The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (2024)

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There's no better genre than suspense/thriller films when you want your heart to really get pumping. Here are the best ones I've seen.

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (1)ByJoel Lee

May 26, 2023

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (2)

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Nothing excites me more than a suspense movie or thriller movie with a great premise—except for maybe films that strike the right balance between suspense AND thriller.

There's a lot of overlap between the two genres, so I won't even try to define what makes them different. All I'll say is, if there's a movie genre that I'm an absolute geek about, it's suspense thriller.

Sadly, most suspense thriller films are run-of-the-mill, lazy, unoriginal, uninspired, and even downright boring. Like a horror film without scares, a suspense thriller film without excitement is worthless. That's why it's all the more gripping when done right.

Here are the best suspense movies and thriller movies I've ever seen, spanning all kinds of movie genres.

15. 28 Days Later (2002)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (3)

Directed by Danny Boyle

Starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston

Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi (1h 53m)

7.5 on IMDb87% on RT

28 Days Later is a frightening zombie film, not only because it was one of the first to break away from the "zombies are slow and dumb" trope, but because it was also one of the first to claim that humans are even scarier than zombies.

28 Days Later is a well-crafted thriller, through and through, and a must-see for any fan of the zombie genre.

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14. A Quiet Place (2018)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (5)

Directed by John Krasinski

Starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds

Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi (1h 30m)

7.5 on IMDb96% on RT

Bloodthirsty aliens take over the world, and even though they're blind, they have supersonic hearing.

The few survivors in the world have eked out a living by never speaking a word—and always being wary of what's around the corner. A Quiet Place is a unique thriller, elevated by excellent sound design and acting all around.

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13. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (7)

A woman is knocked unconscious in a car crash, then wakes up in an underground bunker with two men who claim the world has ended and she can't leave.

John Goodman breaks free from his typecast and plays one of the scariest roles he's ever had, resulting in 10 Cloverfield Lane being a top-notch example of what a suspense thriller ought to be.

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12. Gravity (2013)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (9)

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller (1h 31m)

7.7 on IMDb96% on RT

Forget being stranded at sea—imagine being stranded in space. That's pretty much the premise of Gravity, which is the 91-minute story of two astronauts as they fight and claw their way back to Earth after their space shuttle is destroyed. It's beautifully filmed, and you'll hold your breath through it.

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11. Prisoners (2013)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (11)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis

Crime, Drama, Mystery (2h 33m)

8.1 on IMDb81% on RT

When his daughter is abducted and the police release the suspected abductor, the father goes vigilante and takes matters into his own hands.

Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal put in some of their best work in this gut-wrenching thriller, which is about as close to nightmare fuel as it gets without edging into the supernatural.

Prisoners is a rough watch but a must-watch for anyone who loves a tight revenge tale that'll have you gripped from start to finish.

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10. Compliance (2012)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (13)

Directed by Craig Zobel

Starring Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy

Crime, Drama, History (1h 30m)

6.4 on IMDb89% on RT

Inspired by a true event, Compliance is the story of a man who impersonates a police officer and convinces the staff at a fast food establishment to do anything he wants—dark, sinister, disturbing things.

It's the kind of film that strains credulity, until you remember that it's based on a true story that actually happened. That makes it all the more intense.

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9. Shutter Island (2010)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (15)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo

Mystery, Thriller (2h 18m)

8.2 on IMDb69% on RT

A federal marshal is brought in to investigate the disappearance of a patient at a psychiatric facility on Shutter Island. But things aren't what they seem, and it's up to him to figure out what's really going on.

Shutter Island is another immaculate film by Martin Scorsese, and it really pushes the psychological and mystery aspects to their limits.

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8. Sicario (2015)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (17)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro

Action, Crime, Drama (2h 1m)

7.6 on IMDb92% on RT

In Sicario, an FBI agent is brought onto a task force with one mission: bring down one of the top leaders in a Mexican drug cartel.

Not an easy ask, of course, and said FBI agent is thrown into all kinds of tense situations, not least of which involves one of the most intense shootouts ever written in film.

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7. Nightcrawler (2014)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (19)

Directed by Dan Gilroy

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton

Crime, Drama, Thriller (1h 57m)

7.8 on IMDb95% on RT

Nightcrawler is about a freelancer videographer, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who records violent events and sells the footage to a local news station. This is easily one of Gyllenhaal's finest performances, which depicts a dark and creepy sociopath who will stop at nothing to get the footage he needs.

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6. All Is Lost (2013)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (21)

Directed by J. C. Chandor

Starring Robert Redford

Action, Adventure, Drama (1h 46m)

6.9 on IMDb94% on RT

All Is Lost is about a man stranded at sea. He's alone, and the most impressive thing about this film is that it has zero dialogue beyond the first few minutes (which are simply voiceover narration).

It's a survival film, and the struggle to keep going in the face of overwhelming disaster is what solidifies All Is Lost as one of the best suspense films of all time.

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5. The Departed (2006)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (23)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

Crime, Drama, Thriller (2h 31m)

8.5 on IMDb91% on RT

A gangster is planted inside the police force. A policeman is planted inside the gang. It's a game of cat-and-mouse to see which side can bring down the other first.

That's the kind of premise that reeks of potential, and in the hands of Martin Scorsese, The Departed ended up becoming one of the best crime films of all time.

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4. Buried (2010)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (25)

Directed by Rodrigo Cortés

Starring Ryan Reynolds, José Luis García-Pérez, Robert Paterson

Drama, Mystery, Thriller (1h 35m)

7.0 on IMDb87% on RT

Buried is one of my favorite movies, if only because it's so creative. How is it possible to create a 95-minute film that takes place entirely inside a coffin yet manages to keep you on the edge of your seat through the whole runtime? The claustrophobia just adds to the suspense.

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3. The Hurt Locker (2008)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (27)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty

Drama, Thriller, War (2h 11m)

7.5 on IMDb97% on RT

The Hurt Locker won all kinds of awards, each one well-deserved. This war movie is unlike all other war movies, which tend to glorify what ought not be glorified.

Instead, The Hurt Locker feels more like a documentary, following the life and duty of a bomb defusal specialist over the course of a tour in Iraq while refusing to make any kind of moral statements. It's heart-pounding, breath-taking, and downright scary at times.

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2. Ex Machina (2014)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (29)

Directed by Alex Garland

Starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac

Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller (1h 48m)

7.7 on IMDb92% on RT

What happens when a programmer is flown in to test whether an artificially intelligent robot can really think for itself?

Well, let's just say it's akin to opening Pandora's box. Underneath all of the suspense and mystery, Ex Machina is a beautiful and thoughtful film exquisitely executed.

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1. Whiplash (2014)

The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (31)

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Starring Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist

Drama, Music, Thriller (1h 46m)

8.5 on IMDb94% on RT

Who knew that the most tense and suspenseful film ever made would be about a drummer and his teacher?

Unlike most films in the genre, there's no threat of death here—yet somehow it ends up being the kind of film where you don't even blink once from start to finish. Whiplash is a must-watch for all thriller junkies.

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The 15 Best Suspense Thriller Movies That Are Seriously Intense (2024)

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