2023 Author: Gordon Kinson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-06-01 01:17
When looking for good films, each of us tries to focus on the recommendations of a person whose tastes at least partially coincide with ours, and in the absence of these, we pay attention to the most popular films. However, modern cinema is far from always happy with high-quality novelties, giving preference to teenage blockbusters with a deliberately high level of return.
The purpose of this collection is to offer readers a number of films that at least deserve attention, in the opinion of the authors of our editorial staff, and some of them can be safely classified as must-see. All these pictures are partly united by a common thriller genre, although in fact this relationship can be considered very relative.
What is a thriller?
A thriller is an action-packed storytelling that must include anxious expectation and / or excitement of the viewer. In fact, a thriller can even be a comedic one, and does not have to contain a story about a maniac in the script. One way or another, the selection below presents the best, in our opinion, films that can be fully or partially attributed to this genre.
Another important note - this collection is not rated or ranked, and the films in it are arranged in a random way, without ratings and selection of the best.
Bookmark this page with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + D (Mac: ⌘Cmd + D), perhaps our collection will be useful for you. Happy viewing!
List of best thriller movies
Body (El Cuerpo), 2012
A detective thriller, the plot details of which should not be disclosed in order to avoid spoilers. This picture is the directorial debut of the Spanish screenwriter Oriel Paolo, the famous master of creating twisted unpredictable plots. The film can be recommended to those viewers who are fed up with banal Hollywood stories.
The movie is available for free on YouTube:
Invisible Guest (Contratiempo), 2016
A classic, so to speak, detective thriller, in which the viewer has to change his own version of what happened several times. The heroes' assumptions, new clues and guesses often shuffle the story decks and distribute a new alignment, in which the killer and victim can already switch places. Director and screenwriter Oriel Paolo once again managed to achieve a permanent sense of mystery while watching, while not disregarding other aspects of the script.
Invisible Guest - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent The Invisible Guest Movie from the iTunes Store
Assassin (Sicario), 2015
Events take place in the southern United States and in Mexico, where the influence and power of drug cartels is already a threat at the national level for both countries. Among the main characters are employees of various special services, who are very skillfully written by the scriptwriters. There are no superheroes here, the main role flows smoothly from Emily Blunt to Benicio Del Toro, and each of the heroes is far from perfect, but the acting is not satisfying. In 2018, a sequel to the story was released, which also received quite high marks from critics.
Killer - Russian Trailer:
Buy The Killer Movie from the iTunes Store
Irreversible, 2002
Perhaps the most controversial film in this collection, which cannot be given a numerical assessment, it either "comes in" or it doesn't. Best of all, this picture is characterized by its presentation at the Cannes Film Festival - about 250 people did not want to inspect the tape and left the hall, of which almost 20 spectators fainted during the demonstration of scenes of violence, but the people who remained in the cinema greeted the final scenes with applause.
Director: Gaspard Noé. Starring: Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel
Attention! A very violent film
Irreversible - Trailer:
Requiem for a Dream, 2000
A very popular and highly appreciated by viewers psychological thriller by Darren Aronofsky, in which there are two friends, the mother and girlfriend of one of them, as well as heroin. This is a rather "heavy" film, after which every viewer is depressed for a long time. Speaking of Requiem for a Dream, one cannot fail to mention the ingenious soundtrack written by Clint Mansell and performed by the Kronos string quartet.
Requiem for a Dream - Trailer:
Buy or Rent Requiem for a Dream from the iTunes Store
Mama! (mother!), 2017
Another film by Darren Aronofsky, filmed according to his own script 17 years after the "Requiem". This picture received mixed reviews from viewers who expected to see horror, but instead saw a much more complex mosaic of suspense and psychological drama with religious and even political notes. The film is one of the most original and thought-provoking films of 2017, featuring great acting by Oscar winners Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem.
Mama! - Russian trailer:
Buy or rent the film "Mom!" in the iTunes Store
Searching, 2018
In literature, the epistolary genre has long been popular, in which the reader learns the narrative through the personal correspondence of the characters, and in the cinema, recently, a similar style has been implemented using screencasting. The Search movie consists of a stylized screencast of a computer screen and a webcam of the protagonist, who is looking for his missing daughter. A detective thriller with a fascinating plot and solid direction received high marks from critics.
Search - Russian trailer:
Buy or Rent a Search Movie from the iTunes Store
Reservoir Dogs, 1992
Quentin Tarantino's debut film, filmed in his favorite non-linear storytelling manner, when several chains of events, shown in different time periods, converge at a single point at the end of the film and put everything on the shelves. The story of a banal bank robbery in skillful directorial hands has turned into a very exciting thriller, which gradually throws events and facts to the viewer, only at the end allowing to understand the motivation of the characters and their background.
