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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".

Lord of War (2005)

7.6/10
Director: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ethan Hawke

In this black comedy/drama Nic Cage plays opportunistic businessman Yuri Orlov who has made a killing (excuse the pun) selling the left-over Soviet we... Read more

The Astronaut's Wife (1999)

5.3/10
Director: Rand Ravich
Starring: Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Joe Morton, Clea DuVall

On a routine space shuttle mission a pair of astronauts leave their spacecraft to repair a satellite... there's an explosion and NASA loses contact fo... Read more

Blood Work (2002)

6.4/10
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Daniels, Wanda De Jesus, Tina Lifford, Paul Rodriguez, Dyla...

FBI profiler Terry McCaleb (Clint Eastwood) almost always gets to the heart of a case. This time, that heart beats inside him. He's a cardiac patient... Read more

The Warriors (1979)

7.7/10
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Michael Beck, James Remar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh

A battle of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100,000; they outnumber the polic... Read more

The Cat's Meow (2001)

6.4/10
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Starring: Cary Elwes, Edward Herrmann, Jennifer Tilly, Joanna Lumley, Kirsten Dunst, Eddie...

One of Hollywood's most notorious unsolved mysteries is the basis for this vibrant film from Peter Bogdanovich. A party hosted by newspaper mogul Will... Read more

Drive (2011)

7.8/10
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Bryan Cranston, Ryan Go...

What drives a man like the Driver (Ryan Gosling)? The character at the center of this brutal modern noir is a true enigma - stunt car operator and mec... Read more

Prisoners (2013)

8.1/10
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis, Paul Dano,...

How far would you go to protect your family? Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is facing every parent's worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is... Read more

The Odessa File (1974)

7/10
Director: Ronald Neame
Starring: Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell, Maria Schell, Mary Tamm, Derek Jacobi, Klaus Lowi...

From the best-selling novel by Frederick Forsyth comes this thriller set in 1963 Hamburg, Germany. Jon Voight plays a German journalist who launches a... Read more

The Bank Job (2008)

7.3/10
Director: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays

Inspired by the infamous 1971 robbery of a Lloyds bank in London that stumped authorities and intrigued the public. Directed by kiwi ex-pat Roger Dona... Read more

The Rock (1996)

7.4/10
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, William Forsythe

An action/suspense tale of a disgruntled marine General (Ed Harris) who takes over Alcatraz, threatening to obliterate San Francisco with high-tech po... Read more