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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".

Manhunter (1986)

7.2/10
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox

From the novel 'Red Dragon' by Thomas Harris ('The Silence of the Lambs', 'Hannibal') comes this thriller about a neurotic FBI agent specialising in s... Read more

A History of Violence (2005)

7.5/10
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Maria Bello, Ashton Holmes, Stephen Mc...

Adapted from a graphic novel, Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a quiet man living a quiet life in Indiana. A quiet shattered when a pair of fugitives wa... Read more

Point Break (1991)

7.2/10
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty

An energized, action-packed story about a young FBI agent (Keanu Reeves) investigating a series of Southern California bank robberies. In order to get... Read more

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

7.6/10
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen

From Shane Black, the man who wrote the book on buddy flicks - kicking off the "Lethal Weapon" series, comes this astonishing and hilarious directoria... Read more

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

7.8/10
Director: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann, J...

Solid sequel to "The Bourne Identity", adapted from the second book of Robert Ludlum's 'Bourne' trilogy, finds ex-CIA assassin Matt Damon attempting t... Read more

Killing Me Softly (2001)

5.5/10
Director: Chen Kaige
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Heather Graham, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Thomsen, Ian Hart

A chance encounter on a London street corner draws American Heather Graham to handsome mountain climbing buff Joseph Fiennes, and she leaves her boyfr... Read more

Gorky Park (1983)

6.8/10
Director: Michael Apted
Starring: Brian Dennehy, Ian Bannen, Lee Marvin, William Hurt

Three mutilated bodies are found in a Moscow park, and its up to a Russian policeman (William Hurt) to find the maniacal killer. Based on the best-sel... Read more

North by Northwest (1959)

8.3/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint, Leo G Carroll, Jessie Royce Landis, Ma...

One of Hitchcock's greatest films. Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill, the suave ad man mistaken for a Federal Agent, trapped in a web of intrigue that... Read more

Match Point (2005)

7.6/10
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Brian Cox, Ewen Bremner, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Penelope Wilton, Scarlett Johanss...

In his first film set in the UK, Woody Allen's slick romantic thriller follows an opportunistic tennis coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who ingratiates hi... Read more

Shallow Grave (1994)

7.3/10
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, Ewan McGregor, Keith Allen

Danny Boyle's feature film debut is a compelling and darkly humourous tale of three flatmates in a predicament after finding their newly acquired four... Read more