Many movies use our concerns as the basis for compelling stories. Whether it’s an action, suspense, sci-fi, or horror movie, there’s an underlying paranoia that the world is dangerous and everyone is lying. We outline 15 of the proposals online.
1. Conversation (1974)
“The Conversation” is a film that will stay in your memory for a long time because of its gradual build-up of tension. Harry Cole suspects his profession has taken another deadly turn after being scouted to record a couple’s conversation in a crowded park. As the events of the film progress, it still seems possible that the cowl is being watched and used as a manipulation tool. Kaul is a man who is so careful about his privacy that he hardly allows himself into his life, giving the impression that someone is always listening to another line.
2. It Follows (2014)
Upon receiving the carnal knowledge of her boyfriend, Jay realizes that she is the latest person, in the form of a friend or a stranger, to be cursed with death. Her friends initially ignore her claims, but now they must work together to help her escape or protect herself. Even though you know in your head that the creature doesn’t exist, the paranoia spreads to the viewer as well, as they become accustomed to avoiding crowded places, rooms with only one door, and constant movement.
3. Parallax View (1974)
Warren Beatty plays Joseph Frady, a reporter investigating a series of fatal accidents. He learns that the mysterious Parallax Corporation specializes in political assassinations. Ultimately, the film presents a story about how insignificant the lives of ordinary people are to the important institutions that control politics and history.
4. Contagion (2011)
The multi-focal narrative of the spread of infection is a nightmare. Everyone from investigators at the Centers for Disease Control to ordinary people struggling with the death toll around them is experiencing growing paranoia. The gut-punch ending shows how the virus spread in the first place and will make you want to wash your hands for the next 50 years.
5. The Net (1995)
Angela Bennett, played by Sandra Bullock, is an early adopter of remote work, an IT specialist who primarily communicates with others online. Things start to go south the moment she receives a suspicious floppy disk labeled “Mozart’s Ghost” containing a backdoor to her security program Gatekeeper. During her vacation, she is robbed and pursued by a man who seems to be her love interest.
6. Super Dark Time (2017)
Zach and Josh, two teenagers who have been best friends their whole lives, become estranged from each other when a horrific tragedy and subsequent cover-up sends them down a dark path of increasing paranoia and violence.
7. Klute (1971)
The only person who can help John Clute find his missing companion is a prostitute. He tries to ask her for her help, unaware that she is also in danger of losing her life. Will he be able to protect his only lead? The storyline swirls with several murders and suicides as Klute and Bree search for a former abusive client who seems to be involved in this whole situation.
8. Marathon Man (1976)
Thomas “Babe” Levy is a graduate student at Columbia University who enjoys long-distance running. He didn’t know until his brother was killed that his brother was a government agent hunting war criminals. Babe finds himself caught up in a web of stolen jewelry and a sadistic madman. Everything Babe thinks is true is suddenly proven to be false, and even his girlfriend Elsa becomes a suspect.
9. Disturbia (2007)
Young people under house arrest succumb to despair. He begins to spy on his neighbors to enliven his presence. While developing an unrequited love for one of his neighbors, he discovers that the other neighbor is a fugitive serial killer. To beat the boredom of his arrest, Kale goes on a hunt for a serial killer.
10. Pure Formalism (1994)
Onoff, a once famous French writer who has disappeared in recent years, was seen running in the rain near the murder scene and was detained by police for questioning. Onoff is confronted by the inspector and questioned about his recollection of that night’s events. This leads to a violent fight between the two men who may or may not reveal the truth.
11. Dark City (1998)
John wakes up in a hotel with no memory and learns that he is wanted for serial murder. As he searches for answers, he realizes that he is being followed by a group of aliens known as the Strangers, who are in control of the city. He may or may not have a wife, and there’s also an ad for a shady place called Shell Beach, which he may or may not have been to before. When life is unfamiliar and constantly changing, anxiety can be immense.
12. Three Days of the Condor (1975)
A CIA researcher whose hobby is reading is shocked to learn that his colleague has been suddenly murdered. Realizing that an assassin is on his tail, he must figure out who is trying to kill him. This is a classic government conspiracy movie, a cat-and-mouse game with ordinary, everyday people trying to figure out secrets that get more complicated the deeper you dig.
13. Hostel (2005)
A man persuades three backpackers visiting Europe to go to a hostel with attractive women. However, once there, they encounter a terrifying situation. The film depicts a group of American tourists traveling to Slovakia who are eventually abducted one by one by a cult that authorizes torture and bloodshed on its members.
14. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Guy, her husband, and Rosemary move into an apartment, but Rosemary begins having unusual dreams and hearing. When she becomes pregnant, she worries that her neighbors have malicious intentions towards her unborn child. This movie conveys the feeling of fear that we may have experienced.
15. Strangers (2008)
James Hoyt and his partner Kristen McKay visit a distant home and spend some quality time together. But an early morning knock on the door changes their lives. Three masked criminals break into your home. Being tortured at home is the most horrific thing that can happen, but this movie amplified that horror to a whole new level.
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Amaka Chukwuma is a freelance content writer with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics. As a result of her insatiable curiosity, she has written in a variety of B2C and B2B niches. However, her favorite subjects are in the fields of finance, health, and technology. In the past she has contributed to publications such as Buttonwood Tree and FinanceBuzz, and currently she writes for Wealth of Geeks.
