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".
The Dissident (2020)
7.9/10
When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to a murd... Read more
The Domino Principle (1976)
Director: Stanley Kramer
Starring: Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Richard Widmark, Mickey Rooney, Edward Albert, Eli...
Stanley Kramer directed this paranoid thriller involving a murderer who is inexplicably released from prison by a mysterious organization. Gene Hackma... Read more
The Don is Dead (1973)
6.4/10
Director: Richard Fleischer
Starring: Charles Cioffi, Frederic Forrest, Robert Forster, Al Lettieri, Anthony Quinn, An...
Released one year after 'The Godfather', this mafia family epic stars Anthony Quinn as Don Angelo, a notorious crime czar set to take over the Syndica... Read more
The Door (2009)
6.7/10
Director: Anno Saul
Starring: Jessica Schwarz, Nele Trebs, Mads Mikkelsen, Heike Makatsch
Adapted from a novel by Akif Pirrincci, "The Door" aka "Die Tur" is the tale of a formerly successful painter, David who has lost control over his lif... Read more
The Double (2011)
5.9/10
Director: Michael Brandt
Starring: Richard Gere, Stana Katic, Tamer Hassan, Stephen Moyer, Topher Grace, Odette Yus...
A retired CIA spy and a fledgling FBI agent team up to investigate the murder of a U.S. senator and catch a notorious killer in this high-stakes polit... Read more
The Double Hour ( La doppia ora ) (2009)
6.7/10
Director: Guiseppe Capotondi
Starring: Filippo Timi, Ksenia Rappaport, Antonia Truppo, Gaetano Bruno
Guido (Filippo Timi), a former cop, is a luckless veteran of the speed-dating scene in Turin. But, much to his surprise, he meets Slovenian immigrant... Read more
The Double Life Of Veronique (1991)
7.8/10
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Halina Gryglaszewska, Irene Jacob, Kalina Jedrusik
Two women with identical looks, birthdates and names unknowingly have their lives inter-connected in this beautifully crafted thriller. When one of th... Read more
The Driftless Area (2015)
5.3/10
Director: Zachary Sluser
Starring: Ciaran Hinds, Frank Langella, Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, John Hawkes, Alia...
Pierre Hunter (Anton Yelchin), a bartender with unyielding optimism, returns to his tiny hometown after his parents' death. When he falls for the enig... Read more
The Driver (1978)
7.2/10
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani
Ryan O'Neal is The Driver, Bruce Dern is The Detective and Isabelle Adjani is The Player in this minamalist noir-inspired offering. O'Neal is an ice-c... Read more
The Drowning Pool (1975)
6.5/10
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Starring: Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Tony Franciosa
Private eye Lew Harper is in deep this time. Hired by an old flame to unravel a seemingly routine blackmail case, he's so far down he may never come u... Read more