Thrillers have been one of the most popular types of films since the early days of Hollywood, and the reason is in their name- people love something that leaves them on the edge of their seats as they tensely follow the action from one nerve-wracking moment to the next.
In such a popular genre, not all of the massive output is good quality- too many rely on cheap thrills to replace plot. Here’s a list of ten thrillers that rely just as much on skill and thought as nervous tension to keep you entranced.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Before 2019, not many people would have expected a recently made Adam Sandler movie to end up on a list of movies recommended for any positive reason, but he had a year that he hasn’t seen since the early 2000s. He plays a jewel dealer who is neck-deep in money owed to a loan shark and tries to get out of his situation with the help of a rare opal he’s purchased and a series of schemes to get as much money from it as he can.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
A product of the Cold War, it tells the story of a US Army platoon captured during the Korean War and brainwashed by the Soviet Union and the Chinese government. Part of the platoon makes it back to safe territory, and one- Shaw- is held up as a hero and exploited by his mother and step-father to advance the step-father’s career in politics. The platoon’s commanding officer (played by Frank Sinatra) eventually begins to have nightmares about his comrade killing the missing of the platoon in front of Communist officials. He begins to investigate what happened during their capture before whatever Shaw has been programmed to do can come to fruition.
Se7en (1995)
This mid-90s David Fincher film stars Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as a detective pair working to find a serial killer who appears to be murdering people in ways that match up with the Seven Deadly Sins. The two detectives rush to find out who the killer is after his first two victims are found, hoping to stop him before he can complete the rest of the sins. Although quite gory at points, it nevertheless is well thought out and produced, showing two men who must face themselves as well as their quarry.
Vertigo (1958)
In a list of thrillers, it’s no surprise that Alfred Hitchcock shows up since he’s long been considered one of the greatest minds of the genre. Jimmy Stewart plays a police detective who retires after a rooftop chase on the job gives him a severe fear of heights. While working as a private detective, he spends time with the woman he is supposed to be following, only for her to plunge to her death from a bell tower he is afraid to follow her into. He blames himself for her death, but the events that unfold portray a complicated plot where everything turns out to be different than it seemed.
Nightcrawler (2014)
A small-time thief in need of cash discovers the world of unethical photographers and videographers who record graphic or violent incidents to sell to the media. He begins to make a name for himself in the industry, eventually meeting and trying to woo the woman in charge of news at a local tv station. Desperate to make a name for himself, his attempts to be the first and best escalate until events begin to sweep him and those around him into a swirl of intrigue and violence.
The Night of the Hunter (1953)
This film is a dramatization of the real-life story of one Harry Powers, who was a West Virginia serial killer who traveled along Ohio River towns marrying women and then murdering them after he gained control of their money; he claimed it was God’s work.
After serving a sentence for car theft at the Moundsville Penitentiary, he tracks down the family of his executed cellmate in an attempt to find where the dead man hid money gained in a bank robbery. He tears the family apart as he sets about finding the location of the cash.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
This Coen Brother’s film is regarded as possibly their best. It follows the aftermath of a poacher who finds millions in a briefcase after discovering a deal gone wrong in the middle of the desert. A hitman who is hired to find the money at all costs begins to chase him down, with several close calls for the poacher as he attempts to evade the hitman’s attempts on his life in pursuit of the cash. The film is a pretty bleak look at humanity from beginning to end.
North by Northwest (1959)
We’re back with Alfred Hitchcock and his inimitable collection of suspense. This one stars Cary Grant as a man who is a victim of mistaken identity while at a bar one night. After this he is kidnapped and his death is arranged, although he manages to survive the set up only for no one to believe him about what had happened. He gets more and more caught up in the situation, eventually embarking on a race across the country as he attempts to clear his name before he’s killed.
Memento (2000)
The film that made Christopher Nolan famous and launched his film career, Memento is a psychological thriller told by two narratives running different directions in time. A man suffers after an accident which leaves him with no ability to form new memories. He attempts to find who was responsible for the attack that caused his injury and left his wife dead, but must track his progress with instant photos and a series of tattoos to replace the memories he can’t form. As the two parts of the film proceed toward and past each other in time, they eventually form a complete picture of what had happened by the end of the film.
The French Connection (1971)
This film pretty much swept every Oscar category it was nominated for when it came out. A French criminal smuggles a massive haul of heroin into the United States and starts off a lengthy game of cat and mouse between the drug underworld and two detectives anxious to stem the flow of the drug while putting an end to many of the figures involved in its distribution. The stakes continue to mount as the detectives chase the heroin and criminals through New York City in a race to wrap everything up before the drugs disappear into the underworld.
