23+ Most Intense Movies About Madness And Insanity You Can't Miss - Endless Popcorn
Scene from Event Horizon for movies about madness post.

23+ Most Intense Movies About Madness And Insanity You Can’t Miss

Scene from Event Horizon for movies about madness post.

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Insanity can be a fascinating topic in film, providing a unique lens through which to explore the human condition. If you’re looking for some of the best movies about madness, you’re in luck. Here are some of the best films about insanity and madness you can watch: 

1.  Perfect Blue

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Perfect Blue Movie Description

After quitting her band, a singer becomes an actress and sheds her good-girl image to further her career.

2.  Repulsion

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Repulsion Movie Description

Carole (Catherine Deneuve), a beautiful young manicurist, suffers from androphobia, the pathological fear of interaction with men.

Upon her sister Helen’s (Yvonne Furneaux) departure for an Italian holiday with a married man, Carole begins to experience terrifying hallucinations that escalate into full-blown madness.

3.  The Babadook

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The Babadook Movie Description

A woman, struggling to cope with the death of her husband, is tormented by her son’s fear of a monster in the house. She soon discovers that a sinister force surrounds her.

4.  Event Horizon

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Event Horizon Movie Description

When the Event Horizon reappears after disappearing years earlier, a team is dispatched to investigate the ship. Weir (Sam Neill), the creator of the Event Horizon, accompanies the team on their journey.

It soon becomes clear that something sinister resides on the ship and that the horrors of the Event Horizon’s previous journey are still present.

5.  In the Mouth of Madness

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In The Mouth Of Madness Movie Description

After horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) scrutinizes the claim made by his publisher, Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston). Trent endeavors to retrieve a yet-to-be-released manuscript and ascertain the writer’s whereabouts.

Along with Cane’s editor, Linda Styles, Trent makes an eerie nighttime trek to a supernatural town in New Hampshire where he has disturbing nightmares after reading the author’s other novels.

6.  The Machinist

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The Machinist Movie Description

Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale), a factory worker, is so sleep-deprived that it has started to impact his health, both mentally and physically. When Trevor accidentally injures a coworker during their shift, he starts to unravel even more.

Despite having a girlfriend, Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Trevor falls into paranoia where he blames all his troubles on an enigmatic figure named Ivan (John Sharian).

7.  Requiem for a Dream

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Requiem For A Dream Movie Description

“Requiem for a Dream” explores the lives of Sara Goldfarb, a lonely widow, and her son Harry. The story is told through their interconnected relationships as Sara becomes fixated on appearing thinner for national television. Her unhealthy diet regimen to lose weight quickly puts her in danger.

8.  The Shining

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The Shining Movie Description

The Overlook Hotel is a remote and isolated destination that becomes the winter home of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family. Jack is a struggling writer who hopes that the change of scenery will help him to break through his creative block. His wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), are both nervous about staying in such an isolated place, but they eventually settle in.

Danny begins to have strange visions and premonitions that suggest there is something seriously wrong with the hotel. As Jack’s writing remains stagnant and Danny’s visions become more disturbing, Jack starts to realize that the hotel is hiding dark secrets. He slowly descends into madness and becomes determined to terrorize his family.

9.  Black Swan

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Black Swan Movie Description

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina who lives and breathes dance. The company’s artistic director decides to replace his prima ballerina for their opening production of “Swan Lake,” and Nina is his first choice. While she has competition with newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis), Nina is Perfect for the role of the White Swan.

However, Lily personifies the Black Swan. As the rivalry between the two dancers starts to turn into a twisted friendship, Nina’s dark side begins to come out.

10.  Taxi Driver

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Taxi Driver Movie Description

Taxi driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) becomes increasingly disturbed and disconnected from reality as he spends his nights driving around New York City.

When he meets campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he becomes obsessed with the idea of saving her and the world. He hatches a plan to assassinate a presidential candidate, then turns his attention toward rescuing young prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster).

11.  Shutter Island

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Shutter Island Movie Description

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner (Mark Ruffalo) investigate the escape of a brilliant murderess from a fortress-like insane asylum.

As they delve deeper, they realize that dark secrets lie within the hospital walls. To make it off the island alive, Teddy will have to confront his own fears.

