Here we’ve preserved Sarah Ward’s short reviews of three awesome thrillers, once available on Prime Video’s film library. Click on each title to check out where the films are available to stream right now.
Canopy (2013)
Set in World War II, during the Battle of Singapore specifically, Aaron Wilson’s Canopy is a combat thriller worth listening to—literally. As the Australian film follows an Australian Air Force officer (Khan Chittenden) and a Chinese guerrilla fighter (Morning Mo Tzu-Yi) while they endeavour to avoid Japanese patrols in the jungle, its sound design and mixing ramp up the tension to anxiety-inducing levels. Its largely location-shot imagery also stands out.
Collateral (2004)
Across his lengthy career, Tom Cruise has rarely been better than he is in Collateral, with Michael Mann’s action-thriller eschewing the megastar’s usual likeable on-screen persona and his beaming grin to serve up a darker, deeper performance instead. Cruise plays contract killer Vincent, who slides into a Los Angeles cab driven by Jamie Foxx’s hardworking Max, offers a hefty fee for a multi-stop ride and immerses the driver in his latest job.
Boy this would’ve been a different film if Russell Crowe and Adam Sandler went ahead as its leads instead of a slickly sociopathic Tom Cruise and reluctant cab driver Jamie Foxx. Michael Mann keeps things feeling dangerous with unvarnished digital cinematography, and the LA car chase scenes maintain a pulse-pounding momentum as the story unravels. — Eliza Janssen
A Cure for Wellness (2016)
As directed by Pirates of the Caribbean veteran Gore Verbinski, A Cure for Wellness treads where a lengthy list of other thrillers have already stepped—but, even though it’s hardly original, it’s still sleek, sinister, stylish, and feverish. It also boasts a fantastic setting, thanks to its main maze-like sanitarium location. That’s where rising Wall Street hotshot Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) soon finds himself trapped after a quick visit turns into a nightmare.
Fight Club (1999)
Watch on Prime VideoThe first rule of Fight Club has long become entrenched in popular culture. The second rule, too. More than two decades since it first hit screens, David Fincher’s slick and savvy cinematic adaptation of Chuck Palahnuik’s nihilistic thriller has definitely been talked about, though. And, given its takedown of capitalist society, its vivid cinematography, and the ace work of Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter, that’s hardly surprising.
Gone Girl (2014)
On the page, Gone Girl’s game of cat-and-mouse is engrossing to read. On the screen, as directed by David Fincher (with a screenplay written by author Gillian Flynn herself), it takes on a clinical yet compelling extra dimension. The setup: after his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) disappears from their Missouri home, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) becomes the prime suspect. That’s just the opening gambit, with Gone Girl relishing its plethora of thorny twists.
Heat (1995)
It’s the film that finally put Al Pacino and Robert De Niro together in the same scene—two decades after they both starred in The Godfather Part II without ever actually appearing in a frame together. Of course, that’s just one of the many drawcards of Michael Mann’s elaborate, slick and meticulous crime-thriller, which pits a seasoned robber (De Niro) against a wily detective (Pacino) and lets sparks fly.
The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
As a ‘50s-era film noir thriller directed by a female filmmaker, The Hitch-Hiker is a pioneering feature. It’s also thoroughly fantastic on its own merits, and not just because of its groundbreaking status. As inspired by real-life events, writer/director Ida Lupino takes to the road to explore the chaos that ensues when two fishing buddies (Edmond O’Brien and Frank Lovejoy) unwittingly pick up a psychopath (William Talman) on their way to San Felipe.
Hungry Hearts (2015)
It starts with a meet-cute, with Jude (Adam Driver) and Mina (Alba Rohrwacher) crossing paths in a restaurant bathroom. But Saverio Costanzo-directed relationship thriller Hungry Hearts definitely isn’t a rom-com. Marriage and then a baby follows for the New York-based couple; however so too does a psychological and emotional battle over their son’s welfare—in a film that ponders parenthood, obsession and mental illness in a captivating and disquieting fashion.
