Thrillers have a way of capturing our attention, keeping us on the edge of our seats with twists, suspense, and heart-pounding moments. The genre has evolved over the years, with a variety of plots ranging from gripping psychological games to high-stakes action. Below, we have ranked the greatest thrillers ever made, celebrating the masterpieces that have defined the genre.
Get ready to dive into these films that are filled with excitement, tension, and unforgettable twists.
50. Nightcrawler (2014)
When 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.
49. Insomnia (2002)
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Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
48. Uncut Gems (2019)
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With his debts mounting and angry collectors closing in, a fast-talking New York City jeweler risks everything in hope of staying afloat and alive.
47. Nope (2022)
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The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.
46. Inside Man (2006)
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A police detective, a bank robber, and a high-power broker enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal's brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.
45. A Quiet Place (2018)
A family struggles for survival in a world where most humans have been killed by blind but noise-sensitive creatures. They are forced to communicate in sign language to keep the creatures at bay.
44. Black Swan (2010)
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Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.
43. The Invisible Guest (2016)
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A successful entrepreneur accused of murder and a witness preparation expert have less than three hours to come up with an impregnable defense.
42. Sicario (2015)
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An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
41. Shutter Island (2010)
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Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.
40. The French Connection (1971)
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A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
39. Split (2016)
Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.
38. Us (2019)
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A family's serene beach vacation turns to chaos when their doppelgängers appear and begin to terrorize them.
37. Blue Velvet (1986)
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The 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.
36. L.A. Confidential (1997)
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As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
35. The Fugitive (1993)
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Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.
34. No Country for Old Men (2007)
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Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
33. The Thing (1982)
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A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
32. Argo (2012)
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Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
31. Rear Window (1954)
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A photographer in a wheelchair spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window, and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend.
30. The Lives of Others (2006)
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In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
29. North by Northwest (1959)
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A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
28. Zodiac (2007)
Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
27. Solaris (1972)
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A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
26. Misery (1990)
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After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.
25. Memories of Murder (2003)
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In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
24. Heat (1995)
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A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a clue at their latest heist.
23. Fargo (1996)
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Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
22. The Prestige (2006)
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After a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.
21. Fight Club (1999)
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
20. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
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A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
19. The Conversation (1974)
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A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
18. Memento (2000)
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A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.
17. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
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When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
16. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
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A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
15. Get Out (2017)
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A young African-American visits his White girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
14. Gone Girl (2014)
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With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.
13. Vertigo (1958)
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A 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.
12. Chinatown (1974)
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A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
11. Seven (1995)
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
10. The Sixth Sense (1999)
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Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
9. Jaws (1975)
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When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
8. Parasite (2019)
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Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
7. Psycho (1960)
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A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
06. The Usual Suspects (1995)
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The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
05. Pulp Fiction (1994)
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
04. Citizen Kane (1941)
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
03. The Departed (2006)
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An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
02. Oldboy (2003)
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After being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in five days.
01. Mulholland Drive (2001)
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
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