The Best Thriller Horror Movie Quotes

The great thing about horror movies is that if the film contains great dialogue for the villains, then you will also cheer for the bad guy. So without further ado, here are the best thriller horror movie quotes curated by the Plotlens review team.

A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) by Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins)

I see dead people.

The Sixth Sense (1999) by Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment)

Come and play with us, Danny. Forever… and ever… and ever.

The Shining (1980)

Heeere’s Johnny!

The Shining (1980) by Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

The Shining (1980) by Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson)

Darling. Light, of my life. I’m not gonna hurt ya. You didn’t let me finish my sentence. I said, I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m just gonna bash your brains in.

The Shining (1980) by Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson)

A boy’s best friend is his mother.

Psycho (1960) by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins)

We all go a little mad sometimes.

Psycho (1960) by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins)

You’re going to need a bigger boat.

Jaws (1975) by Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider)

I have to return some videotapes.

American Psycho (2000) by Patrick Bateman ( Christian Bale)

You’re alone… Because you’re faster than the others. But not stronger…

Twilight (2008) by James (Cam Gigandet)

I wanna play a game.

Saw (2004) by Jigsaw (Tobin Bell)

Congratulations. You are still alive. Most people are so ungrateful to be alive. But not you. Not anymore.

Saw (2004) by Jigsaw (Tobin Bell)

Yes, ooo, ahh, it always starts out that way, and then comes all the running and screaming.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) by Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum)

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The Best Horror Movie Quotes To Lighten Up Your Day

Here are some of the most original terrifying horror movie quotes from the scariest movies on the planet, curated by the Plotlens review team.

“There are horrors beyond life’s edge that we do not suspect, and once in a while man’s evil prying calls them just within our range.” – H.P. Lovecraft, The Thing on the Doorstep

“They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” – Night of the Living Dead

“Keep the fire hot.” – Kista Stadler as Omi Krampus

“Have you seen what’s out there? I mean outside the gate? — Not lately.” – Pandemic

“More than anything I just want this moment to end.” – Bradley Whitford as Hadley – The Cabin in the Woods

“Eat well… Live Long.” – Rebecca Ferguson as Rose in Dr Sleep

“No screaming while the bus is in motion!” – Robert Englund as Freddy Kruger in Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

“Why did you spill your beans?” – Willem Dafo as Thomas Wake from The Lighthouse

“We all go a little mad sometimes…. haven’t you?” – Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Rober Bloch’s Psycho

“Time To Float” – Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise in It

“I need to return some videotapes.” – Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman American Psycho

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The best thriller lines from horror movies

Looking for some horror reads? Here are the best lines to get your hearts racing, courtesy of the Plotlens review team.

“A cold hand fell on Louis’s shoulder. Rachel’s voice was grating, full of dirt. ‘Darling,’ it said.”

—Pet Sematary, Stephen King

“What was going to happen to me? There were only two possibilities—they were going to let me go at some point. Or they were going to kill me.”

—The Woman in Cabin 10, Ruth Ware

“Never talk to strangers. If someone ever tries to take you, fight with everything you have. Scream as loud as you can. (He’d never told her what to do if the man was too strong and there was no one to hear her screaming.)”

—Ink and Bone, Lisa Unger

“Have you ever heard a newborn cry as it awakes from a nightmare?” the Long Walker asked. Petty was too stunned by its question to reply. “A newborn, only a few days old,” it went on. “They have nightmares, but not as you would understand. Their minds are unformed, as was your own at that age. A newborn baby can still see the world behind the world, you see? The world where my daddy lives, and me and a few others like us. They can still see us. That’s why they scream as they do.”

—Little Heaven, Nick Cutter

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline. “I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother’s grave.” “Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline. “Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”

—Coraline, Neil Gaiman

“But I’ll tell you something, Father; you give me Regan’s identical twin: same face, same voice, same smell, same everything down to the way she dots her i’s, and still I’d know in a second that it wasn’t really her! I’d know it! I’d know it in my gut and I’m telling you I know that thing upstairs is not my daughter! I know it! I know!”

—The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty

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Inspiring lines from crime thriller writers

Here are some of the most inspiring words from the most well-known crime thriller writers, curated by the Plotlens review team.

