10 films about psychics that will impress even the skeptic

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

Hollywood stars, intriguing stories and, of course, a lot of mysticism await the audience.

1. London Fields

• UK, USA, 2018.
• Thriller, crime, detective.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 4, 0.

The femme fatale Nicola Sixx managed to subdue two very different men. Their difficult relationship is watched by the writer Samson Young, who is looking for a plot for a new novel. Everything is complicated by the fact that Nikola has extrasensory abilities and anticipates his imminent death at the hands of one of the heroes.

It is often said about the novel of the same name by Martin Amis that it is impossible to film it. The debut full-length work of Matthew Cullen, who previously shot videos for Katy Perry, unfortunately only confirms this opinion.

Initially, David Cronenberg was going to sit in the director's chair, and that could be very interesting. But long production and changes in directors went to the detriment of the final result. The picture failed on all fronts, and even the luxurious cast of Jim Sturgess, Billy Bob Thornton and other cool artists did not help.

But for fans of funny trash, this movie is perfect. And what is happening on the screen is a little saved by the very beautiful Amber Heard.

2. Ring of time

• Canada, 2019.
• Science fiction, thriller.
• Duration: 91 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 7.

James has the gift of clairvoyance, but this ability does not bring him much happiness. The hero somehow makes ends meet, trading petty fraud, and hardly finds money even for rent. Once an acquaintance of the mafiosi invites him to participate in the transportation of diamonds for a solid reward. The man agrees, but at some point everything does not go according to plan.

The film is likely to appeal to fans of time travel stories. But a damp scenario can spoil the impression: not all pieces of the plot puzzle come together in the finale. In addition, the picture lacks vivid, memorable characters.

3. Fifth dimension

• USA, Canada, 2009.
• Science fiction, action, thriller.
• Duration: 111 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 1.

Telekineticist Nick Gant meets young Cassie Holmes, who can see fragments of the future. Now they need to find another girl with supernatural powers in Hong Kong. But the heroes are on the heels of a secret government organization that exploits the miracle people for their own purposes.

The fantastic thriller from the director of Lucky Number Slevin will remind movie fans of several films at once: Blade Runner, Night Watch and even Chungking Express. And the cute tandem of Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans, who has not yet become famous for the role of Captain America, will recall the images of Matilda and Leon.

4. Red lights

• Spain, Canada, 2011.
• Horror, fantasy, thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

Scientists-skeptics Margaret Matheson and Tom Buckley are engaged in exposing healers, mediums, clairvoyants and other charlatans. Meanwhile, the famous blind psychic Simon Silver, who left the scene about 30 years ago after an accident, returns to the city. The journalist who tried to bring him to clean water, right at Silver's speech, died of a heart attack.

Tom calls on Margaret to reveal the adventurer, but she discourages him with all her might. However, by doing so, it only further fuels his excitement. Soon, mystical things really begin to happen around scientists.

Spanish director Rodrigo Cortez is great at capturing the viewer's attention. Prior to Red Lights, he directed the intense chamber thriller Buried Alive, in which he only had one actor to create a suspense.

Now, the director also has incredible artists at his disposal: Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro. And the unexpected ending completely turns the whole perception of the film upside down.

5. Prophet

• USA, 2007.
• Science fiction, action, thriller.
• Duration: 91 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

The illusionist Chris Johnson is able to look into the future, however, only for 2 minutes. A man earns his living by cheap tricks and playing poker. Everything changes when FBI agent Callie Ferris contacts him to prevent a terrorist attack in downtown Los Angeles. And then the criminals themselves get in touch with him.

Writer Gary Goldman (Total Recall) has turned Philip K. Dick's short story, The Golden Man, into a vibrant, action-packed action movie. The depth of the original, of course, is not left in the film. But the tape will appeal to fans of Nicolas Cage and those who are in the mood for purely entertaining cinema.

