TV X-Streamist | Psyched

Thrillers that toy with your mind while driving their characters out of theirs are even better when they remain unresolved for two or three nights out of your life.

Secrets and Lies (Amazon)

Not to be confused with the second-rate American version, this Australian whodunit finds a family man at the center of a mysterious child murder. As he tries to discover the real killer, his family and neighbors peel away, the aforementioned secrets and lies are revealed, and none of them are what you expected. (Six episodes)

Liar (SundanceTV/Amazon)

This is a taut little British psychological thriller about a seemingly charming doctor, his blind date with a nice teacher, and a possible rape threatening their reputations and sanity. Watch out for tricky turns that make you question your own lucidity. (Six episodes)

The Cry (SundanceTV/Amazon)

A Scottish couple and their infant son visit Australia hoping to gain custody of the husband’s older daughter, who lives there with her mother. On the drive from Melbourne to the tiny coastal town of Wilde Bay, their baby son vanishes. Panic and despair mingle with a serpentine investigation and flashbacks to the couple’s previous life. It’s an A+ addition to the missing child genre. (Six episodes) 

La Mante (Netflix; subtitles)

The beautiful, seasoned French actress Carole Bouquet plays a notorious serial killer toward the end of her prison sentence. Released to her grown son, now a detective, to help the search for a copycat killer, things hum along until she escapes custody. Okay, it’s a bit of a stretch, but the acting, plot, and setting (Paris!) suspend your disbelief.