performance of Mia Farrow in the leading role and the brilliant way in which Polanski builds up the tension in the film are truly spectacular, to say the least.
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