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 Rookie (1990)
5.9/10
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga
World-weary cop Clint Eastwood teams up with rookie Charlie Sheen to track down a murderous auto thief in this actioner filled with car chases and sho... Read more
The Rosary Murders (1987)
5.7/10
Director: Fred Walton
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Charles Durning, Belinda Bauer
Slow, but interesting, tale of a parish priest (Donald Sutherland) who hears the confession of a serial killer preying on priests and nuns, and finds... Read more
The Ruins (2008)
5.9/10
Director: Carter Smith
Starring: Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Shawn Andrews, Joe Anderson
A Mexican vacation takes a turn for the violently gruesome when two couples take a detour to explore ancient Mayan ruins and find an armed group of na... Read more
The Runaway Bus (1954)
6.3/10
Director: Val Guest
Starring: Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford, Petula Clark, George Coulouris
This offbeat British comedy/thriller features Frankie Howerd, in his first starring role, as Percy Lamb, a bus driver who finds himself in a difficult... Read more
The Running Man (1987)
6.7/10
Director: Paul Michael Glaser
Starring: Maria Conchita Alonso, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown, Jesse Ven...
In the year 2019 'The Running Man' is the most popular game show on TV. The premise is that contestants have to outrun a select group of heavily-armed... Read more
The Running Man (2025)
6.4/10
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Glen Powell, William H Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Sean Hayes, C...
In the near future, "The Running Man" is the top-rated show on television, a deadly competition where contestants must survive 30 days while being hun... Read more
The Sacrament (2013)
6.1/10
Director: Ti West
Starring: AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Joe Swanberg, Kentucker Audley, Gene Jones
Ti West's latest film is nothing short of terrifying. The Sacrament is about Eden Parish, a commune helmed by a very Jim-Jones-esque leader called onl... Read more
The Saint (1997)
6.2/10
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue, Rade Serbedzija
Spy for hire and master of disguise Simon Templar agrees to steal a fusion formula for a controversial Russian leader - but falls in love with the bea... Read more
The Salamander (1981)
6.2/10
Director: Peter Zinner
Starring: Franco Nero, Anthony Quinn, Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning, Eli Wallach, Claudia...
Based on Morris West's best-selling novel, this tense political thriller explores the world of treasonous politics, love and high finance. In Italy's... Read more
The Salesman (2016)
7.8/10
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Babak Karimi, Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini
Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and his wife Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) are actors in an amateur Tehran production of Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman. When... Read more