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".
Match Point ( Blu-ray ) (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
Matchstick Men (2003)
7.3/10
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Bruce McGill, Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman
Obsessive-compulsive con artist Nicolas Cage and partner Sam Rockwell make good livings with slick scams in the Los Angeles area. Cage believes he has... Read more
Max Payne (2008)
5.4/10
Director: John Moore
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Chris O'Donne...
A stylish adaptation of the shoot-em-up video game with Mark Wahlberg as the titular hard-boiled cop still trying to come to terms with the murder of... Read more
Maximum Risk (1996)
5.5/10
Director: Ringo Lam
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Natasha Henstridge, Jean-Hugues Anglade
The FBI and Russian Mafia are both after former French soldier Jean-Claude Van Damme, who's out to avenge the death of an identical twin brother that... Read more
Maxxxine (2024)
6.4/10
Starring: Mia Goth, Simon Prast, Elizabeth Debicki, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon, Halse...
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hol... Read more
McCanick (2013)
4.7/10
Starring: Cory Monteith, Mike Vogel, Ciaran Hinds, David Morse
Set over the course of one day, a narcotics detective hunts for a seemingly harmless young criminal who knows a truth about the cop's past. Read more
McCanick (Blu-ray) (2013)
4.7/10
Starring: Cory Monteith, Mike Vogel, Ciaran Hinds, David Morse
Set over the course of one day, a narcotics detective hunts for a seemingly harmless young criminal who knows a truth about the cop's past. Read more
McQ (1974)
6.2/10
Director: John Sturges
Starring: John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur
In this thriller about crime in the streets, an ageing John Wayne plays a tough-as-nails cop out to get the gangster who murdered his partner. Edward... Read more
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
5.1/10
Starring: Jason Statham, Sienna Guillory, Wu Jing
A research team encounters multiple threats while exploring the ocean depths, including a malevolent mining operation. Read more
Melissa (1974)
7.4/10
Director: Peter Moffatt
Starring: Peter Barkworth, Ronald Fraser
BBC drama from 1974, adapted from the classic Francis Durbridge novel. Journalist Guy Foster (Peter Barkworth) returns home to find that his wife has... Read more