20 Psychological Thrillers You Must See Before You Die

14. The Silence Of The Lambs

A classic of the genre, Jonathan Demme's multi Oscar winning The Silence Of The Lambs has seen its status slightly reduced over the years. Despite this, it's still one of the purest psychological thrillers ever made, helmed by an iconic Anthony Hopkins performance and a dogged Jodie Foster one (both won Academy Awards). Based on Thomas Harris' sophomore Dr. Hannibal Lecter novel of the same name, the films sees Foster's Clarice Starling seek out the cannibalistic, genius doctor to ask for his help in catching another serial killer, Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). As is his want, Lecter gets inside the young agent's head, and Lambs ultimately becomes more about their twisted relationship than it does the actual hunt for Bill. Hopkins has roughly only 16 minutes of screen time, but he makes full use of it, turning in a macabre, lip smacking performance full of great lines, many of which are now classics of film lexicon. And, though some would have it that Mads Mikkelsen is better in the TV version of Hannibal (myself included), there's no reason why they can't coexist, and Hopkins' incarnation remains one of the eeriest of any on show here.