I like to come up with a massive scale concept and throw in very ordinary characters because I think if you have a massive scale concept with massive scale characters they tend to cancel each other out. People have more fun if they can imagine how either themselves or the type of people they know would react in a bizarre situation. It’s a bit boring if you know how some highly trained soldier is going to react to a situation. It’s not very interesting compared to how someone who is an electrician or a schoolteacher might react to a situation. ~Christopher Brookmyre

The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book. ~Mickey Spillane

Readers have to feel you know what you’re talking about. ~Margaret Murphy

Keep asking ‘Who wants something?’ ‘Why do they need it?’ and ‘What’ll happen if they don’t get it? ~Unknown

A man’s grammar, like Caesar’s wife, should not only be pure, but above suspicion of impurity. ~Edgar Allan Poe

Chapters are shorter than they used to be, and I have to be creative about ways to keep the pace moving: varying my sentence length, making sure each chapter ends on a note of suspense, keeping excess narration to a minimum. ~Joseph Finder

My ideas? Headlines. The human heart. My deepest fears. The inner voice that says: if it scares you, it’ll scare readers too. ~Meg Gardiner

Surprise is when a leader is unexpectedly shot whilst giving a speech. Suspense is when the leader is delivering a speech while an assassin waits in the audience. ~Unknown

I’d have to say that most of my ideas originate with everyday anxieties. What if I forgot to lock the door? What if a horrific crime happened next door? What if my daughter didn’t show up at work? What if I woke up one day and the house was empty? ~Linwood Barclay

Ideas are not the hard part of writing. I have ideas all the time. The challenge is understanding which ideas are the most interesting and powerful and dramatic, and then finding the best way to bring them to life. It’s all in the execution, because the idea is where the work begins, not where it ends. ~Jeff Abbott

If you don’t understand that story is character and not just idea, you will not be able to breathe life into even the most intriguing flash of inspiration. ~Elizabeth George

The character that lasts is an ordinary guy with some extraordinary qualities.~Raymond Chandler

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Thrilling horror quotes from film

If you love a good thriller then you will love these quotes from some of the best horror and thriller flicks to hit the big screen, all curated by the Plotlens review team.

The Exorcist (1973)

Demon: What an excellent day for an exorcism.

Father Damien Karras: You would like that?

Demon: Intensely.

Father Damien Karras: But wouldn’t that drive you out of Regan?

Demon: It would bring us together.

Father Damien Karras: You and Regan?

Demon: You and us.

The Fly (1986)

Seth Brundle: I’m saying, I’m an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over and the insect is awake.

Ronnie: No. No, Seth.

Seth Brundle: I’m saying, I’ll hurt you if you stay.

The Fog (1980)

Stevie Wayne: I don’t know what happened to Antonio Bay tonight. Something came out of the fog and tried to destroy us. In one moment, it vanished. But if this has been anything but a nightmare, and if we don’t wake up to find ourselves safe in our beds, it could come again. To the ships at sea who can hear my voice, look across the water, into the darkness. Look for the fog.

Freaky (2020)

Millie: You know, I learned something when I was in your body too.

The Butcher: What’s that?

Millie: [kicks him in the balls]Having balls sucks.

See more Freaky Quotes

Fright Night (2011)

Charley Brewster: You read way too much Twilight!

Ed: That’s fiction! Okay? This is real! He’s a real monster, and he’s not brooding, or lovesick, or noble. He’s the f***ing shark from jaws! He kills. He feeds, and he doesn’t stop until everybody around them is dead! Now, I’m seriously so angry you think I read Twilight!

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Seth: I don’t give a damn about living or dying anymore. All I care about is taking as many as those demons back to hell as I can.

Jacob: Amen!

Get Out (2017)

Chris Washington: How did you find me?

Rod Williams: I’m the TS-m*therf***ing-A. We handle sh**t. That’s what we do. Consider this situation f***ing handled.

Glass (2019)

[as The Beast is killing Pierce]

Elijah Price: You’re fighting for the broken. You found your purpose.

See more Glass Quotes

Green Room (2016)

Darcy: Gentlemen, I hope you appreciate the situation. Things have gone south. No doubt. Now, whatever you saw, or did, is no longer my concern. But let’s be clear, it won’t end well.

Halloween (1978)

[referring to Michael Myers]

Dr. Sam Loomis: I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding. Even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes, the devil’s eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realized what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply evil.

