Gripping thrillers centered around serial killers, from cat-and-mouse hunts to psychological profiles.
Serial Killer Thriller Movies — 77 entries in the movies category, sortable by Title, Year, Director. Every row is ranked by community votes, giving you a crowd-sourced perspective you won't find on Wikipedia or IMDb.
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Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside th...
Psycho
1960
Alfred Hitchcock
8.4
Horror, Thriller, Mystery
United States of America
109
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
The Silence of the Lambs
1991
Jonathan Demme
8.3
Crime, Thriller, Drama
United States of America
119
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have i...
Memories of Murder
2003
Bong Joon Ho
8.1
Crime, Drama, Thriller
South Korea
131
A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.
M
1931
Fritz Lang
8.1
Drama, Thriller, Crime
Germany
110
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and ...
I Saw the Devil
2010
Kim Jee-woon
7.8
Thriller, Horror
South Korea
144
Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. Soo-hyeon, a top-secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself.
The Chaser
2008
Na Hong-jin
7.8
Crime, Thriller, Action
South Korea
125
Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who's in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting wi...
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
2019
Lee Won-tae
7.8
Crime, Action, Thriller
South Korea
110
After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, whi...
The Batman
2022
Matt Reeves
7.7
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
United States of America
177
In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.
Halloween
1978
John Carpenter
7.6
Horror, Thriller
United States of America
91
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Zodiac
2007
David Fincher
7.5
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
United States of America
157
Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes of the professionals. The Killer stops interacting with the public. However, believing he has the ...
The Black Phone
2022
Scott Derrickson
7.5
Horror, Thriller
United States of America
103
Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are...
American Psycho
2000
Mary Harron
7.4
Thriller, Drama, Crime
Canada
102
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2011
David Fincher
7.4
Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Sweden
158
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption bey...
Dirty Harry
1971
Don Siegel
7.4
Action, Crime, Thriller
United States of America
102
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.
Funny Games
1997
Michael Haneke
7.3
Drama, Horror, Thriller
Austria
109
Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
Identity
2003
James Mangold
7.2
Mystery, Thriller
United States of America
90
Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.
The Devil All the Time
2020
Antonio Campos
7.2
Crime, Drama, Thriller
United States of America
138
In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighboring backwoods, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family.
Pearl
2022
Ti West
7.2
Horror, Thriller
United States of America
102
Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions collide.
The House That Jack Built
2018
Lars von Trier
7.1
Drama, Horror, Crime, Thriller
Denmark
152
Failed architect, engineer and vicious murderer Jack narrates the details of some of his most elaborately orchestrated crimes, each of them a towering piece of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer for twelve years.
Red Dragon
2002
Brett Ratner
7
Crime, Thriller, Horror
Germany
124
Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.
Scream VI
2023
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
7
Horror, Thriller, Crime
United States of America
123
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.
I See You
2019
Adam Randall
7
Horror, Thriller, Mystery
United States of America
98
When a 10-year-old boy goes missing, lead investigator Greg Harper struggles to balance the pressure of the investigation and troubles with his wife, Jackie. Facing a recent affair, great strain is put on the family that slowly gnaws away at Jackie's grip on reality. But after a malicious presenc...
Manhunter
1986
Michael Mann
7
Crime, Horror, Thriller
United States of America
120
FBI Agent Will Graham, who retired after catching Hannibal Lecktor, returns to duty to engage in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Lecktor to capture a new killer.
Marshland
2014
Alberto Rodríguez
7
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Spain
104
The Spanish Deep South, 1980. A series of brutal murders of adolescent girls in a remote and forgotten town bring together two disparate characters - both detectives in the homicide division - to investigate the cases.
The Hitcher
1986
Robert Harmon
7
Horror, Action, Thriller
United States of America
98
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough tim...
Mr. Brooks
2007
Bruce A. Evans
6.9
Crime, Thriller
United States of America
120
A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.
The Crimson Rivers
2000
Mathieu Kassovitz
6.9
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
France
106
Two French policemen, one investigating a grisly murder at a remote mountain college, the other working on the desecration of a young girl's grave by skinheads, are brought together by the clues from their respective cases. Soon after they start working together, more murders are committed, and t...
Frailty
2002
Bill Paxton
6.9
Drama, Thriller, Crime
Germany
100
A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to kill people who were in fact "demons."
Hannibal
2001
Ridley Scott
6.8
Crime, Drama, Thriller
United Kingdom
131
After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns to America to make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling, wh...
The Bone Collector
1999
Phillip Noyce
6.8
Crime, Thriller, Drama, Mystery
United States of America
118
Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donag...
The Call
2013
Brad Anderson
6.8
Crime, Thriller
United States of America
96
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experi...
Terrifier 3
2024
Damien Leone
6.8
Horror, Thriller
United States of America
125
Five years after surviving Art the Clown's Halloween massacre, Sienna and Jonathan are still struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they're safe, Art...
Fallen
1998
Gregory Hoblit
6.8
Crime, Drama, Thriller
United States of America
124
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Hush
2016
Mike Flanagan
6.7
Horror, Thriller
United States of America
82
A deaf woman is stalked by a psychotic killer in her secluded home.
X
2022
Ti West
6.7
Horror, Thriller
United States of America
106
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.
The Hills Have Eyes
2006
Alexandre Aja
6.5
Horror, Thriller
France
107
Based on Wes Craven's 1977 suspenseful cult classic, The Hills Have Eyes is the story of a family road trip that goes terrifyingly awry when the travelers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carter family soon realizes the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actual...
Kiss the Girls
1997
Gary Fleder
6.5
Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Drama
United States of America
115
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers t...
Mindhunters
2004
Renny Harlin
6.5
Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Finland
106
Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst. Based very loosely on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
Copycat
1995
Jon Amiel
6.5
Thriller, Crime, Mystery
United States of America
124
An agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer who copies serial killers from the past.
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How is the Serial Killer Thriller Movies list ranked?
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This dataset contains 77 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.
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