I Care a Lot (2021)
Rosamund Pike is mesmerising in this caustic takedown of the legal guardian industry (and sharp rebuke of the fact that assuming legal responsibility for a stranger has become an industry at all). As Pike’s gung-ho Marla Grayson squares off against a determined gangster (Peter Dinklage) after adding the wrong woman (Diane Wiest) to her list of clients, writer/director J Blakeson balances thrills, commentary and black comedy in one devilishly entertaining package.
Jaws (1975)
Thrillers don’t get much bigger than Jaws, the movie that made nobody feel safe about getting in any body of water from the mid ‘70s onwards. A thriller about a savage man-eating shark wreaking havoc on a resort town in the middle of summer will do that, especially when helmed so expertly by Steven Spielberg. And, although Roy Schneider and Richard Dreyfuss are the stars of the show, this blockbuster’s unnerving John Williams-composed theme is just as crucial.
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Hailing from the British-based portion of Alfred Hitchcock’s resume, The Lady Vanishes spells out its basic conceit in its title. Yes, a lady does indeed vanish. When Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) goes missing on a trip across Europe, Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) is plunged into a mystery, which the master of suspense explores with wit, intelligence and his usual style—all in an adaptation of the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins.
The Lobster (2015)
The first English-language film by Greek Weird Wave auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, The Lobster is dark, funny, dramatic, thoroughly dystopian, and also deeply romantic. Starring the perfectly cast Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, it dwells in a world where the uncoupled are forced to find a partner within 45 days, with being transformed into animals the penalty for failure. Exploring how that turns out is an exercise in unshakeable tension—and it’s also never less than strikingly moving.
Long Weekend (1978)
Add Long Weekend to the sizeable list of movies that have scared many a person away from Australia’s vast expanses. Here, couple Peter (John Hargreaves) and Marcia (Briony Behets) head off on a camping trip that’s supposed to help repair their fraying marriage. Alas, during their getaway, they treat their surroundings with reckless indifference at best and cruelty at worst. Nature finds a way to fight back several times over.
Lord of the Flies (1963)
Strand a group of approximately 30 British schoolboys on an island as war ravages their country, then task them with surviving and forming a makeshift society, and savagery was always going to eventuate. That’s the concept behind William Golding’s 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, and behind Peter Brook’s involving 1963 big-screen adaptation, with both diving deep into the dog-eat-dog psychological machinations of the tale’s characters.
Monster (2003)
Before Charlize Theron established her place as one of the 21st century’s best action stars, and before Patty Jenkins directed Wonder Woman to box office glory, they combined for 2003’s Monster—with Theron winning an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos. In everything from its central portrayal to its choice of tight shots, this crime thriller is gritty, unrelentingly gripping, and seething with tension.
Old (2021)
They grow up so fast. A set of bizarrely written characters wind up on a beach that makes you, yep, Old in this kooky-as-hell yarn from twistmeister M. Night Shyamalan. The pacing is absolutely head-spinning, with some gut-wrenching scenes and wild deaths immediately forgotten for bigger plot developments. Whether you think it rocks (like I do) or not, the resulting sci-fi-thriller is entirely entertaining. — Eliza Janssen
Razorback (1984)
It may fall into the sizeable category of movies that paint the Australian outback’s sprawling expanse as a source of considerable unease (and use Broken Hill as their primary shooting location), but Razorback more than holds its own in the popular genre. A giant ravenous boar that devours people will do that, of course. The directorial debut of Russell Mulcahy, this horror-thriller about a series of gruesome has caused many a nightmare.
The Report (2019)
On paper, a film based on a real-life 6700-page report doesn’t sound inherently thrilling; however writer/director Scott Z. Burns turns the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s real-life investigation into the CIA’s use of torture in interrogation into an edge-of-your-seat dramatised affair. Leading the charge is Adam Driver as staffer Daniel Jones; however The Report boasts a top-notch cast all-round, including Annette Bening, Corey Stoll, Maura Tierney and Jon Hamm.