Sheriff Leigh Brackett: It’s Halloween. Everyone’s entitled to one good scare.

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Great quotes from thriller writers

Find inspiration in these quotes from crime thriller writers curated by the Plotlens review team.

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard

Writing is the flip side of sex – it’s good only when it’s over. ~Hunter S Thompson

My task, which I am trying to achieve, is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel – it is, before all, to make you see. ~Joseph Conrad

Write every day even if it is just a paragraph. ~Michael Connelly

All the information you need can be given in dialogue. ~Elmore Leonard

Have something you want to say. ~Ian Rankin

Any author, like their protagonist, must endure sacrifice, or be willing to do so,~Unknown

There are only two pieces of advice any would-be writer needs. The first is Give up. Those who heed that don’t need to hear the second, which is Don’t give up.~Mick Herron

My purpose is to entertain myself first and other people secondly. ~John D MacDonald

I never read a review of my own work. Either it was going to depress me or puff me up in ways that are useless. ~Paul Auster

I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite. ~G K Chesterton

I abhor crime novels in which the main character can behave however he or she pleases, or do things that normal people do not do, without those actions having social consequences. ~Steig Larsson

The best crime novels are all based on people keeping secrets. All lying – you may think a lie is harmless, but you put them all together and there’s a calamity. ~Alafair Burke

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The Best Thriller Books of All Time

What makes a thriller thrilling? Nonstop action, precarious situations, hair-raising suspense, and heroic characters all exemplify the best thrillers on the market, and here are just some of the best curated by the Plotlens review team.

For your reading pleasure, we’ve compiled a list of real double-trouble: the world’s best thrillers, featuring both recent and timeless stories. They’re organized by 10 popular thriller categories.

1. The Spy Thriller The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré (1963) is the quintessential espionage thriller. Set during the Cold War, this rich tale still captivates with its spellbinding portrayal of the world of secret agents. And don’t miss: any of Daniel Silva’s novels featuring Gabriel Allon, art restorer and former Israeli assassin. The most recent, The English Girl, came out in 2012.

2. The Techno Thriller Ian Fleming started it all with James Bond and his arsenal of clever gadgets, some not so far-fetched anymore. The best Bond book? From Russia with Love (1957). But 1950s James Bond could never have imagined the dizzyingly high-tech world we live in now, or the questions that would arise about online identity and surveillance. For a 2013 seat-of-your-chair thriller that’ll make you think about where we could be headed, read Dave Eggers’ The Circle.

3. The Classic Thriller The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (1898) was one of the world’s pioneering thrillers, introducing this genre, unknown at the time, to worldwide acclaim. More recently, Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic The Stand is an undisputed classic. Originally published in 1978, the master of horror released a longer, “uncut” version in 1990, with a new paperback incarnation in the summer of 2012. Terrifying at any length.

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The best horror movie quotes

We all love to be scared, even if it’s just a little, and these horror movie quotes provide the safest way to experience the thrills and chills, curated by the Plotlens review team.

Bird Box (2018)

Charlie: People who’ve actually seen these creatures almost always describe their encounter as this, as with an entity that takes on a form of your worst fears, or your deepest sadness, or your greatest loss.

The Birds (1963)

[to Melanie; referring to the attacking birds]

Mother in Diner: Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you’re the cause of all of this. I think you’re evil. Evil!

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

[referring to the sounds they heard in the night]

Michael Williams: They’re people f***ing with our heads.

Heather Donahue: But no one knows we’re out here.

Michael Williams: Yeah, but have you ever seen Deliverance?

Brightburn (2019)

Tori Breyer: I will never turn against our son.

Kyle Breyer: He’s not our son! He’s some thing we found in the woods.

Candyman (1992)

Claire: If you look in the mirror and you say his name five times, he’ll appear behind you breathing down your neck.

Carrie (1976)

Margaret White: He’s going to laugh at you. They’re all going to laugh at you!

If you love horror you will love what you can find at Plotlens!

Random Quotes on Crime & Thriller Writing

If you’ve been searching for the greatest psychological crime and thriller quotes ever, you’ve come to the right place. The Plotlens review team has curated the best quotes to perfectly articulate the field of crime and thriller writing.

