Login

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".

Blow Out ( Blu-ray ) (1981)

7.4/10
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Dennis Franz, John Lithgow, John Travolta, Nancy Allen

In the enthralling 'Blow Out', brilliantly crafted by Brian De Palma, John Travolta gives one of his greatest performances, as a movie sound-effects m... Read more

Best French Crime Flicks ( The Professional / The Gypsy / Choice of Arms ) (1981)

Director: Alain Corneau, Georges Lautner, Jose Giovanni
Starring: Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Jean Desailly,...

A collection of three rough and tough French crime dramas. "The Professional" ("Le Professionel") (1981) - French secret agent Joss Beaumont (Jean-Pau... Read more

Death Hunt (1981)

7/10
Director: Peter R Hunt
Starring: Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Andrew Stevens, Carl Weathers, Ed Lauter, Angie Dic...

Unflinching Mountie Lee Marvin withstands the rugged Canadian wilderness to bring in maverick fur trapper Charles Bronson, who's determined not to be... Read more

Green Ice (1981)

5.6/10
Director: Ernest Day
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Anne Archer, Omar Sharif

A skilled team of professionals plot to steal an enormous cache of emeralds, but their daring get-rich-quick scheme lands them in the middle of the co... Read more

The Salamander (1981)

6.2/10
Director: Peter Zinner
Starring: Franco Nero, Anthony Quinn, Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning, Eli Wallach, Claudia...

Based on Morris West's best-selling novel, this tense political thriller explores the world of treasonous politics, love and high finance. In Italy's... Read more

Hoodwink (1981)

6.5/10
Director: Claude Whatham
Starring: Michael Caton, Max Cullen, Colin Friels, Wendy Hughes, Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis

Combining thrilling crime caper with unexpected romance, 'Hoodwink' tells the extraordinary story of Martin Stang (John Hargreaves), a cunning bank ro... Read more

Eyewitness (1981)

6/10
Director: Peter Yates
Starring: William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods, Morgan Freeman

This sharp-witted whodunit tells of a night janitor (William Hurt) who falsely claims to have seen a murder in order to be near TV reporter Sigourney... Read more

Blow Out (1981)

7.4/10
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, John Travolta, Dennis Franz

In the enthralling 'Blow Out', brilliantly crafted by Brian De Palma, John Travolta gives one of his greatest performances, as a movie sound-effects m... Read more

Body Heat (Blu-ray) (1981)

7.4/10
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, Mickey Rourke

Attorney Ned Racine's life coasts along in neutral - until he meets a siren in white (with a well-to-do husband) named Matty Walker. Ned knows Matty i... Read more

Body Heat (1981)

7.4/10
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, Mickey Rourke

Attorney Ned Racine's life coasts along in neutral - until he meets a siren in white (with a well-to-do husband) named Matty Walker. Ned knows Matty i... Read more