Search - Russian trailer:
Buy or Rent Reservoir Dogs from the iTunes Store
Pulp Fiction, 1994
Having received excellent criticism and solid box office receipts on "Dogs", Tarantino was able to invite a superstar cast (John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, etc.) for his next film, "Pulp Fiction", which collected in toge up to fifty film awards, including Oscar, Palme d'Or and many other awards. The film is consistently at the top of any ratings and is included in the list of US films of cultural, historical and aesthetic significance.
Pulp Fiction - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent a Pulp Fiction Movie from the iTunes Store
The Life of David Gale, 2003
The final chord in the long-term directorial career of Briton Alan Parker, who took the notoriously successful script for his latest film. The life of David Gale tells the story of the life, oddly enough, of a professor from Texas named David Gale, who actively fought for the abolition of the death penalty with his associate Constance, and then was sentenced to death for her murder. The director skillfully played with unexpected plot twists and added antique colors to a fascinating story.
The Life of David Gale - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent The Life of David Gale from the iTunes Store
Get Out, 2017
Directorial debut of Jordan Peele, who until now worked exclusively with vulgar comedies and children's cartoons. Nevertheless, he managed to get a lot of praise from critics and directly from the audience for the picture "Get Out". This story with elements of satire, detective and horror tells the story of a black guy named Chris, who came to meet the parents of his rich white girlfriend and realized too late the danger threatening him. Naturally, the black director pays a lot of attention to the problem of racism in the United States, but the film does not become boring for the domestic audience either.
Get Out - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent a Get Away Movie from the iTunes Store
Maid (Agassi), 2016
Korean film screened at the Cannes Film Festival under the title Mademoiselle. This is an action-packed story of love swindlers operating in Korea in the 1930s, when the peninsula was essentially a Japanese colony. The picture, among others, belongs to the genre of eroticism, since director Park Chang Wook did not hesitate to vividly visualize love scenes. Overall, the film received good reviews from critics and audiences for its good acting and solid direction.
The Maid - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent The Handmaid From the iTunes Store
Oldboy (Oldeuboi), 2003
More than 10 years before the release of The Handmaid, director Park Chang Wook became famous for his Revenge Trilogy, or rather its second part, which tells the story of a character named Oh Dae Soo, who was sent to a private prison for 15 years and illegally accused in the murder of his wife. The film with a very large (by Asian standards for 2003) budget of 3 million dollars more than paid off, and the fees exceeded the costs by almost five times. As for international film awards, Oldboy was the main contender for the Palme d'Or in Cannes, and Quentin Tarantino, who presided over the jury, called it an absolute masterpiece, but as a result, the award did not go to Korean filmmakers.
Attention! Do NOT confuse this movie with the 2013 commercial remake of the same name.
Oldboy - Trailer:
Psycho (1960)
The oldest tape in the collection, which all fans of slashers mention when compiling a list of the best horror films. Filmed under the direction of the outstanding Alfred Hitchcock, "Psycho" for many years became an example for the creators of such thrillers, while several remakes, sequels, spin-offs, and even the Bates Motel series were released. And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the gorgeous movie soundtracks that made the horror scenes really creepy.
Psycho - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent a Psycho Movie from the iTunes Store
The Hateful Eight, 2018
It is noteworthy that Quentin Tarantino called his eighth film "The Hateful Eight", and the picture itself turned out to match all the previous ones - the Tarantino style in it is instantly guessed and traced to the very end. A series of events divided into clear chapters, the world's best (albeit very drawn-out) dialogues, bloody scenes and other attributes of any Quentin film, the only thing missing is the famous angle from the trunk of a car. An excellent movie for fans of the American director with a good cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth and others).
The Hateful Eight - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent The Hateful Eight Movie from the iTunes Store
Wild stories (Relatos salvajes), 2014
A film by the Argentinean director Damian Chifron, filmed in Spain in 2014, which, when searching in Russian, it is important not to confuse it with the Spanish film "Wild History" (El bar) directed by Alex de la Iglesia 2017 release. Wild Tales is six unrelated short stories with great black humor and unexpected plot twists. There are elements of violence or revenge in every novel, but the narrative cannot be called "dirty". Such short stories are an ideal format for those who often turn off boring films after half an hour of watching.
Wild Stories - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent Wild Tales from the iTunes Store
Changeling, 2008
It is said that J. Michael Strazhinski, hired by Imagine Entertainment and pored over the creation of the script for the film "Substitution", spent a whole year in the city archives, studying the materials of a real criminal case that took place in Los Angeles in the 1920s. This is a story about how the mother, after the abduction, returned not her son, but a stranger boy, but her arguments were not heard, and the woman herself was declared insane. The film was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred by Angelina Jolie.
