Instead of Cardio: 5 Brilliant but Lesser-Known Psychological Thrillers

Exercise is important for your health because it helps your heart work properly to pump blood throughout your body. But sometimes you just feel too tired to move. In that case, these five movies can get your heart racing.

One Hour Photo (2002, 6.8 on IMDb)

Available on: Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime

In Mark Romanek's movie, Robin Williams stars as Sy Parrish, a photo technician whose life is nothing but miserable because he has no friends or lovers. Over the years at his job, Sy has become obsessed with the Yorkins, a family of regular customers whose photos he has been secretly collecting at home, but has never been able to connect with them until one day everything changes.

The Gift (2015, 7.0 on IMDb)

Available on: Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime

Joel Edgerton's psychological thriller follows his character, Gordo Moseley, as he reappears in the life of a former classmate decades after high school. Initially excited to see his old buddy, Simon grows wary of Gordo as he intrudes on Simon and his wife with unannounced visits and unsolicited gifts. And the couple's life, already complicated by the struggle to have a baby, becomes even more troubled.

Frailty (2001, 7.2 on IMDb)

Available on: Apple TV+, Amazon Prime

The film centers on FBI Agent Wesley Doyle, who is visited one day by Fenton Meiks, who says that his dead brother Adam was an accomplice in a series of murders by a killer nicknamed God's Hand because of their religious context. Fenton reveals that their widowed father said he was visited by an angel and given the task of eradicating demons who disguise themselves as humans and live on Earth, which began a series of murders that Adam participated in because of his strong faith. But as Fenton tells the story, it turns out to be more complicated.

Mr. Brooks (2007, 7.3 on IMDb)

Available on: Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime

This thriller follows Kevin Costner's Earl Brooks, a successful businessman living in Portland with his happy family. But Mr. Brooks has a secret. Behind the mask of a benevolent father and patron is an insatiable serial killer. Mr. Brooks has managed to keep his secret because even the police can't catch him. But his life is threatened when a local photographer catches him in the act and blackmails him for the chance to be present at his next murders.

Match Point (2005, 7.6 on IMDb)

Available on: Apple TV+, Amazon Prime

Woody Allen's film begins as a romantic drama, following the affair between Chris Wilton, a former tennis player who has just married into the wealthy Hewett family, and Nola Rice, Chris' friend and brother-in-law's girlfriend. As the affair bears fruit and Nola becomes pregnant, unlike Chris' wife, the situation becomes more complicated – and, with money at stake, more dangerous.