‘The way to write a thriller is to ask a question at the beginning, and answer it at the end.’ Lee Child

‘Place the body near the beginning of your book—preferably on the first page, perhaps the first sentence.’ Louise Penny

‘I’m interested in starting stories at the moment of some crisis to see how the character deals with it.’ Paul Auster

‘Figure out what exactly is at stake, and how to establish it quickly. That’s your conflict.’ Katia Lief

‘I’m always pretending that I’m sitting across from somebody. I’m telling a story, and I don’t want them to get up until I’m finished.’ James Patterson

‘Life is about working out who the bad guy is.’ Sophie Hannah

‘An initial crisis may produce a question, one that takes the form of a challenge to the reader: Can they solve the puzzle before the answer is revealed? In its simplest form the crisis is a murder and the question is whodunit?’

‘I can’t start writing until I have a closing line.’ Joseph Heller

‘I often know how the book will end and have imagined a number of major scenes throughout, but not always how I will get there. When I’m about two-thirds done I reoutline the whole book so I know that I’m delivering on all I promised.’ Jeff Abbott

‘Crime stories are rarely about crime they’re a study of its aftermath.’

‘The only writers who survive the ages are those who understand the need for action in a novel.’ Dean Koontz

‘People don’t read books to get to the middle. They read to get to the end.’ Mickey Spillane

‘I do extensive outlines before I write a single word.’ Jeffrey Deaver

If you love anything thriller related, then check out the great psychological content at Plotlens today.

The Greatest Psychology Quotes Ever

If you’ve been searching for the greatest psychology quotes ever, you’ve come to the right place. From Freud to Jung, the Plotlens review team have curated the best quotes to perfectly articulate the field of psychology.

1. “Life doesn’t make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all.” –Erik Erikson

2. “Once you start making the effort to ‘wake yourself up’—that is, be more mindful in your activities—you suddenly start appreciating life a lot more.” –Robert Biswas-Diener

3. “We are what we are because we have been what we have been, and what is needed for solving the problems of human life and motives is not moral estimates but more knowledge.” –Sigmund Freud

4. “If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society.” –Jean Piaget

5. “If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be unhappy for the rest of your life.” –Abraham Maslow

6. “Everything can be taken from a man, but the last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitudes in any given set of circumstances.” –Viktor Frankl

7. “We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. Knowing the contents of a few works of literature is a trivial achievement. Being inclined to go on reading is a great achievement.” –B.F. Skinner

8. “Probably the biggest insight… is that happiness is not just a place, but also a process. Happiness is an ongoing process of fresh challenges, and it takes the right attitudes and activities to continue to be happy.” –Ed Diener

9. “It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.” –Ellen J. Langer

10. “For happy people, time is ‘filled and planned.’ For unhappy people, time is unfilled, open and uncommitted; they postpone things and are inefficient.” –Michael Argyle

11. “The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived.” –Soren Kierkegaard

12. “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” –Virginia Satir

13. “The best way to find out whether you’re on the right path? Stop looking at the path.” –Marcus Buckingham

14. “Every person on this earth is full of great possibilities that can be realized through imagination, effort, and perseverance.” –Scott Barry Kaufmann

15. “Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it’s not our there is that it’s inside us.” –Sonja Lyubomirsky

16. “When we encounter an unexpected challenge of threat, the only way to save ourselves is to hold on tight to the people around us and not let go.” –Shawn Achor

17. “The truth is, bad things don’t affect us as profoundly as we expect them to. That’s true of good things, too. We adapt very quickly to either.” –Daniel Gilbert

18. “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” –Carl G. Jung

19. “Be content with what you have. Rejoice in how things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking the whole world belongs to you.” –Lao Tzu

20. “Compassion does not render people tearful idlers, moral weaklings, or passive onlookers; but individuals who will take on the pain of others, even when given the chance to skip out on such difficult action or in anonymous conditions.” –Dacher Keltner

21. “When we are open to new possibilities, we find them. Be open and skeptical of everything.” –Todd Kashdan

22. “It’s more selfless to act happy. It takes energy, generosity, and discipline to be unfailingly light-hearted. Yet everyone takes the happy person for granted.” –Gretchen Rubin

23. “Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it.” –Albert Schweitzer

24. “Genuine feelings cannot be produced, nor can they be eradicated… the body sticks to the facts.” –Alice Miller

25. “Becoming is better than being.” –Carol S. Dweck

If you love anything thriller related, then check out the great psychological content at Plotlens today.