10 Best Psychological Thriller Movies Like Split

Summary Split is a thriller with a complex protagonist and intriguing themes that stand alone as a great film.

Fans of Split can enjoy similar movies with complicated characters and thrilling journeys.

Movies like Glass and Shutter Island offer psychological twists and dark storylines for fans of the genre.

M. Night Shyamalan's Split is a unique psychological thriller that caught a lot of people by surprise and there are some great movies like Split that capture that same sense of intrigue, mind-bending storytelling, and big surprises. James McAvoy stars as a man named Kevin who has an identity disorder that leads to him having 23 different personalities. When he kidnaps three teenagers, different sides of his personality come out, with a monstrous one being hidden underneath. It serves as an exciting setup for a scary, thrilling, and twisty ride.

While the big twist in Split connects it to other Shyamalan movies, it stands on its own as a great psychological thriller with a complex protagonist and some interesting themes to explore. Fans of Split can find other movies that offer similar exciting aspects of the psychological thriller genre. These movies feature complicated characters whom audiences follow on their dark journeys, movies with terrifying killers, and movies that explore a tortured mind. While Split is unique in many ways, these movies are also great options for fans.

Related Every M. Night Shyamalan Movie Plot Twist Explained Since The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan has been known for his plot twists, so which ones make sense and which are a stretch too far into silliness?

Glass (2019)

Kevin Wendell Crumb, David Dunn, And Elijah Price Face Off

When it comes to similar psychological thrillers to Split, Glass is the most obvious choice since it serves as a sequel of sorts. This movie brings together both Split and 2000's Unbreakable, as it sees the return of vigilante David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who does battle with Kevin only for them both to end up locked in the same mental institution as Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson).

While fans of the Unbreakable trilogy may have been expecting a more epic conclusion than this, the smaller approach is M. Night Shyamalan's clever way of subverting the expectations of a superhero movie. The movie keeps viewers on edge with the unique personalities that these characters all have while bringing up questions about whether any of it is true are part of a greater illusion on the part of these characters.

Red Dragon (2002)

An FBI Agent Hunts A Tortured Killer

Anthony Hopkins returns to his iconic role of Hannibal Lecter in Red Dragon, which serves as a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs. Edward Norton stars in the movie as Will Graham, the FBI agent who put Hannibal behind bars after first being colleagues with him. However, Will has to face his fears and go to Hannibal for help in catching a brutal new serial killer known as The Tooth Fairy.

As exciting as it is to see Hopkins back in his Oscar-winning role, Ralph Fiennes steals the show as the new killer. The Tooth Fairy aka Francis Dolarhyde is a terrifying and sadistic killer who targets entire families. However, he is also a severely tormented man shaped through years of abuse to the point that he feels he is being taken over by a fearsome entity known as the Red Dragon. It makes for an exciting antagonist with Will racing against the clock to find him and stop him.

Get Out (2017)

A Young Black Man Finds Himself In Danger While Visiting His Girlfriend's Family

Jordan Peele's first movie quickly cemented him as one of the most exciting new voices in horror movies. Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, a young Black man going to visit his white girlfriend's parents for the first time. While the awkward social setup is enough to put the audience on edge, it becomes clear very quickly that something is not right and Chris increasingly begins to suspect that he is part of something sinister.

Like Split, Get Out keeps the audience guessing as to what is really going on and continues to raise the stakes to wild levels. It also explores the idea of the tormented mind, but while this is seen through the troubled Kevin in Split, Get Out has Chris subjected to it against his will with the introduction of the terrifying concept of the Sunken Place.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

A Young Violent Criminal Is Reformed By The Government

M. Night Shyamalan pulls off an impressive feat with the character of Kevin in Split. He is a horrific villain seen murdering innocent people, but the movie also makes the audience feel sympathy for this tortured mental state. An even more impressive example of such a feat can be seen in Stanley Kubrick's dark masterpiece A Clockwork Orange. It follows Alex, one of the most heinous protagonists in movie history, who is a young man who gets amusement killing and torturing people.

However, the second half of the movie takes an interesting turn as Alex is arrested for his crimes and subjected to an experimental treatment therapy by the government. The movie never forgives Alex for the monster that he is but comments on the cruelty and ineffective methods of trying to "cure" him simply by warping his mind. It makes for a dark, disturbing, and fascinating piece of filmmaking.

