Best Psychological Thrillers on Netflix to Watch Right Now

Whether it's a serial killer, your coworker, or the girl next door, nobody really knows what goes on inside a person's head. These mind-twisting movies on Netflix reflect just that—while everything may look normal on the outside, nothing is what it seems in a good psychological thriller. From bizarre cult groups and contorted revenge schemes to split personality disorders, brace yourself for disorienting worlds unknown and plunge (or spiral) into our top Netflix picks below.

01 of 10

Circle

In this futuristic sci-fi-thriller fusion, fifty strangers wake up in a dark room to find out that they are being executed one at a time based on a set of rules that have been set by an unknown force. As they realize they have to pick one person amongst them to live, the movie gets at the root of one of the biggest philosophical conundrums: What determines the value of a human life?

02 of 10

The Invitation

Packed with stomach-churning tension, this psychological whirlwind revolves around a man who is invited to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife and her new husband. That would be bad enough, but upon arrival, he senses that something is off. His ex-wife is in a mood, her new lover is giving off major creep vibes, and some of the other guests are also acting downright weird. Is it a suburban death cult or just social anxiety? Either way, it's definitely not an invitation we'd want to accept.

03 of 10

Tau

According to every sci-fi thriller ever made, having a bunch of megacorp-serving microphones and robots in the house does not bode well for anyone. But this isn't your customary in-the-cloud AI; Tau is an intelligent robot who has been raised in a subterranean laboratory and seems to have a mind of its own. Julia (Maika Monroe) plays a clever victim who decides to outsmart her captor once she realizes his AI has a weak spot—being a bit too human.

04 of 10

Fractured

If you thought your healthcare was bad, get a load of this: Ray (Sam Worthington) goes to a hospital (accompanied by his wife) to get their daughter a scan, but hours later, they're both nowhere to be found. Oh, and just to make things worse, the hospital claims that they were never there in the first place. As can be expected, a lot of disassociated reality and paranoia ensue. Is the hospital part of a sinister conspiracy?

05 of 10

Cam

A tense thriller about identity in the digital age, the movie follows rising cam girl Alice (Madeline Brewer) who logs online one day to find her identity stolen by a cheerful doppelganger who looks exactly like her. She tries to discover who's behind her new web clone, but the world of adult entertainment is a brutal one. It's every girl (clone?) for herself, and reclaiming her spot on the throne isn't going to be easy.

06 of 10

The Perfection

Disclaimer: if you're squeamish, this movie may not be for you. However, it has all the ingredients for a good psychological thriller, including a whole lot of hysteria, desperation, and spasms of violence. It's hard to give a succinct summary, but here's a one-sentence premise: a cello prodigy returns to a premier private music facility after years of leave to find that another girl has taken her place. While you might peg it to be one kind of movie in the first half, don't be fooled. In a blink, it is something else entirely.

07 of 10

Lucy

This explosive, sci-fi thriller takes your mind through many surprises. Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) becomes an unwilling drug mule for the mob. While she is supposed to simply deliver the drugs in a briefcase, this drug leaks and is implanted into her system which unlocks knowledge beyond the universe. She seeks Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) for help to navigate her new superhuman powers.

08 of 10

Windfall

This offbeat thriller takes us through the journey of a young couple's last-minute getaway to their vacation home. Their vacation goes off the rails when they arrive to find the home being robbed. As tension rises, the robber must decide how he's going to get out of this mess unscathed.

09 of 10

1922

Based on the novella by Stephen King, this ominous film explores a simple farmer's darkest secrets. This storyline uncovers the father's plot to murder his wife for land with the reluctant help of his teenage son. However, his land faces some consequences when sinister, supernatural occurrences take over him and his farm.

10 of 10

Velvet Buzzsaw

Psychological thriller turned artsy, this film is definitely the most colorful (literally) of them all. Morf (Jake Gyllenhaal) realizes that his newly discovered art is a bit too life-like, and the plot escalates very quickly as supernatural forces start to bring paintings and sculptures to life. The Netflix film does a great job at breathing life into a group of flawed characters while playfully poking fun at the pretentious art world.

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