It can be difficult to find a great thriller, partly because there is no clear definition of the genre. The genre’s boundaries are flexible, so you could argue that many different movies fall under this umbrella. It is not the same as an action or horror movie. These movies have very clear rules and conventions that they follow.
We can also better understand the boundaries of thrillers by looking at the best movies. We can understand the essence of thrillers by looking at the best examples.
Table of Contents
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Jonathan Demme’s film is a blend of horror and thriller. It’s also one of only a few Academy Awards winners in this category. There isn’t much violence or gore, but it is quite graphic. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), enlists Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), in order to hunt down “Buffalo Bill”, a serial killer. The grueling hunt might be entertaining enough, but Demme uses this bloody background to explore gender dynamics as well as the traumatized emotional life of the protagonist. While there are valid criticisms about the film’s transgender representation, the story is far more subtle than most critics believe. Watch this fantastic thriller on the Cinema HD V2 app completely free.
Basic Instinct (1992)
Paul Verhoeven’s films tend to be somewhere in the middle of so-bad-it-is-good and artistic genius, as do all great examples of camp. This film received a lot of attention for its lascivious scenes with Sharon Stone. But there’s much more to it than just a pair of sexy legs. Basic Instinct, which was released in 1992, was a pioneering film when it came to depictions of sex. Janet Maslin, New York Times critic, compared the movie to Hitchcock’s. Basic Instinct was, however, divisive, as with many of the greatest movies ever made.
Memento (2000)
The nostalgia of the early 2000s is at an all-time high. There’s also retro humor to this strange mystery story. Memento is the first mainstream movie to be told partly backward in a narrative that cleverly mirrors its protagonist’s retrograde amnesia. Although the aesthetic may not be as strong, the avant-garde gesture beneath the movie’s rather silly conceit is almost absurd for a mainstream movie. It’s an early Christopher Nolan movie, which makes the obsession with memory and time even more appropriate.
Parasite (2019)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was so impressed by the movie that they were able to get over their xenophobia and sing its praises! The parasite is an unhinged mystery that works well, with many unexpected twists. However, it also serves as a Marxist commentary about the struggles of poverty escape and the growing class hatred in the underground. Bong Joon-ho made many amazing movies before mainstream cinema critics recognized his genius. Parasite, however, is his most outstanding work. What a fantastic movie, watch it now on Nova TV.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
David Lynch’s profoundly inaccessible nightmares are among the most controversial movies in cinema history. His fans praise his open embrace of surrealism, while his detractors claim that nothing he makes sense. Mulholland Drive isn’t really a cohesive story, but there’s something beautiful and haunting about Lynch’s cosmology. The noir-inspired beauty of Lynch’s cinematography is undeniable. Naomi Watts’ acting ability as an actress, playing both a young actress who stumbles across criminal enterprises beyond this world and a mirror-world version that has the same character, is also undisputed. For more of Lynch’s work, you can see our list of the top David Lynch movies.
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Pan’s Labyrinth is a fantastic fairy-tale thriller by Guillermo Del Toro. While it may not be the most frightening movie on this list Pan’s Labyrinth is definitely worth a look for its captivating premise and symbolicism. Ivana Baquero plays Ofelia’s mother. She has just married a sadistic military officer and forces them to live in a village where supernatural beings emerge from a nearby labyrinth. This is to help Ofelia fulfill her destiny.
Misery (1990)
Rob Reiner turned Stephen King’s short, meta-textual novel about a literary fanatic into a darkly suspenseful movie. After her performance as Kathy Bates, the film’s climax was one of the most shocking and disturbing moments ever recorded on film. Fun fact: Misery is the Stephen King movie that has won an Oscar. Bates was awarded the Oscar for best actress for her performance in the film.
Drive (2011)
Critics claimed Nicholas Winding Refn’s moody neonoir was a poor example of style over substance. But Drive’s growing cult-like following counters that style can be a substance when done well. Its neon-drenched brutalist landscapes, minimalist existential dialogue, elegant costuming, and an Italo-disco soundtrack by Johnny Jewel’s cabal of witchy women elevate what was advertised as an average action movie to high art.
Spellbound (1945)
Hitchcock was the one who created the blueprint that would define thrillers. Although his most beloved and critically acclaimed movies, Psycho and Rear Window, are certainly worthy of a place on this list, Spellbound is a haunting little movie with its dream sequences, guest-directed by Salvador Dali. This movie has more than one avant-garde twist. The two red frames that appear at the end of the movie are an early example of mainstream cinema’s experimental use of color.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Eyes Wide Shut may be Stanley Kubrick’s least-loved movie. It turns out stories about underground and super-opulent Satanic sexual sex cults aren’t everyone’s cup. This story is about the dangers of unrequited love and the real-life tension between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Kubrick’s cinematic eye is evident, and Kidman’s famous monologue about her eroticized thoughts of a sexual encounter that she wishes she had, is both melancholic and disturbing.