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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".

Sherlock Holmes: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1939)

7.6/10
Director: Alfred L Werker, Roy William Neill
Starring: Basil Rathbone, Ida Lupino, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey, George Zucco

'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' (1939) - Evil mastermind Professor Moriarty (George Zucco) escapes a murder conviction when Holmes (Basil Rathbone... Read more

Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Rathbone) / Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1939)

7.6/10
Director: John Rawlins, Sidney Lanfield
Starring: Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene, Reginald Denny

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are widely celebrated as cinema's perfect Homes and Watson, filming more than a dozen adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan D... Read more

Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Richardson) (1983)

7.6/10
Director: Douglas Hickox
Starring: Ian Richardson, Martin Shaw, Glynis Barber, Denholm Elliott, Connie Booth

"It was a brave man who would cross the wild Devon moorlands in darkness - for the ancient legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles had persisted in fa... Read more

Sherlock Holmes: The Scarlet Claw / The House of Fear (1944)

7.6/10
Director: Roy William Neill
Starring: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gertrude Astor

'The Scarlet Claw' (1944) - The village of La Morte Rouge in Canada has an old legend about a marsh monster. Many residents are afraid that the monste... Read more

Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four (Richardson) (1983)

7.6/10
Director: Desmond Davis
Starring: Ian Richardson, Cherie Lunghi

Following the disappearance of her father, the beautiful Miss Morstan has received each year a mysterious present. She consults Sherlock Holmes (Ian R... Read more

Sherlock Holmes: The Spider Woman / The Pearl of Death (1943)

7.6/10
Director: Roy William Neill
Starring: Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Nigel Bruce, Rondo Hatton

'The Spider Woman' (1943) - Adrea Spedding (Gale Sondergaard) makes her social calls accompanied by an unnervingly unsmiling mute child. She is secret... Read more

Shifty (2008)

6.5/10
Director: Eran Greevy
Starring: Francesca Annis, Jason Flemyng, Riz Ahmed, Daniel Mays

Riz Ahmed ('The Road to Guantanamo') takes on the title role of Shifty, which charts an action-packed 24 hours in the life of the young crack cocaine... Read more

Shining Through (1992)

6.4/10
Director: David Seltzer
Starring: Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson, John Gielgud

Sweeping WWII romance-drama stars Melanie Griffith as a secretary who falls in love with her mysterious new boss (Michael Douglas). She soon discovers... Read more

Shock (1946)

6.3/10
Director: Alfred L Werker
Starring: Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Frank Latimore, Anabel Shaw

In this thriller, psychiatrist Dr. Cross (Vincent Price) kills his wife and expects to get away with murder, until he discovers that the slaying was o... Read more

Shock to the System (2006)

6.7/10
Director: Ron Oliver
Starring: Michael Woods, Morgan Fairchild, Sebastian Spence, Chad Allen

Suspecting a client's death may not be the suicide it is first labeled, gay detective Donald Strachey (Chad Allen) launches an investigation that lead... Read more