6. Psychics

• USA, 2014.
• Thriller, crime, detective, fantasy.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Two FBI agents try to find a serial killer, but the investigation comes to a standstill. Then one of them turns to the clairvoyant acquaintance John Clancy, who retired after the death of his daughter. He agrees and soon realizes: the maniac they are looking for is also a psychic.

The project was conceived as a sequel to David Fincher's thriller "Seven", but the director flatly refused to take the helm, and the idea of a sequel was abandoned. Then the script was redrawn several times and eventually became an independent picture. Despite the involvement of Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell, the film turned out to be weak. But for all the shortcomings of the plot, the visual side of the tape can only be praised.

7. Gift

• USA, 2000.
• Horror, fantasy, drama, detective, thriller.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Clairvoyant Annabelle Wilson lives in a remote southern province of the United States. A woman single-handedly brings up her sons, and also divines the locals on the cards. One day the police ask her to help find the missing girl. The heroine agrees, but the consequences of the story will become fatal for her.

The director of the classic Spider-Man trilogy and several great thrillers (Drag Me To Hell, The Key to All Doors) Sam Raimi directed this film from a script by Billy Bob Thornton. And the result is noteworthy. The play of the Australian star Cate Blanchett and the very expressive Keanu Reeves further adorned the ribbon.

8. From hell

• USA, Czech Republic, Great Britain, 2001.
• Horror, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 122 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

London, late 19th century. Inspector Fred Abberline is trying to catch a serial killer that is terrorizing the entire city. To enhance his natural gift of clairvoyance, the hero begins to take opium. This helps him to understand that the highest government officials of England are involved in the story with the maniac.

The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore, which offers an alternate version of the story of Jack the Ripper. True, the author himself was dissatisfied with the adaptation. After all, the creators of the tape have turned a complex and ambiguous story into an ordinary straightforward detective story.

In addition, who starred Johnny Depp is not at all like a comic book character, and in the original he was not clairvoyant. Moreover, the plot has lost many sidelines and characters.

But if you take the picture as an independent work, it turned out to be very good. The authors managed to convey the atmosphere of Victorian London, and the work with color is simply mesmerizing.

9. Hanussen

• Hungary, Germany, Austria, 1988.
• Drama, history.
• Duration: 140 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Austrian soldier Klaus Schneider is wounded in the head during the First World War. Trauma develops the ability to predict the future and read the minds of others. After the end of hostilities, Klaus takes the pseudonym Eric Jan Hanussen and moves to Berlin, where he becomes famous throughout the world. Meanwhile, in Germany, the Nazi movement is gaining strength, and its representatives are going to use the talent of the hero for their own purposes.

The film is based on the biography of a real Austrian circus artist and clairvoyant. This is the third part of the so-called "German trilogy" by Hungarian director Istvan Szabo, which also includes "Colonel Redl" and "Mephisto". And the last film even won an Oscar. In all these films, including Hanussen, the director tried to show the spiritual evolution of the heroes who found themselves defenseless in the face of difficult circumstances.

10. Doctor Sleep

• UK, USA, 2019.
• Horror, Fantasy, Thriller, Drama.
• Duration: 152 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

As a child, Danny Torrance experienced several nightmarish experiences at the Overlook Hotel. Trying to suppress his psychic abilities (the so-called "radiance"), the adult hero suppresses them with alcohol. But one day he decides to change everything.

Danny moves to another city and begins to communicate telepathically with the girl Abra. Gradually, he learns that a secret society of energy vampires is operating in the country. They feed on someone else's "radiance" in order to extend their lives.

The author of The Ghost of the Hill House, Mike Flanagan, had a difficult task: to transfer to the screen Stephen King's novel of the same name, which continues the plot of The Shining, and at the same time pay tribute to Stanley Kubrick's cult film. The director did not do it flawlessly, but very worthily.

Flanagan does not try to parasitize on other people's ideas, but seeks to interest the audience in something new. So the film turned out to be inventive and extraordinary, albeit a little too long.