First Person Psychological-Thrillers

[EyeSeeCold]

Pi
Secret Window
The Machinist
American Psycho

Any more to add?

 

[ShipwreckSilence]

We're talking book, yes?

 

[EyeSeeCold]

^ Movies. First person as in the story is focused on one main character who spirals into psychosis.

 

[Saeros]

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

That's the only one I can think of at the moment. It's an interesting movie.

 

[ShipwreckSilence]

Fight Club

Hard Candy

Funny Games U.S.

Donnie Darko

Oldboy (Oldeuboi)

In a Glass Cage (Tras el Cristal)

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Any more dense movies? Pi is an excellent example of what I'm looking for. Thanks so far.

 

[snafupants]

memento?

 

[ShipwreckSilence]

The Waking Life is pretty dense and psychological as far as concept goes. Also The Science of Sleep. Both aren't exactly thrillers though.

El Bufalo De La Noche is quite possibly exactly what you're looking for. Very tense and about a schizophrenic guy and his best friend kind of getting sucked in to his world.

 

[snafupants]

- adaptation
- requiem for a dream (latching onto aronofsky)
- naked lunch
- spider
- videodrome (a lot of cronenberg)
- scanner darkly
- psycho
- rear window (hitchcock basically started the genre)
- repulsion (imao, really good example)
- unbreakable
- the shining

cronenberg is a wild director, crash, naked lunch, the aforementioned movies, all weird and atmospheric. kubrick is still king however.

holy crap!, just realized that stephen king totally ripped off cronenberg and the movie scanners for the breakers in the dark tower series, hearts in atlantis, etc. this is huge; what a little bitch. for those who have seen scanners:

 

[DarkGreen]

Tess of the D'Ubervilles

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Thanks for those, any other genre just won't do (besides Comedy). Movies are too predictable nowadays.

 

[420MuNkEy]

I'm not sure if it fits into the category, as it's more of a sine wave than a spiral... but:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I see Fear and Loathing as a comedy, but it does has intense moments.

 

[Thaklaar]

Most of Lynch's stuff would fit, I'd say.

 

[snafupants]

Most of Lynch's stuff would fit, I'd say.

your totally right, how was the comparison between memento and mulholland drive not made yet? both ostensibly involve an amnesiac trying to piece their past back together why the world keeps moving around them. good call, overall, with lynch. lynch is a modern day hitchcock, on acid and thirty scoops of coffee.

 

[Smooch]

Mr. Brooks ?

 

[Solitaire U.]

Loosely defining 'thriller' here:
Eraserhead
The Wall
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Apocalypse Now
Limitless

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Loosely defining 'thriller' here:
Eraserhead
The Wall
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Apocalypse Now
Limitless

* possible spoiler below*

I've seen Apocalypse Now and yea that's what I'm looking for.

Limitless is alright, it ended up being a 'positive' film though which was weird, when I usually expect(and am comfortable with) a negative ending.

 

[Puffy]

I notice that Snafu listed Roman Polanski's Repulsion but I'll reiterate it because I think it meets your criteria precisely - about a protagonist slowly descending into psychosis. It's also a favourite of mine, so I hugely recommend.

It was a big influence on Aronofsky's Pi and his more recent Black Swan (which actually fits your criteria as well.)

Repulsion was a part of a trilogy with Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant, they both meet the same criteria as well, but Repulsion was the superior of the three to me.

 

[lungs]

oh yes black swan is amazing.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Thanks, by now the thread isn't just for me but I appreciate the suggestions.

Will take a while for me to see them all.

 

[LTVX]

As mentioned before most Lynch movies but here are some of my personal favs:

Persona
Taxi Driver
Belle de Jour

Also irreversible but I don't know if that passes for a first person movie it is more of a detached narrative.

 

[lungs]

oh, raging bull. its the only movie thats ever made me feel naseous.

 

[NoID10ts]

The remake of "Maniac" with Elijah Wood that's coming out this year is actually shot in first person.

This is a red band trailer, but it's all I could find.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPdzB1oGifw

 

[LTVX]

oh, raging bull. its the only movie thats ever made me feel naseous.

How come?

 

[lungs]

How come?

it reminded me of an abusive ex-boyfriend tbh. i remember trying to explain to people what it was like to be in that relationship and never being able to find the words and feeling this rush of disgusted recognition that made me sick when i saw that movie. the claustrophobic atmosphere and all the little details of the character's brand of craziness.

 

[LTVX]

Interesting, I can imagine some scenes especially those where in Jake get's physically abusive can evoke such feelings. What I find more interesting in both Taxi Driver and Raging Bull is how unaware the protagonist is of his emotional world.

 

[Moseley]

Shutter Island perhaps?

And also Synecdoche, New York. I love this movie, it's insane in a subdued way. I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but it does have a sort of negative ending (or at best neutral).

 

[nanook]

i maintain a list of movies called bardologic.
there is some overlap with this thread, but ... well categories, always good for a brainfuck.

 

[gedanken]

sin city.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

i maintain a list of movies called bardologic.
there is some overlap with this thread, but ... well categories, always good for a brainfuck.

Took a quick look; Altered States, forgot to mention that one, though it's less of a thriller and more of a trip.

 

[Solitaire U.]

More of a trip...Peter Weir's The Last Wave (1977).