My Favorite Thrillers
This is a list that I am compiling with all my favorite thrillers - be it crime, drama or erotic. Some of the movies may also have elements of horror, but are not mainstream horror films. If you love movies that can mess with your head, and don't mind nudity and violence, you might want to check these out. There is no particular order in which I have picked them out, but of course, there are some that I have liked more than the others. Each and every movie in this list has given me a lot of joy while watching them, and I believe each is unique and deserves to be mentioned and appreciated for how they can embed themselves in our thoughts even long after we are done watching them. Hope you have a fun time watching these!
P.S. This is a comprehensive list of the thrillers that I liked. Please check out my other lists for sub-classes such as erotic, drama, etc. and theme-based such as those on doppelgängers, con artists, etc.
P.S. This is a comprehensive list of the thrillers that I liked. Please check out my other lists for sub-classes such as erotic, drama, etc. and theme-based such as those on doppelgängers, con artists, etc.
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- DirectorMary HarronStarsChristian BaleJustin TherouxJosh LucasA wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge DzundzaA violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.Director: Paul Verhoeven
Actors: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Jeanne Tripplehorn
An interesting erotic psychological thriller, Basic Instinct is a movie that can truly perplex its audience. Starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in the lead characters, this is a movie about an attractive novelist, Catherine Tramell, whose murder stories have an eerie resemblance to events surrounding her, making her a suspect in the recent murder of a wealthy rockstar who she was dating. Detective Nick Curran is attracted to her and becomes obsessed with the case leading him to be entangled in a dangerous series of sexual murders. Nick is confounded by Catherine during the course of his investigation, and there is no way to tell whether she is being honest.
The movie not only has an interesting plot, but also displays great acting by the lead characters. Both Douglas and Stone show an interesting chemistry between themselves making it an enjoyable erotic thriller. It is, however, a shame that its sequel Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, made 14 years after Basic Instinct, was nothing like the first. With a disappointing plot, shallow characters, and poor acting by Stone, the movie reflects how a poor director should not be allowed to work on sequels to a great movie. Do not watch Basic Instinct 2. - DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsAnthony HopkinsAnn-MargretBurgess MeredithA ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.Director: Sir Richard Attenborough
Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Oliver Burgess Meredith
This movie is based on a novel by William Goldman who was also the screenwriter for the movie.
How some movies are more about the plot, this psychological horror film is more about the character of the protagonist. Corky Withers, a ventriloquist and magician played by Anthony Hopkins, is a timid character who has a lack of confidence, and takes up a dummy, Mr. Fats, into his act in order to earn fame. While it does make him noticed initially, his mentor, Merlin, soon learns that Mr. Fats is much more than just a dummy: Corky has actually 'split' his personality and lent a part of his identity to become Mr. Fats. As the plot progresses, we realize that what we thought was a witty Mr. Fats is actually a manipulative, a psychotic and a disturbing figment of Corky's own personality.
What I loved most about the movie is how horror elements aided in the creation of an unnerving ambience throughout the movie, giving Corky an eerie presence. Scenes such as the one where Corky must make Mr. Fats remain silent for five minutes to prove his sanity to Merlin, and fails to do so - can truly astonish any viewer reflecting the extent of the maniacal mind. Sir Richard Attenbourough's tremendously fine job of directing paired with Hopkins' brilliant acting, this is a movie that must be watched by those who want to be dumbfounded by the psychotic mind. - DirectorBrad AndersonStarsChristian BaleJennifer Jason LeighAitana Sánchez-GijónAn industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
- DirectorJoel EdgertonStarsJason BatemanRebecca HallJoel EdgertonA married couple, Simon and Robyn, run into Gordo, an old classmate. Things take a turn when Gordo begins to drop in unannounced at their house and inundates them with mysterious gifts.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsScarlett JohanssonJonathan Rhys MeyersEmily MortimerAt a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJon FinchBarry FosterBarbara Leigh-HuntA serial murderer is strangling women with a necktie. The London police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartKim NovakBarbara Bel GeddesA former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsMia WasikowskaNicole KidmanMatthew GoodeAfter India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
- DirectorDan GilroyStarsJake GyllenhaalRene RussoBill PaxtonWhen Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsJake GyllenhaalMichelle MonaghanVera FarmigaA soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsJake GyllenhaalMélanie LaurentSarah GadonA man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.
- DirectorIsabel CoixetStarsSophie TurnerClaire ForlaniRhys IfansA teenager finds her perfect life upended when she's stalked by a mysterious doppelganger who has her eyes set on assuming her identity.
- DirectorCharlie McDowellStarsMark DuplassElisabeth MossTed DansonA troubled couple vacate to a beautiful getaway, but bizarre circumstances further complicate their situation.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsIrène JacobWladyslaw KowalskiHalina GryglaszewskaTwo parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other in France. They don't know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
- DirectorGuillem MoralesStarsAndoni GraciaMónica LópezFrancesc GarridoIn the dark corridors of Félix's house, an intruder is hiding. Is he real, or is he a manifestation inside the obscure maze of his mind?