Substitution - Russian trailer:
Buy or Rent a Spoof Movie from the iTunes Store
Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru), 2000
No modern schoolchild needs to explain what a "battle royal" is, but 19 years ago, Battle Royal was perceived by many not as a popular game mode, but as a reference to the Japanese film of the same name. The plot of the picture will be well understood by all fans of PUGB and similar projects - a group of 42 schoolchildren receives backpacks with random equipment (firearms, crossbow, fan, whoever is lucky) and is engaged in mutual destruction on a desert island. At the same time, everyone has a collar around their neck, which will explode if he or she leaves the Zone.
The movie is available for free on YouTube:
Gone Girl, 2014
The Gone Girl movie was directed by David Fincher based on the novel by Gillian Flint, who herself took over to edit her own book into the screenplay. It turned out, in the opinion of viewers and critics, very good - the story of the search for a woman who disappeared without a trace in the form of an action-packed detective thriller received many high ratings and positive reviews, and the leading roles Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike were nominated for a number of film awards.
Gone Girl - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent Gone Girl from the iTunes Store
Others (The Others), 2001
Having collected 8 Goya awards and about $ 200 million at the box office (an impressive amount at the time), the film "Others" belongs to the horror genre, although it is more suitable for the title of thriller. There are not so many really scary moments here, but the viewer has to be wary very often. The film is about a family waiting for a father and a husband since the World War in a large Gothic mansion without electricity and daylight, where truly strange things happen with the arrival of new servants.
The movie is available for free on YouTube:
Dogville, 2003
Another film in which (as in The Others) the main role was brilliantly played by Nicole Kidman. However, the fans of this creation are not applauding the actress at all, but the director Lars von Trier, who managed to shoot "Dogville" not only without special effects, but also without cinematic decorations as such. The action takes place on a theatrical stage, on which houses and streets are marked. There is even a cardboard dog, and a gooseberry bush is a branch with the inscription "gooseberry bush". Nevertheless, the film strikes with realism, forcing the viewer to think about not the most pleasant things and start an impartial dialogue with himself.
Dogville - Russian trailer:
Buy or Rent Dogville from the iTunes Store
No Country for Old Men (2007)
The film is set in West Texas at the end of the last century, where tough men don't think twice to grab a revolver. There are three main characters here at once: Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (actor Tommy Lee Jones), who understands that his glorious times are over and will have to come to terms with changes in society, a simple welder Llewellyn Moss (actor Josh Brolin), who on the occasion became the owner of two million dollars of the drug cartel, and the assassin Anton Chigur (actor Javier Bardem), carrying out an important assignment. The film has very high marks from critics and audiences, as well as four Oscar statuettes.
No Country for Old Men - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent No Country for Old Men in the iTunes Store
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor), 2009
It is noteworthy that both the film and the book on which it was filmed were originally called Men Who Hate Women, while in fact, the attitude of journalist Mikael Blomkvist to the main character Lisbeth Salander, with whom they lead, plays a very important role in the film joint murder investigation. The Scandinavian adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo turned out to be very successful, and in 2011 American filmmakers released a more expensive version with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, expectedly receiving heavy criticism from the audience.
In our opinion, the 2009 version of the film turned out to be much better.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2009 - Russian Trailer:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2011 - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) from the iTunes Store
The Departed, 2006
One of the most successful projects of the eminent Martin Scorsese, which is a remake of the highly acclaimed Hong Kong film "Castling Double". Actually, the name of the original reflects the essence of what is happening on the screen, the main characters of the picture are the heroes of Matt Damon and Lenoardo DiCaprio, who are a police werewolf from the mafia and an agent from the police who is embedded in the mafia, respectively.
A very important role in the film is played by complex scenes, which are Scorsese's trump card and excellently played by supporting actors, in whose capacity the Departed were invited: Mark Walbreg, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen.
The Departed - Russian Trailer:
Shutter Island, 2009
Another work by Martin Scorsese, in which Lenoardo DiCaprio brilliantly played. In the beginning of the film, two US marshals go to the island where the psychiatric clinic is located to find the escaped Rachel Solando, but from the very beginning it becomes obvious that not everything is going smoothly in the institution. The Dennis Lehane novel underlying the script proved to be a great help for Scorsese, who once again managed to surprise viewers with excellent quality storytelling with an unexpected ending.
Isle of the Damned - Russian Trailer:
Buy or Rent Isle of the Damned Movie from the iTunes Store
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), 2006
The shield and sword of the Party in the now defunct German Democratic Republic is the Stasi secret police, whose employees are most interested in the lives of others. In the context of this film, directed by Florian Henkel von Donnersmark, the East German playwright Georg Draiman and his mistress Christa-Maria Ziland, who will have to confront one of the most dangerous intelligence services in the world, fall under suspicion.
