10 Psychological Thriller Movies Like Gone Girl

Released in 2014, Gone Girl is brash, star-studded, and stuffed to the brim with double-crosses and deadly matrimony. Adapted from Gillian Flynn’s bestseller, the film took a seemingly normal couple and imploded them before a plunge of media madness. In short, the movie is a tabloid case with a homicidal bend. Director David Fincher, the modern day master of suspense, managed to rattle off a sizzling slice of satire with the box office marks to match. Movies like Gone Girl may be uncomfortable to sit through at times. However, there’s no denying that fans were perversely drawn to the dysfunctional drama that ensued.

Similarly tense psychological thrillers have run rampant for much of the new millennium. Brain-benders, provocative puzzle-pieces, and outright nail-biters arrive by the dozens every year, with a few standouts that make Hollywood sit up and squirm with glee. Gone Girl was one of such standouts, raking in critical acclaim and a pretty profit of $368 million. Movies like Gone Girl are definitely tough to match in quality. However, we’ve scouted a few that come pretty damn close. They may not sport a bloody Rosamund Pike or a smizing Ben Affleck, but these 10 Movies Like Gone Girl will most surely elicit the same feelings of ‘can’t pull your eyes away’ intrigue. Bundle up!

Selection Criteria of Our List:

• All kinds of deception.
• Characters who get thoroughly played.
• A complex unfolding mystery.
• Murky, unwelcoming atmosphere.
• Selections are in no particular order.

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1. Gone Baby Gone

Gone Baby Gone is a sullen stroll down Boston’s underbelly, steadied by the hand of writer/director Ben Affleck. The story sees private eye duo Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) struggling through a flamboyant case of mass deception. Check off mystery and murkiness. That the detectives are romantically involved adds yet another layer of despair when certain events do not go according to plan.

Gone Baby Gone is a stalwart affair in terms of acting performance. The film is excellently supported by Ed Harris, Amy Ryan, and a confounding Morgan Freeman as Captain Jack Doyle. As one of a few movies like Gone Girl, it’s a narrative that flips normality into turmoil, something rookie director Affleck revels in wholeheartedly. Ben may not possess Fincher’s delicate cinematographic touch, but the trauma-laden storyline is more than sufficient as a neo-noir bummer.

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2. Zodiac

Another Fincher flick, this time centered around the serial killer who terrified San Francisco in the 60’s and 70’s. Pulled from actual historical records and personal recounts, Zodiac is a fascinating ‘whodunit’ thriller that immediately pulls its audience in. Much like Gone Girl, the film’s three leads (Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr.) fall victim to the uncertain shifts of public perception.

Even when a resolution seems close, the smallest ounce of doubt throws any hope of justice into a loop for Zodiac’s victims. It’s a morbid watch that tackles many disturbing psychological nuances similar to those in Gone Girl. Zodiac is sort of a 70s precursor to how murder could become glamorous in the right light.

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3. Memento 

Christopher Nolan’s Memento is a movie some might be surprised to see when discussing similarities to Gone Girl. Granted, they seem a little opposing on the budgetary and box office end of things. However, both films share a devout obsession with perceptions of normality – namely, in marriage.

Memento’s protagonist, Lenny (Guy Pearce), was the victim of a robbery that left him with short term memory loss and a dead wife. His desire to wreck revenge is framed by fleeting impressions of an ideal relationship which ecbo back to the early matrimonial ties of Pike and Affleck. On a murkier note, Lenny’s quest raises many questions about the ambiguous tattoos on his body and the true identity of the killer – well-crafted elements of uncertainty that trigger unsettling feelings of dread. Definitely a must-watch for those looking for more psychological thriller movies like Gone Girl…. with an added memorial twist.

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4. Prisoners

Lucky Jake Gyllenhaal gets a second spot on the list, this time as an obsessive detective tasked to solve a kidnapping. Playing double-dutch between his superiors and a bereaved father (Hugh Jackman), this troubled cop quickly descends into a psychological abyss not unlike Affleck’s Nick Dunne.

Marital issues rear their ugly head once more in Prisoners, especially in emotionally taxing scenes between Jackman’s character and wife (Maria Bello). Like Gone Girl, the emotional tension builds gradually amid a looming mystery too painful to leave unsolved. This is an unsettling film that lingers long after it’s credits roll, striking a strong affinity to other gleefully disturbing movies like Gone Girl.

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5. Side Effects

A frightfully tense psychological thriller, Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects has “movie like Gone Girl” written all over it. What looks like a playful marriage between Martin (Channing Tatum) and Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) comes to a shocking revelation almost immediately. The film does not shy away from portrayals of mental instability that mirror those of Gone Girl’s Nick and Amy. Granted, the cause is due to fictional drugs and antidepressants, but the results remain painfully similar in emotional consequence. Fleshed out further by a supporting cast of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vinessa Shaw, Side Effects is an effective little side stop on the way to Gone Girl lane.

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