The Prestige (2006)

Two Magicians Embark On A Deadly Rivalry

Christopher Nolan delivered perhaps his most underrated movie with The Prestige. Following two magicians who start as friends, the pair end up as major rivals, pushing each other to their extreme limits to try and one-up each other. It ultimately has serious consequences, but the build-up and tension that takes place throughout create an amazing viewing experience.

The mind games that the two characters play on each other create an unrelenting psychological war between the two men with the intriguing question of which of them will emerge victorious in the end or if they have both already lost too much. Where the movie becomes most similar to Split is with the ending of The Prestige. Both movies set up grounded and exciting thrillers only to reveal that things are not quite as simple as they seem and there is more at play.

Donnie Darko (2001)

A Young Teen Has Hallucinations About The End Of The World

Donnie Darko is another movie that taps into the psychological aspect that a thriller can provide, with another intriguing protagonist. Jake Gyllenhaal found his breakout role as he stars as the titular character, a young high school student who begins sleepwalking and having hallucinations about a man in a rabbit costume warning him about the end of the world.

Like Split, Donnie Darko is a mind-bending movie that becomes more surreal and wild as it brings audiences into the psychological world of this main character. Donnie is not a villain like Kevin, but just an ordinary kid who finds himself tasked with saving the world. It is a movie that certainly benefits from multiple viewings as it is satisfying to see how the pieces come into place to make for a richer and more engrossing experience.

Midsommar (2019)

A Group Of Americans Find Themselves In A Bizarre Cult Ritual

While Midsommar does have horror elements, the vast majority of this movie is a psychological thriller, one that provides a tense atmosphere throughout. Taking place in a Swedish commune, the film follows Dani (Florence Pugh), a grieving young woman who accompanies her boyfriend and his friends to a festival only for things to take a dark and strange turn as people begin disappearing and the bodies start to pile up.

Though Kevin is the main focus of Split, another key character is Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), one of his captives. Casey and Dani serve as survivors who have suffered a great deal and are hurt. However, the trauma they experienced plays into the new horrific situation they find themselves in, cementing their survivor status in compelling ways. Beyond the character of Dani, Midsommar is an engrossing and spellbinding horror movie with shocking twists and a dark sense of humor.

Shutter Island (2010)

A Lawman Investigates A Mission Patient As A Psychiatric Facility

Shutter Island is a thrilling movie that constantly has audiences questioning the reality and what is happening at every moment, which creates an intense viewing experience with some excellent acting. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a US Marshal who comes to a mental institution on a remote island to investigate the alleged escape of one of the patients. However, he soon finds there is something more at play and that he is in the middle of the conspiracy.

Shutter Island explores the idea of reality through its characters, showing how they perceive reality to be one thing when the world around them insists it is another way. It makes for a mind-bending collaboration Like Split,. It makes for a mind-bending collaboration between DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese , one of their best movies together. It also features an incredible supporting cast, including Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, and Ben Kingsley.

Prisoners (2013)

A Father Takes Desperate And Extreme Measures To Find His Missing Daughter

Prisoners is an intense and gripping movie from the start which served as the Hollywood breakthrough for filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. Hugh Jackman stars as a man whose daughter and her friend go missing. While the police attempt to do their job, Keller takes matters into his own hands, showing how desperate a parent can get in this situation.

Prisoners and Split are both dark and intense thrillers that maintain their difficult tone without ever losing the audience. Villeneuve is an expert at this kind of aesthetic and he draws the audience into this twisted crime story in such an effective way. Jackman gives one of his best performances as a man who goes from a protective family man to a terrifying and desperate shell of a man. The movie also stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead detective on the case and Paul Dano as the main suspect.

Joker (2019)

An Aspiring Comedian Descends Down A Dark Path In Gotham City

The character of the Joker might be typically seen as one from the superhero genre, but this movie is much more than that. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck, an aspiring comedian living a sad and lonely life in Gotham City while struggling with mental illness that no one seems to care about or have sympathy for. The movie watches as Arthur becomes more drawn to his dark and violent tendencies as a way of coping with the ugliness of the world.

Like Kevin in Split, Arthur is a fascinating and complicated protagonist, a tortured soul who is desperate for help but also capable of shocking violence. As with James McAvoy in Split, Joker only succeeds because of Phoenix's performance as he brings layers and complexity to the character which earned him an Oscar for Best Actor. The movie was a surprise box office hit and will be followed up with the anticipated sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.