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".
S.W.A.T. (2003)
6/10
Director: Clark Johnson
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Brian Van Holt,...
Two wisecracking, battle-hardened veterans (Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell) team up with a pair of street-smart rookies (Michelle Rodriguez and L... Read more
Saboteur (1942)
7.2/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, Norman Lloyd
Robert Cummings is a wartime factory worker wrongfully accused of sabotage in this Hitchcock thriller. Helping him on the lam is Priscilla Lane. Featu... Read more
Safe (2012)
6.5/10
Director: Boaz Yakin
Starring: Chris Sarandon, James Hong, Robert John Burke, Jason Statham, Anson Mount, Cathe...
In this action thriller, former cop-turned-cage fighter Luke Wright (Jason Statham) vows revenge after the Russian mafia kills his wife when he refuse... Read more
Safe House (2012)
6.8/10
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Denzel Washington, Robert Patrick, Ruben Blades, Sam Shepard, R...
In this nerve-jangling thriller, inexperienced C.I.A. agent Ryan Reynolds is put in charge of monitoring captured rogue operative Denzel Washington wh... Read more
Sahara (2005)
6/10
Director: Breck Eisner
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, Penelope Cruz, Lambert Wilson, Delroy Lindo, Wi...
Scouring the ocean depths for treasure-laden shipwrecks is business as usual for a thrill-seeking underwater adventurer (Matthew McConaughey) and his... Read more
Saint Ange (2004)
Director: Pascal Laugier
Starring: Virginie Ledoyen, Lou Doillon, Catriona MacColl, Dorina Lazar
A young cleaning woman, Anna (Virginie Ledoyen), sent to spruce up the abandoned St. Ange orphanage in the remote French Alps in 1960, discovers that... Read more
Salamander (2012)
7.6/10
A police inspector investigates the robbery of 66 safe deposit boxes at a private bank in Brussels. Read more
Salt (2010)
6.4/10
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Andre Braugher, Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrych...
Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), a trusted and loyal CIA operative, goes on the run when a Russian defector convinces her superiors that she's a double a... Read more
Salt ( Blu-ray ) (2010)
6.4/10
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Andre Braugher, Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrych...
Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), a trusted and loyal CIA operative, goes on the run when a Russian defector convinces her superiors that she's a double a... Read more
Salt and Fire (2016)
4.1/10
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Michael Shannon, Gael Garcia Bernal, Veronica Ferres
Polarizing eco-thriller from writer/director Werner Herzog, from a short story by Tom Bissell. Two ecologists working for the UN (Veronica Ferres and... Read more