American Psycho (2000)
Adapting Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel of the same name—a book that still has to be sold in sealed wrapping in Australia—American Psycho finds the ideal tonal balance between slasher thriller and immensely dark comedy. That’s a feat that can largely be credited to two people: writer/director Mary Harron and star Christian Bale. Before the latter was Batman (and before his co-star Jared Leto played the Joker), he was pitch-perfect as an unhinged investment banker.
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.
The Fugitive (1993)
A one-armed man sparks a citywide manhunt in The Fugitive, not that anyone will believe the two-armed Dr Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) when he tries to explain his wife’s suspicious death and plead his own innocence. In one of the big action-thrillers of the ‘90s, Andrew Davis remakes the ‘60s TV show of the same name in a taut, suspenseful fashion. The chase scenes are meticulously orchestrated, and both Ford and Tommy Lee Jones are at the top of their game.
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 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.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
When Quentin Tarantino traps a band of not-so-law-abiding folks together, witty banter and rampant thrills tend to result. It proved true with Reservoir Dogs, and does so again with western-thriller The Hateful Eight. Alongside criminals and bounty hunters, audiences step inside Minnie’s Haberdashery as a blizzard sets in. The cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Walton Goggins, who relish Tarantino’s characteristically talky dialogue.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
In a different world, Mulholland Drive could’ve been a TV show. Cinephiles should forever be thrilled that David Lynch’s noir mind-bender didn’t work out on the small screen, leading to one of the most astonishing films of a career filled with movies that earn that term several times over. Naomi Watts plays a wannabe actress freshly arrived in Hollywood, Laura Harring is her new friend with memory problems, and the results are Lynchian in the extreme.
Nerve (2016)
Nestled among the growing hordes of social media-focused thrillers that subject their attractive protagonists to the savage whims of the online masses, Nerve shouldn’t be as effective as it is. But with Catfish directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost at the helm, Emma Roberts and Dave Franco starring, a fast pace leaning in its favour and an astute view on its topic, it ranks among the best examples of its very specific subgenre.
Prisoners (2013)
When Denis Villeneuve made his English-language debut, of course he did so with a thriller, the French Canadian filmmaker’s favourite genre. As led by Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, the bleak, dread-inducing Prisoners charts the abduction of two Pennsylvanian girls, the police investigation to find the culprit and the response by one of the children’s fathers. Also impressive is the rest of the cast, spanning Paul Dano, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis, Maria Bello and Terrence Howard.
Seven (1995)
Alongside Zodiac, Seven is one of David Fincher’s perfect thrillers, all while tackling a topic—serial killers—that the director clearly finds both fascinating and riveting. No one will ever forget the film’s ending, or Brad Pitt’s screaming, or the movie’s elaborate and unsettling crime scenes, or its Nine Inch Nails-soundtracked opening credits. Yes, the list keeps going.
