9 Psychological Thrillers That Will Keep You Second-Guessing
19 October 2026
There’s something irresistible about watching a character let a suspicious person into their home. It’s even more unsettling when they’ve already handed them a spare key.
These psychological thriller movies and shows put trust under serious pressure. We’re starting with recent releases, then revisiting a few earlier stories with unfinished business. They also make haunting additions to a Halloween movie night.
Recent Psychological Thriller Movies
A new nanny, an unusual rental offer, and a boss stranded with his employee put trust to the test. Even a motivational speaker finds herself losing control.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (2025)
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle begins with Caitlin Morales welcoming nanny Polly Murphy into her home, expecting some much-needed help with family life.
As the newcomer settles in, trust within the household begins to crumble. Caitlin grows suspicious of the woman she’s invited close to her children, but untangling Polly’s intentions means questioning her own judgment. The uneasy balance between the two women was central to how the cast and director approached the remake.
Stream The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (2025) on Disney+ now
The Man in My Basement
Charles Blakey is out of work and close to losing the Sag Harbor house his family has owned for generations. Then Anniston Bennet turns up with enough money to clear Charles’s debts, in exchange for renting his basement for the summer. The arrangement draws both men into a disturbing power struggle, forcing Charles to confront his family’s past.
Stream The Man in My Basement on Disney+ now
Send Help
Surviving a plane crash is enough to deal with. Linda also has to contend with her boss.
Stranded on a deserted island, Linda Liddle and Bradley Preston are the crash’s only survivors. Cooperation is essential, but their workplace grievances have made it ashore, too. As they struggle to stay alive, the balance of power shifts and their strained partnership becomes a vicious contest over who’s really in charge. In Sam Raimi’s darkly comic thriller Send Help, office politics become a matter of life and death.
Stream Send Help on Disney+ now
Control Freak
A motivational speaker makes her living helping other people take charge. Then an itch at the back of her head refuses to leave her alone.
Kelly Marie Tran stars in this psychological horror movie, which turns an everyday irritation into something deeply unsettling. The scratching won’t stop, and being able to deliver a convincing pep talk offers little comfort when your own body won’t cooperate.
Stream Control Freak on Disney+ now
Psychological Thriller Shows
These thrilling shows let each mystery unravel at its own pace.
Furious
Furious follows Alice Black, who has traded NYPD homicide work for the bottom rung of the FBI. Her next case is hardly an easy introduction. She’s hunting Catherine, a calculating serial killer who uses carefully manufactured intimacy to get close to people.
Catherine has her own ideas about justice, and waiting for an arrest warrant isn’t one of them. As the women’s lives become entangled, Alice’s pursuit pulls her into increasingly murky moral territory.
FX’s The Shards
FX’s The Shards is a seductive drama based on the acclaimed bestselling novel of the same name. Set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, the show follows Bret, an aspiring writer and observant teenager at an elite prep school, and his glamorous social circle as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession, and the dangers beneath American adolescence. Their privileged world of wealth, beauty, parties, and excess begins to unravel with the arrival of Robert Mallory, a mysterious and magnetic new student whose appearance coincides with the terror of The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city.
Stream FX’s The Shards on Disney+ now
Paradise
Agent Xavier Collins discovers a murder victim in a peaceful community populated by some very powerful people. Soon, he’s questioning everything he knows about the place he calls home.
With suspicion closing in, Xavier cautiously seeks help from Dr. Gabriela Torabi. Finding someone he can trust becomes almost as urgent as uncovering what happened. Dan Fogelman’s mystery show turns a seemingly secure neighbourhood into a place where even a straightforward answer deserves a second look. The questions keep coming in Paradise, season 2.
Stream Paradise on Disney+ now
More Movies That Will Keep You On Edge
These films prove a good twist never goes out of style.
Fresh
Dating apps have thoroughly exhausted Noa, so meeting an attractive stranger in a grocery store comes as a welcome change. Steve gets her number, and a successful first date leads to an invitation for a romantic weekend away.
The promising new romance takes a horrifying turn as Steve’s concealed appetites emerge. Suddenly, awkward small talk is looking like a pretty manageable dating problem.
No One Will Save You
Brynn Adams keeps her distance from a community that has rejected her, finding comfort in the house where she grew up. Then strange noises wake her in the night, and the intruders aren’t human.
With extraterrestrial beings inside her refuge, Brynn must fight to survive an invasion that also forces her to confront her past. Brian Duffield’s sci-fi thriller makes staying home a spectacularly ineffective way to avoid trouble. Duffield also directs the survival thriller Whalefall, coming to cinemas October 15 in Australia.
Stream No One Will Save You on Disney+ now
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The information in this article is correct as at the time of publication.
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