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 Statement (2003)
6.2/10
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Michael Caine, Alan Bates, Matt Craven, Ciaran Hinds, John Neville, Jeremy North...
In this nerve-jangling political thriller based on Brian Moore's novel, Michael Caine plays an elderly, mild-mannered man who, during World War II, ki... Read more
The Stepfather (1986)
5.6/10
Director: Joseph Ruben
Starring: Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack
This may look like your average mad slasher movie, but don't be misled by the packaging. This exploration of a deranged man just trying to find and ma... Read more
The Stepford Wives (1974)
5.3/10
Director: Bryan Forbes
Starring: Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman, Tina Louise, Ca...
Two women who move with their families to the quiet Connecticut town of Stepford wonder why all the local wives are in a state of perpetual bliss, but... Read more
The Stickup (2001)
6.5/10
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Starring: David Keith, James Spader, Leslie Stefanson
When a bank robber takes up residence in a small town after having gotten away with half a million dollars, country life is disrupted by a former cop... Read more
The Stone Killer (1973)
6.3/10
Director: Michael Winner
Starring: Charles Bronson, Martin Balsam, Norman Fell, Ralph Waite, John Ritter
Top detective Lou Torrey is transferred to Los Angeles and uncovers a plot by a Sicilian mafioso to use Vietnam War veterans to murder all his enemies... Read more
The Stone Merchant (2006)
Director: Renzo Martinelli
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Jordi Molla, Jane March, F Murray Abraham
University professor, Alceo, teaches History of Terrorism, and draws from personal experience having lost both legs in the American Embassy bombing in... Read more
The Story of Marie and Julien (2003)
7/10
Director: Jacques Rivette
Starring: Emmanuelle Beart, Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Anne Brochet, Nicole Garcia
Marie (Emmanuelle Beart), a beautiful woman with a mysterious past, is reunited with Julien (Jerzy Radziwilowicz), a shy clockmaker she met one year e... Read more
The Strangers (2008)
6.2/10
Director: Bryan Bertino
Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis
Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are a couple who return to their semi-secluded house after a wedding, only to find their lives thrown into chaos with the... Read more
The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
5.2/10
Director: Johannes Roberts
Starring: Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison, Christina Hendricks
Mike and his wife Cindy take their son and daughter on a road trip that becomes their worst nightmare. The family members soon find themselves in a de... Read more
The Streets of San Francisco: Season 1, Volume 1 (1972)
7.3/10
Starring: Karl Malden, Michael Douglas
This action-packed series made a star of the then up-and-coming actor Michael Douglas, who, along with Karl Malden, played a father-and-son-like duo o... Read more