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Thrillers & Suspense

Thriller and Suspense Films promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. A genuine thriller is a film that relentlessly pursues a single-minded goal, to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging on the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax. Plots of thrillers often involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces - the menace is sometimes abstract or shadowy. Below is a grand line-up of the best in contemporary Thrillers & Suspense made since 1965. Following a similar theme, with generally a darker look is the "Film Noir" feature, well worth checking out. The exploits of "James Bond 007" may also be accessed stage left. Right: Frances McDormand makes an arrest in the Coen Bros "Fargo".

The Specialist (1994)

5.5/10
Director: Luis Llosa
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Eric Roberts, Rod Steiger

Sylvester Stallone is an explosives expert hired by Sharon Stone to wreak havoc on the Cuban-American Mafiosi (Rod Steiger and Eric Roberts) who murde... Read more

The Spiral Staircase (1945)

7.5/10
Director: Robert Siodmak
Starring: Dorothy McGuire, Elsa Lanchester, Ethel Barrymore, George Brent, Kent Smith, Rho...

This compelling suspenser stars Dorothy McGuire as a servant, left mute by a childhood trauma, caring for invalid Ethel Barrymore in a Victorian New E... Read more

The Spirit (2008)

4.8/10
Director: Frank Miller
Starring: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Eva Mendes, Paz Vega, Jaime King...

A good-guy cop is killed in the line of duty and comes back to life as shadowy crimefighter 'The Spirit', now pitted against 'The Octopus' who wants t... Read more

The Spirit ( Blu-ray ) (2008)

4.8/10
Director: Frank Miller
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, Jaime King, Eva Mendes, Sta...

A good-guy cop is killed in the line of duty and comes back to life as shadowy crimefighter 'The Spirit', now pitted against 'The Octopus' whose main... Read more

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

7.1/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curt Jurgens, Richard Kiel

Agent 007 does battle against the arch villain Stromberg and his plans for world destruction. Spectacular underwater footage, beautiful women and the... Read more

The Spy Who Loved Me ( Blu-ray ) (1977)

7.1/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Barbara Bach, Curt Jurgens, Roger Moore, Richard Kiel

Agent 007 does battle against the arch villain Stromberg and his plans for world destruction. Spectacular underwater footage, beautiful women and the... Read more

The Spy Within (1995)

4.8/10
Director: Steve Railsback
Starring: Scott Glenn, Theresa Russell, Lane Smith, Terence Knox, Katherine Helmond, Joe P...

A beautiful spy trades sex for secrets. A reclusive explosives expert is haunted by a tragic past. When these two meet, the sparks fly... but they hav... Read more

The Square (2008)

6.8/10
Director: Nash Edgerton
Starring: David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes, Lucy Bell, Kie...

Engrossing Aussie neo-noir about married construction worker Ray who has a torrid affair with the wife of a low-level gangster. When she tells him abo... Read more

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

6.9/10
Director: Kyle Partrick-Alvarez
Starring: Billy Crudup, Michael Angarano, Olivia Thirlby, Ezra Miller, Nelsan Ellis, Tye S...

What happens when a college psych study goes shockingly wrong? In this tense, psychological thriller based on the notorious true story, Billy Crudup s... Read more

The Star Chamber (1983)

6.3/10
Director: Peter Hyams
Starring: Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto, Sharon Gless

Michael Douglas is an idealistic judge who's fed up with having to release rapists and murderers due to legal loopholes and technicalities until he di... Read more