10 best movies about psychopaths

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Some of these stories will scare you, while others will make you wonder if there are similar people around you.

There has been a lot of talk and writing lately about psychopaths, sociopaths and narcissists. These people are incapable of experiencing emotions, do not know how to share experiences and are prone to manipulative behavior. There is no guarantee that you will be able to avoid communicating with them in life, and even psychopaths become heroes of movies on a regular basis. Spoiler alert!

1. Play me before I die

• Character: Evelyn Breaker.
• USA, 1971.
• Crime melodrama.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

@Hey, It’s Mr. V / YouTube

Dave Garver, a favorite of women, has an affair with one of the regular listeners of his radio show. But an easy relationship turns into a nightmare when a rejected fan begins to pursue her idol everywhere.

Clint Eastwood's directorial debut explores what human obsession can turn out to be. Evelyn Breaker would be called an emotional rapist these days. The obsessed woman at some point decides to control someone else's life, being sure that her lover himself will not cope with this task. Of course, the consequences of this will be tragic and unpredictable.

2. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

• Character: Henry Lee Lucas.
• USA, 1986.
• Biographical thriller, horror.
• Duration: 83 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The film is based on the true story of Henry Lee Lucas, who enjoyed finding new ways to kill people. The maniac committed his crimes together with his comrade, the feeble-minded criminal Ottis Toole.

The image of the killer Henry Lee Lucas is recognized as one of the most realistic in the history of cinema. The film captures the chaos and instability inherent in the mindset of the typical psychopath, and also perfectly illustrates the lack of discernment and emotional poverty that characterize such people.

3. Misery

• Character: Annie Wilkes.
• USA, 1990.
• Dramatic thriller, horror.
• Duration: 107 minutes
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Popular writer Paul Sheldon gets into a car accident and finds rescue in the house of his nurse, Annie Wilkes. The woman turns out to be a big fan of Paul's work, but loses her temper upon learning that in the upcoming novel, he is going to kill her beloved heroine. As a result of a leg injury, the writer is completely dependent on his emotionally unstable caregiver. And this is where the hero's problems only begin.

Annie Wilkes shows some signs of psychopathy, but also suffers from manic-depressive psychosis. Prone to outbursts of anger, she quickly turns from a savior into a tormentor, and you can expect anything from her.

4. Reservoir dogs

• Character: Mr. Blond (Vic Vega).
• USA, 1991.
• Crime thriller.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

Six men plotted an armed robbery of a jewelry store. At first glance, there are no flaws in their flawless plan, but in practice everything turns out to be completely different.

Mr. Blond is a true sadistic psychopath. Nothing can make him lose his temper, he is always extremely restrained and calm, which makes him seem even more nightmarish. Before cutting off the captive police officer Nash's ear, Mr. Blond casually tortures him to the cheerful tune Stuck in the Middle With You.

5. In the company of men

• Character: Chad.
• USA, 1997.
• Comedy drama.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Two old friends Chad and Howard go on a long business trip. On the way, it turns out that both were abandoned the day before by women. Then Chad persuades his friend to take it out in full: to meet some girl, seduce her, and then leave at the same time.

The main character of the film, without a twinge of conscience, causes moral suffering to others, and even gets a lot of pleasure at the same time. It is noteworthy that he is not a killer maniac at all, but the most ordinary office clerk. But his "normality" does not prevent him from being extremely cynical and mean.

6. Fun games

• Characters: Paul and Peter.
• Austria, 1997.
• Psychological thriller.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Two polite young men in white gloves enter the house of an ordinary family. Conversation with the owners gradually turns into a cruel and dangerous game.

Curiously, in 2007, director Michael Haneke reshomed his old film frame by frame. Watching the Austrian version or the new American version with Hollywood stars in the lead roles is up to the viewer.

7. American psychopath

• Character: Patrick Bateman.
• USA, Canada, 2000.
• Dramatic thriller.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

At first glance, Patrick Bateman looks perfect. He is young, educated, wealthy, looks after his appearance and moves in the circle of the same respected successful people. But behind the impeccable appearance and manners hides a real monster. And one day a man's passion for violence finds a way out.

Bateman is another prime example of the classic psychopath. The maniac is convinced that he deserves someone else's admiration and worship, and besides, he is absolutely immune to criticism. In the film, the hero's narcissism is emphasized by the fact that Patrick often and with obvious pleasure looks in the mirror. The hero's beautiful appearance is effectively combined with a propensity for physical and emotional abuse of people. Although it is not entirely clear what crimes Bateman actually committed, and which he just invented.

8. Old people don't belong here

• Character: Anton Chigur.
• USA, 2007.
• Thriller, western.
• Duration: 122 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

A simple worker Llewellyn Moss discovers in the desert two million dollars that were left there after a failed drug deal. Moss decides to keep the valuable find for himself, but hired killer Anton Chigur is already following him. Sheriff Ed Bell tries to convince Llewellyn to return the money before it's too late.

The experts called Psychopathy and the Cinema: Fact or Fiction? Anton Chigurah is the most believable embodiment of a psychopath on the screen. This guy is not worried about abstruse philosophical questions. He is cold-blooded and calculating, and also incapable of feeling guilt or anxiety. He deeply does not care where to shoot: at the door lock or at the head of a person. In short, this character is pure existential evil.

9. Something is wrong with Kevin

• Character: Kevin Khachaduryan.
• UK, USA, 2011.
• Psychological drama.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

In the past, successful writer Eva Khachaduryan is trying to mend her life after the terrible deed committed by her fifteen-year-old son Kevin. In an attempt to understand what exactly led her family to the tragedy, the woman is more and more convinced: something was wrong with the boy from the very beginning.

Young Kevin, brilliantly played by the talented Ezra Miller, torments his mother for no apparent reason. And he does it with special cynicism and icy calm on his face. Having committed a heinous crime, the guy does not express a single drop of regret or remorse. It is not known whether the deed affected him in any way. To the mother's question "Why?" he only subtly replies that he once knew, but now he is no longer sure.

10. Disappeared

• Character: Amy Elliott-Dunn.
• USA, 2014.
• Detective thriller.
• Duration: 149 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

One day, former writer Nick Dunn discovers that his wife Amy has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The incident receives wide publicity, after which the hero suddenly becomes the main suspect in the possible kidnapping and murder of his wife.

Amy, played by Rosamund Pike, is a strong, intelligent and beautiful woman raised in a dysfunctional family. Unwittingly, the parents managed to severely cripple their daughter's psyche, so it is not surprising that the girl grew up a sociopath and a murderer. Patient and ruthless, she is ready to do anything to get what she wants or to prove her innocence.