20 Psychological Thrillers You Must See Before You Die

9. Irreversible

One of the most challenging, dubious, hard to watch films of all time, Gaspar Noe's Irreversible presents the viewer with a disturbing revenge thriller which pushes its characters to their limits physically, morally, and psychologically. Played out in a non-linear fashion, the film concerns a horrific rape (filmed in a seemingly endless shot which doesn't once cut) and it's aftermath, as Vincent Cassel's Marcus seeks vengeance for what has happened to his lover, Alex (a striking Monica Bellucci). Noe's distorting direction is purposely meant to disorientate the audience and mirror the revolutions going on in Marcus' head as he frantically tries to figure out what has happened and track down those that are responsible. Dismissed by many as mere pornography, Noe's film is in fact a complex - if still quite nasty - study of the nature of love and revenge, and by putting the rape early on in the picture the firebrand Argentinian ensures that it is not the film's money shot.