12.  Fight Club

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Fight Club Movie Description

A depressed man (Edward Norton) meets a strange soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and soon finds himself living in his squalid house after his perfect apartment is destroyed.

The two apathetic men start an illegal club with explicit regulations and combat other males who are irked by their tedious lives. Their ideal companionship unravels when Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), another support group crasher, catches Tyler’s eye.

13.  Whiplash

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Whiplash Movie Description

Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is an ambitious young jazz drummer who strives to be the best at his elite music conservatory.

His passion for becoming the best quickly becomes an obsession, as his unforgiving teacher constantly challenges him to improve.

14.  Possession

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Possession Movie Description

Mark (Sam Neill) is devastated when he learns that his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) is having an affair. He becomes obsessed with learning more about her lover, Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), and their confrontations soon turn violent. As Anna’s mental state deteriorates, she reveals a dark secret that leaves Mark reeling.

15.  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

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Birdman Movie Description

Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a washed-up movie star trying to relaunch his career with a risky Broadway production.

As opening night approaches, he must deal with drama from his girlfriend, daughter, and ex-wife, as well as an actor who is sure to shake things up.

16.  Donnie Darko

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Donnie Darko Movie Description

Donnie Darko is a teenager who sleepwalks out of his house one night and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank. Frank tells Donnie that the world will end in 28 days. When Donnie returns home, he finds that a jet engine has crashed into his bedroom.

Donnie’s mental health is questioned as he tries to make sense of what is happening to him. Is he living in a parallel universe, or is he suffering from a mental illness?

17.  Misery

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Misery Movie Description

Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is involved in a car accident that leaves him severely injured. He is saved by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie brings him to her remote cabin so that he can recover.

However, Annie’s obsession with Sheldon’s work deepens when she realizes he is killing off her favorite character from his novels. As Sheldon becomes more frantic to escape, Annie grows more controlling and violent.

18.  Apocalypse Now

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Apocalypse Now Movie Description

Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has gone mad.

Along the way, he meets a variety of interesting characters, including a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer, and a crazed freelance photographer. As he travels further upriver, Willard begins to lose touch with reality.

19.  Delirium

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Delirium Movie Description

A man inherits a house from his parents after they die, but strange things start happening in the house soon after he arrives. He comes to believe that the house is haunted.

20.  A Cure for Wellness

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A Cure For Wellness Movie Description

A stockbroker on Wall Street travels to a remote location in the Swiss Alps to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious wellness center.

The man quickly realizes that the so-called ‘miraculous treatments’ are nothing but false promises, and his mental state deteriorates as he uncovers the spa’s horrifying secrets. He discovers that he has contracted the same strange illness afflicting all of the guests at the spa, leaving them desperate for a cure.

21.  Bug

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Bug Movie Description

Agnes (Ashley Judd) begins a tentative relationship with Peter (Michael Shannon), who reveals that he was deliberately infected with a bug by the military and has tiny insects under his skin.

Agnes becomes paranoid as she imagines the bugs crawling under Peter’s skin.

22.  Pi

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Pi Movie Description

Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) is a mathematician who suffers from psychological delusions of paranoia and debilitating headaches.

He lives in a disheveled apartment complex in Chinatown and spends his days futzing with equations and building computer programs. One day, Cohen encounters a mysterious number that leads to him being targeted by Wall Street agents.

23.  Unsane

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Unsane Movie Description

Sawyer Valentini moves to Pennsylvania to escape a man who has been stalking her for two years. Unknowingly, during a therapy session, she signs up for a voluntary 24-hour commitment to Highland Creek Behavioral Center.

However, when doctors and nurses start to question her sanity, her stay is extended. Sawyer begins to believe that one of the staffers is her stalker and takes measures into her own hands to ensure survival and find an escape route.

5 More Movies About Madness (Honorable Mentions)

While our top picks delve deep into the theme of madness, there are plenty of other films that also tackle this complex subject. From psychological thrillers to horror films, there is a rich tradition of exploring the inner workings of the mind on the big screen.

In this section, we highlight some honorable mentions that deserve recognition for their portrayal of madness, though they may not have made the cut for our top picks. So, if you’re a fan of films that delve into the dark side of the human psyche, be sure to check out our honorable mentions for a few more movies to add to your watchlist.

  • There Will Be Blood (2007)
  • A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  • Spider (2002)
  • Antichrist (2009)
  • American Psycho (2000)

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