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".
Police Assassins (1985)
Director: Corey Yuen Kwai
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, Tsui Hark, John Sham, Hoi Mang, Sammo Hung
Michelle Yeoh, in her second feature film, teams up with martial arts icon Cynthia Rothrock making her debut in this oestragen-fuelled buddy flick. T... Read more
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
6.4/10
Director: George Pan Cosmatos
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff
Sylvester Stallone returns as Vietnam vet Rambo, returning to Southeast Asia on a "red herring" mission to search for MIAs the government left behind.... Read more
At Close Range (1985)
7/10
Director: James Foley
Starring: Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Christopher Penn
A powerful thriller based on true events that occurred in Pennsylvania during the summer of 1978 about a gang leader returning home which leads to a b... Read more
Commando (1985)
6.7/10
Director: Mark L Lester
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Alyssa Milano
John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a former Special Forces colonel who attempts to rescue his kidnapped daughter (Alyssa Milano) from South Americ... Read more
Defence Of The Realm (1985)
Director: David Drury
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Greta Scacchi
Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi and Denholm Elliott star in David Drury's electrifying thriller. Ex-defense MP in England is caught in a KGB sex scandal,... Read more
Jagged Edge (1985)
6.5/10
Director: Richard Marquand
Starring: Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote
A publishing magnate (Jeff Bridges) is accused of the ritualistic slaying of his wife; an attorney (Glenn Close) is hired to defend him. They fall in... Read more
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
7.3/10
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: William L Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro, Darla...
Gritty, fast-paced police thriller with William Petersen as a Secret Service agent who will stop at nothing to capture slimy counterfeiter Willem Dafo... Read more
A View to a Kill (1985)
6.3/10
Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Tanya Roberts, Christopher Walken, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee
Has 007 (Roger Moore) finally met his match in lean, mean female assassin May Day (Grace Jones)? Set in California's Silicon Valley, where Christopher... Read more
White Nights (1985)
6.6/10
Director: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren
Mikhail Baryshnikov stars as a Russian defector whose downed plane lands him back in the USSR. Gregory Hines is an American defector who befriends him... Read more
Witness (1985)
7.4/10
Director: Peter Weir
Starring: Harrison Ford, Lukas Haas, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer, Jan Rubes, Alexander Go...
Harrison Ford is the cop who runs head-on into the non-violent world of the Amish community in this Academy Award-winning struggle of life and death i... Read more