An unhealthy passion for a substance/hobby has fueled many fantastic thrillers, so Redditors have compiled a list of the best fanaticism-fueled flicks.
Thewinesceltor opened the discussion in r/horror, AKA Dreadit, by writing, “Looking for horror/ psych thriller movies surrounding obsession with a vice/hobby that eventually drives the lead character mad” before adding several of their own recommendations.
Among them are Black Swan (obsession with perfection), Misery (romance novel obsession), Nightcrawler (documentation obsession), Requiem for a Dream (drug obsession), and Whiplash (drumming obsession).
Both Wraithlord592 and volcanodad seconded Whiplash, while icelizarrd suggested the 2021 film Pleasure, which is about a woman from rural Sweden who moves to LA to do porn, for being “a bit Whiplash-like with the obsessive pursuit of a career.”
Pi, Darren Aronofsky’s first film, which is about a mathematician searching for a universal formula, is the highest-upvoted suggestion in the thread.
Other top choices are Audition (attraction obsession), The Prestige (magic obsession), Zodiac (criminal investigation obsession), Taxi Driver (justice obsession), The House That Jack Built (killing obsession), and The Number 23 (number 23 obsession).
The Machinist, for which Christian Bale famously lost 60 pounds to play a man obsessed with solving a mystery, also got a few shoutouts.
We’ll recommend Raw and Swallow — the former deals with an obsession for meat, and the latter covers addiction to eating inedible objects.
Do you know of any other obsession-themed thrillers? If so, you can let us know on social media.