20 Psychological Thrillers You Must See Before You Die

7. The Shining

One of the most influential horror films of all time, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is also an exhausting psychological thriller, both in the dramatic drop in Jack Torrance's (Jack Nicholson) sanity, and in the audiences understanding of it. Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Kubrick's adaptation is regularly cited as as one of the most iconic films ever made, and it's true that the picture is chock-full of famous film moments: "Here's Johnny"; "Red Rum"; the flood of blood pouring out of the elevator; "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy"; the closing shot (see above), which confounds our comprehension of the ending. Notable also for its troubling shoot, in which Kubrick well and truly put his stars (Shelley Duvall, who plays Wendy Torrance, in particular) through the proverbial wringer, The Shining is a true classic of the genre, and the emotions it conjures - excitement, confusion, fear, even hate - are the byproduct of a film essential to a list like this.