Life of Others - Russian Trailer:
Cargo 200, 2007
"Cargo 200" was released under the slogan "The Eleventh Film by Alexei Balabanov" and became one of the most controversial creations of the famous Russian director. Especially a lot of negative criticism was received by Balabanov for his "black-eyed" show of the late Soviet era, which looks really depressing and hopeless. However, abstracting from the political nuances, the thriller "Cargo 200" turned out to be really tense and at times shocking, even for experienced fans of hard movies.
Attention! A very violent film
Cargo 200 - trailer:
Buy or Rent a Cargo 200 movie from the iTunes Store
Live, 2011, directed by Vasily Sigarev
Another domestic film, which is often confused with the picture of the same name by Yuri Bykov (also, by the way, an excellent crime drama in noir tones). Sigarev's "To Live" is a hard psychological thriller in which the viewer gets acquainted with the stories of people who have lost loved ones and found themselves in a difficult life situation. The film premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and was highly acclaimed by critics.
Attention! A very violent film
Live - Trailer:
Thriller series
Breaking Bad, 2008 - 2013
It's hard to believe, but there are people who have not heard anything about this TV show. At the same time, a mere description of all industry awards and prizes for this masterpiece would take almost a page of printed text. The story of a school chemistry teacher who fell ill with cancer and decided to start producing drugs on an industrial scale, chained millions of viewers to the screens for long five seasons, and in 2019 a pretty good full-length sequel film was released with Aaron Paul (the hero of Jesse Pinkman) in the title role.
Breaking Bad - Russian Trailer:
Fargo, 2014 - …
In 1995, the Coen brothers filmed the rather popular crime drama Fargo, and in 2014 they also acted as producers and showrunners of the series of the same name. Inimitable black humor, gorgeous shooting and an intricate plot with non-standard twists captivate the viewer and does not allow to stop after each new episode. The Fargo series is that rare case when all three seasons of the show (released at the time of writing) are not related to each other, but at the same time have the same high ratings from viewers, without frankly failed storylines.
Fargo - Russian trailer:
Ozark, 2017 - …
A series that combines the best features of the previous two, Breaking Bad and Fargo. In this story, the brilliant financier Marty Bird finds out one day that his wife is sleeping with another, and a partner in a dangerous business steals money from a drug cartel and gets a bullet in the back of the head. The Walter White-style nerd from Breaking Bad has to transform into a dangerous guy in a very tight timeframe that not everyone can handle. The series does not take time to swing and captures from the first minutes of viewing.
Ozark - Russian Trailer:
True Detective, season 1, 2014
Unlike the Ozarks and Fargo, True Detective takes some time for the viewer to soak up the atmosphere of what is happening on the screen and at the same time fall in love with the character Matthew McConaughey. Then everything goes in the best traditions of the genre - a fascinating plot, excellent acting and very high-quality expensive shooting. The third and especially the second season of True Detective, with other actors and unrelated narratives, was recognized by most viewers as unsuccessful attempts to repeat the success of the first episodes.
True Detective - Russian Trailer:
The Sinner, season 1, 2017
As the name suggests, the creators planned to finish the miniseries in the first season, in which Detective Ambrose is investigating a rather strange murder - a woman (played by Jessica Biel, wife of Justin Timberlake) stabbed a man completely unfamiliar to her in front of her husband and son for no apparent reason … The success of the series has allowed the creators to get budgets for subsequent seasons, however we recommend watching only the first one. Subsequent seasons are not related. In the second part, Ambrose will have to deal with the boy who killed his parents, and in the next - to study a tragic car accident on the outskirts of Dorchester, New York.
Sinner - Russian Trailer:
The Fall, 2013 - 2016
British detective thriller, during three seasons of which Police Superintendent Stella Gibson, played by the "iron lady" Gillian Anderson, investigates the acts of a serial killer hunting middle-aged women in Ireland. Despite the relatively modest (by BBC standards) budget, the series has become very popular both in the British Isles and around the world.
Collapse - Russian Trailer:
The Waco Tragedy, 2018
The series is based on the real tragic events that took place at the Mount Carmel Ranch near the town of Waco, Texas. The ranch was inhabited by families belonging to the Branch of David religious organization, which was suspected by the authorities of violating the laws on keeping weapons. During the raid on the ranch, a shootout ensued, and then the FBI organized a 51-day siege, which ended with an assault with helicopters and armored vehicles, as a result of which 82 members of the sect (20 children) and 4 government agents were killed. Two years later, on the anniversary of the Waco tragedy, terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed a building in Oklahoma City that claimed 168 lives - the largest terrorist attack in the United States prior to September 11, 2001.
The Tragedy in Waco - Russian Trailer:
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