A psychological thriller movie can be best defined as the mixture of psychological tension, horror, crime and mystery that is successful in giving the audiences a heart-to-mouth feeling as if the heart is a funeral drum beating continuously.
Silence of the Lambs by Jonathan Demme was definitely a ground-breaking movie of this particular genre, but several other psychological thrillers came out during the ‘90s which can be rightly termed as pure classics too. So here is a list of 5 best psychological thriller classics from the ‘90s you will enjoy watching :
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI’s training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter who is a brilliant psychiatrist but also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for several insidious acts of murder and for cannibalism practices. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case he is working on and that Starling, being an attractive young woman, may become a significant help in pulling information out of his mouth.
Starring:
Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling.
Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford.
Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
The Good Son (1993)
Mark is a young boy who after losing his mother, stays with his extended family while his father is away on business. He becomes fast friends with his cousin Henry. However, the extent of Henry’s wickedness becomes clear when Mark sees him kill a neighbour’s dog ruthlessly and then intentionally creating a traffic chaos on the highway. After an accident on an icy pond with Henry’s sister Mark tries to reveal Henry’s crimes before it gets too out of control.
Starring:
Elijah Wood as Mark.
Macaulay Culkin as Henry.
Quinn Culkin as Henry’s sister Connie.
Pi (1998)
Numbers whiz Max Cohen is very often haunted by psychological delusions of paranoia and suffers from debilitating headaches every day. He lives in a messy little Chinatown apartment, where he plays around with mathematical equations and his homemade, super-advanced computer. One day, however, Cohen discovers a mysterious number. Soon after reporting this to his mentor and to a religious friend he finds himself becoming the target of ill-intentioned Wall Street agents who are determined to get this number willing to go lengths for the same.
Starring:
Sean Gullette as Max Cohen.
Mark Margolis as Max’s mentor.
Ben Shenkman as Max’s religious friend.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Cole Sear is visited by ghosts everyday who sometimes scare and threaten him but mostly want to ask for help. He is very frightened by these visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows because he does not understand what is going on and why him? He is too afraid to ask for help. He finally confides about his despair in tell a disheartened Dr. Malcolm Crowe who tries hard to uncover the truth about Cole’s supernatural abilities. The result for both is a major shock in unexplainable and previously unknown situations.
Starring:
Haley Joel Osment as Young Cole Sear.
Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
Dean Corso is a specialist in tracking down and buying rare and exotic books for collectors. Boris Balkan has recently laid his hands on a seventeenth – century satanic text called ‘The Nine Gates’ – a book said to be written by the Satan himself. With The Nine Gates in his possession, Corso soon finds himself between several strange and violent occurrences. Not only is his apartment destroyed, but he is also being ferociously stalked by a few unknown people who will do anything to get back the book.
Starring:
Johnny Depp as Dean Corso.
Frank Langella as Boris Balkan.
