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".
Outlaw (2007)
5.7/10
Director: Nick Love
Starring: Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Bob Hoskins
A group of people who feel betrayed by their government and let down by their Police force form a modern-day outlaw posse in order to right what they... Read more
Outpost (2007)
5.9/10
Director: Steve Barker
Starring: Ray Stevenson, Julian Wadham, Richard Brake, Paul Blair, Brett Fancy, Enoch Fros...
Set in Eastern Europe, this white-knuckle chiller follows soldiers-for-hire as they complete a mission to guide a businessman to an abandoned military... Read more
Outrage (2010)
6.8/10
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Renji Ishibashi, Ryo Kase
AKA "Outrage: Way of the Yakuza". After an absence of over a decade, OUTRAGE signals Takeshi Kitano's triumphant return to the gangster genre. In a r... Read more
Overheard (2009)
7.1/10
Director: Alan Mak Siu Fai, Felix Chong
Starring: Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Michael Wong, Waise Lee Chi-Hung, Jingchu Z...
Being a cop can be a demoralising business, working long hours in a high stress environment, putting pressure on your personal relationships, all for... Read more
Overheard 2 (2011)
6.8/10
Director: Alan Mak Siu Fai, Felix Chong
Starring: Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu
Manson (Lau Ching Wan) is a successful stockbroker with powerful, secretive employers. After an automobile accident, Manson discovers that someone has... Read more
Oxygen (1999)
6.1/10
Director: Richard Shepard
Starring: Adrien Brody, Maura Tierney, James Naughton, Laila Robins, Paul Calderon, Olek K...
Somewhere a woman is buried alive and will run out of air in 24 hours. Her only chance for survival lies with a troubled female cop who must confront... Read more
Pacific Heights (1990)
6.4/10
Director: John Schlesinger
Starring: Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, Matthew Modine, Mako , Laurie Metcalf
An under-rated and original thriller about a young couple who buy a house which they divide into several apartments to let. They unwittingly let one t... Read more
Painted Skin (2008)
6.4/10
Director: Gordon Chan
Starring: Donnie Yen, Xun Zhou, Zhao Wei, Chen Kun, Qi Yuwu, Sun Li
General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) rescues a beautiful young woman, Xiao Wei (Zhou Xun), from the scene of a battle and takes her into his household, littl... Read more
Pale Flower (Blu-ray) (1964)
7.8/10
Director: Masahiro Shinoda
Starring: Seiji Miyaguchi, Eijiro Tono
A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young wo... Read more
Palmetto (1997)
6/10
Director: Volker Schlondorff
Starring: Gina Gershon, Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, Michael Rapaport, Chloe Sevigny
From the director of "The Tin Drum", and based on the novel "Just Another Sucker" by James Hadley Chase, comes this atmospheric contemporary film noir... Read more