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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".

15 Minutes (2001)

6.1/10
Director: John Herzfeld
Starring: Edward Burns, Robert De Niro, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks

When two Eastern European criminals decide that the fastest way to fame and fortune in the U.S. is infamy, they embark on a vicious, headline-grabbing... Read more

The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

6.5/10
Director: Mark Pellington
Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Debra Messing, Will Patton, Alan Bates

Based on paranormal events that took place in 1960s West Virginia, this eerie suspenser updates the story to the present. A drive from DC to Richmond... Read more

Taken (2008)

7.8/10
Director: Pierre Morel
Starring: Maggie Grace, Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Leland Orser, Jon Gri...

Liam Neeson plays a former CIA operative who needs all his super-spy skills when his daughter is kidnapped by slave traders in Paris. Produced and co-... Read more

Mississippi Burning (1988)

7.8/10
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Brad Dourif, Gene Hackman, Frances McDormand, R Lee Ermey, Gailard...

The civil rights struggle, as interpreted by Alan Parker, received seven Oscar nominations and one award (Best Cinematography). Gene Hackman and Wille... Read more

Joker (2019)

8.7/10
Director: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy

Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks -- the one he p... Read more

Wild at Heart (1990)

7.2/10
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Crispin Glover, Isabella Ros...

If Lula (Laura Dern) knows one thing in this world, it's that she's destined to be with her ex-con boyfriend Sailor (Nicolas Cage) - no matter how man... Read more

Bullitt (1968)

7.5/10
Director: Peter Yates
Starring: Steve McQueen, Simon Oakland, Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall, Norman Fell, Jacquel...

The quintessential Steve McQueen role has him as the system-bucking cop Frank Bullitt going after the killers of a government witness. Highlighted by... Read more

A Few Days in September (2006)

5.4/10
Director: Santiago Amigorena
Starring: Juliette Binoche, John Turturro, Sara Forestier, Tom Riley, Nick Nolte

An international tale of intrigue with more than a hint of satire has Juliette Binoche as a French agent on the trail of a missing CIA operative with... Read more

Cypher (2002)

6.8/10
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Jeremy Northam, Lucy Liu

Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) is an out of work accountant, stuck in an unhappy suburban life. Seeking an escape, he joins the multinational corpor... Read more

The Revenant ( Blu-ray ) (2015)

8/10
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Kristoffer Joner, Domhnall Gleeson,...

Inspired by true events, The Revenant is an epic story of survival and transformation on the American frontier. While on an expedition into the unchar... Read more