Psychological thrillers depict the unstable or delusional psychological states of its characters. They focus on the complex and often tortured relationships between obsessive and pathological characters. In this edition of Trends of Terror, film critic Steve Hutchison reviews 64 psychological thrillers sorted from best to worst. How many have you seen?
Ready Player One
The balance and safety of a virtual game is compromised by a corporation that will stop at nothing to win.
United States2018
Feature Film
Realism:
Supernatural
Animals:
Dinosaur
Gorilla
Imaginary
Stalker:
Sneaker
Trespasser
Government:
Army
Fascist
Trickster:
Gamemaster
Hacker
Catastrophes:
Collapse
Crash
Explosion
War
Dimensional:
Cartoon
Meta
Unknown
Giant:
Colossus
Kaiju
Mecha
Robot:
War Robot
Drone
Wizards:
Evoker
Conjurer
Abjurer
Flawless victory!
Effects
Dialogue
Plot
Where to start? Well, Steven Spielberg directed this masterpiece, so it goes without saying that the cinematography is spotless. But it’s better than that. Nothing, here, is random. In fact, this movie is perfect in every way. Every crucial element of the story is carefully planted early on. You’ll have to watch this repeatedly to catch all the Easter eggs and references.
Batman, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Chucky, King Kong, Beetlejuice, Goro, the Chestburster, Michael Jackson and MechaGodzilla make small appearances. Superman, Marty McFly, Bill & Ted, Ferris Bueller and Buckaroo Banzai are mentioned. The Terminator, Steve Jobs, Robert Zemeckis and John Hugues are also referenced, but The Shining gets the best homage. Wait for it!
This is the ultimate pop culture test! Tense, exciting, touching and sometimes scary, Ready Player One gets to our heart one way or another. There’s even a romantic story somehow blooming despite all the action and violence. This is a tight script. It’s one thing after another. Prepare for a long movie that doesn’t drag at all and barely lets you breathe. This is one of the best films ever made.