Scarface (1983)
Starring Al Pacino as drug lord Tony Montana, directed with the flair that Brian De Palma is known for and set to a pulsating Giorgio Moroder score, Scarface is the quintessential ‘80s crime thriller. It’s equally vivid and grim, both over-the-top and steeped in the ups and downs of criminal behaviour. And it rides quite the narrative rollercoaster. Yes, it’s over-quoted and over-referenced in popular culture, but it undeniably packs a punch.
Skyfall (2012)
Prime Video is now home to the entire James Bond collection, and plenty of 007’s antics are worth a watch for their espionage and action thrills. But among Daniel Craig’s stint swigging shaken-not-stirred martinis, tackling sinister criminals in tuxedos and saving the world from behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, Skyfall is a stunner. The emotional stakes, the memorable villain, the spectacular set pieces: they’re all accounted for.
Suspiria (2018)
Remaking a film as influential as Dario Argento’s Suspiria is no easy feat but, with his dread-fuelled, gore-splashed 2018 version, Luca Guadagnino proved more than up to the task. Once again, this story of fancy footwork and formidable supernatural forces centres of a prestigious but ominous Berlin dance school in the late ‘70s, which welcomes a new student—with Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton both standouts, and Thom Yorke’s score instantly unsettling.
Train to Busan (2016)
Set during a zombie outbreak, Train to Busan is a horror film. Featuring plenty of human-against-undead battles as a father (Gong Yoo) attempts to take his young daughter (Kim Su-an) to the eponymous city, it’s also an action movie. And, thanks to its supreme command of edge-of-your-seat tension—especially given how well-worn its general concept is, and how the notion of battling zombies on a train could’ve turned out—Yeon Sang-ho’s South Korean blockbuster is firmly a thriller too.
Unfaithful (2002)
When Adrian Lyne hops behind the camera, he doesn’t skimp on style. When he makes an erotic thriller, he leans into both aspects of the genre, too, as both Fatal Attraction and Unfaithful demonstrate. For the latter, Diane Lane earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her starring role. Opposite Richard Gere and Oliver Martinez, she plays a wife and mother who strikes up an affair with a handsome stranger.
The Vast of Night (2019)
To evoke thrills and tension in The Vast of Night, all it takes is a strange signal echoing down a phone line, an explanation offered by a radio listener and a DJ (Jake Horowitz) and switchboard operator (Sierra McCormick) determined to work out what’s going on. The fact that it’s all set in New Mexico in 1950 is telling; however, this self-financed debut from director Andrew Patterson would remain just as effective (and as stylishly made) sans real-world context.
Blood and Black Lace (2019)
First released in 1964, Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace helped put big-screen giallo—Italy’s tense, mystery-fuelled, visually lurid and visceral horror-thriller genre—firmly on the map. It’s not only one of the ‘master of the macabre’ filmmaker’s notable features, but one of his most influential as well, tracking the rising body count sparked by a mask killer targeting fashion models in order to find a scandalous diary.
Naked Lunch (1991)
Adapted from William S. Burroughs 1959 novel and directed by David Cronenberg, Naked Lunch is often as out-there as it is engrossing — but, it’s a thriller about an exterminator (Peter Weller) whose wife (Judy Davis) picks up an addiction to bug powder, so that comes with the territory. Naturally, there’s no better director for the material, with this hallucinatory, creepy crawly-fuelled tale filled with just the kind of nerve-rattling imagery that Cronenberg is famous for.
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965)
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold stems from the pen of John le Carre, an author whose pages overflow with espionage thrills—and whose books have inspired many a big-screen adaptation. Brought to the cinema by Martin Ritt and featuring a well-cast Richard Burton, the four-time BAFTA winner tasks a British agent with pretending to defect to East Germany. Le Carre-written stories work best when underplayed, and that’s definitely the case here.
