The 40 best thriller movies of all time, ranked
From black-and-white classics to modern masterpieces, here are the most thrilling films in cinematic history.
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Thrillers may be the most nebulous genre. It’s a better descriptor of a film’s effect on the audience than an indicator of its style, substance, or tone, and the label can be accurately assigned to any movie that keeps us on the edge of our seats. Film noir, psychological horror, legal dramas, cerebral sci-fi, crime procedurals, creature features, murder mysteries — they all put characters in tense situations to get our adrenaline pumping.
Unlike traditional horror, thrillers often keep us in suspense with the power of suggestion and implication, using every trick in the cinematic playbook to get our hearts racing while withholding overt depictions of what makes the characters anxious. Without further ado, here is Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 40 best thriller movies of all time, ranked.
40. Gravity (2013)
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Alfonso Cuarón’s out-of-this-world thriller touts some of the best technical wonders that big-budget filmmaking has to offer, complementing the movie’s narrative simplicity and thematic depth. Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, Gravity effectively utilizes slick, dizzying long takes and breathtaking visual effects to capture the grand, chaotic isolation of space. The bare-bones survival story provokes a primal, adrenaline-pumping suspense that few films achieve, and it’s utterly transfixing for the entire runtime.
Where to watch Gravity: AppleTV+
39. The Housemaid (1960)
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In Kim Ki-young’s classic psychological drama, the arrival of a new maid (Lee Eun-shim) creates a rift of paranoia and distrust between a piano teacher (Kim Jin-kyu) and his wife (Ju Jeung-ryu). With rich commentary on social class, smooth camera movements gliding between rooms, and the symbolically charged use of a staircase, The Housemaid was one of Bong Joon-ho’s primary inspirations for Parasite. The film was remade by the same director twice, and it also received a 2010 remake from Im Sang-soo.
Where to watch The Housemaid: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
38. War of the Worlds (2005)
Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of H.G. Wells’ sci-fi classic explores the terror of alien invasion from the perspective of a working-class family on the East Coast. War of the Worlds fuses post-9/11 paranoia and the terror of parenting to create one of Spielberg’s most thrilling blockbusters with a dark, genuinely scary atmosphere of ordinary people being wiped out by incomprehensible tragedy. The filmmaker’s visual direction is as strong as ever, with immersive long takes and dazzling shot selections that nobody else would think of, while Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning excel as the frazzled father and daughter at the story’s heart.
Where to watch War of the Worlds: Paramount+
37. Gaslight (1944)
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It’s unlikely that any other film on this list impacted the popular lexicon as much as Gaslight did. George Cukor’s movie — a remake of a 1940 British feature, which is adapted from a 1938 play — sees a woman (Ingrid Bergman) become increasingly paranoid when her deceitful husband (Charles Boyer) makes her believe she’s going insane, inadvertently inspiring the now-ubiquitous concept of gaslighting. The film is one of the most haunting cinematic depictions of a relational power imbalance, and knowing where it’s going doesn’t soften the tension or reduce the overwhelming creepiness on display.
Where to watch Gaslight: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
36. Deep Red (1975)
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Dario Argento’s classic follows a jazz musician (David Hemmings) who investigates a string of brutal murders in northern Italy. The film is a prime example of Italian giallo, a suspense subgenre that usually blends elements of slashers, murder mysteries, and psychological horror, resulting in dark, pulpy thrillers that are often more explicit than comparable American films from the same era. With a haunting soundtrack and precise, brooding cinematography, Argento creates a chillingly grimy atmosphere that pervades every frame.
Where to watch Deep Red: PlutoTV
35. Funny Games (1997)
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In Michael Haneke’s miserable film — undoubtedly the most brutal movie on this list — a family falls victim to home invaders while on vacation. Funny Games is a relentless work of cruelty as entertainment that’s so extreme, that it corners the audience into culpability and makes you wonder why we delight in thrillers and horror movies. The dynamic between the parents and the perpetrators steadily escalates from politeness to hostility to eventual torture, all while maintaining a frustrating attitude of inevitability and justification toward the former’s fate. Haneke made a shot-for-shot English-language remake in 2007 with Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and Michael Pitt, but his first foray packs more of a punch.
Where to watch Funny Games: Max
34. Blood Simple (1984)
The Coen brothers’ quiet debut film is among their most suspenseful works. It sees a Texan bar owner (Dan Hedaya) hire a private detective (M. Emmet Walsh) to expose an affair between his wife (Frances McDormand, also in her feature debut) and his employee (John Getz). The lighting and camerawork do a lot of heavy lifting in Blood Simple, creating a palpably tense atmosphere without the help of a notable score or even much dialogue. Every image has significance and maintains a consistently dark mood.
Where to watch Blood Simple: Max
33. Contagion (2011)
Nearly a decade before COVID-19, Steven Soderbergh’s medical drama presciently depicted the structural flaws and social dynamics that make pandemics so surreal and devastating. With an outrageously talented ensemble that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Elliott Gould, Contagion is the rare American movie that focuses on a collective that’s bigger than a few individuals. The film approaches its health crisis with amazing balance and breadth, resulting in a mortifying conflict that feels uniquely global in scale.
Where to watch Contagion: The Roku Channel
32. Run Lola Run (1998)
In Tom Tykwer’s zippy crime drama, a young woman (Franka Potente) must help her boyfriend obtain 100,000 Deutschmarks in 20 minutes — and she has multiple chances to do so, as she’s stuck in an inexplicable time loop. Before Edge of Tomorrow and Source Code, Run Lola Run brilliantly converted the Groundhog Day formula into an intense, efficient action film. It cleverly explores the butterfly effect, showing how the smallest events can yield life or death consequences.
Where to watch Run Lola Run: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
31. The Insider (1999)
Michael Mann’s thrilling drama follows a reporter (Al Pacino) who uncovers a vast conspiracy with the help of a tobacco industry insider (Russell Crowe). The film rests on the strength of its gripping journalistic procedure, showing the minutiae of working with a source, putting a story together, and sending it out to the public. Every step of the process unfolds with the highest possible stakes, to the point where the investigation jeopardizes the future of multiple industries and threatens the protagonists' lives.
Where to watch The Insider: Vudu (to rent)
30. Perfect Blue (1997)
In Satoshi Kon’s animated classic, a pop star attempts to jump into television acting and faces violent consequences. It’s a swirling nightmare of obsession, celebrity, violence, misogyny, and psychological instability. Sadayuki Murai’s twisty script constantly upends our understanding of the film’s reality, resulting in what might be a record-breaking number of rug pulls.
Where to watch Perfect Blue: AMC+
29. North by Northwest (1959)
In Alfred Hitchcock’s spy adventure, Cary Grant stars as an ad executive mistaken for a secret agent who goes on the run. North by Northwest contains several of the most thrilling sequences in the director’s filmography, including the darkly comedic drunk driving scene, the showdown with the crop duster, and the climactic chase atop Mount Rushmore. With stunning locations, death-defying stunts, and a twisty espionage plot, the film was a huge inspiration for early James Bond movies (From Russia With Love notably pays homage to Hitchcock’s movie with its incredible helicopter chase sequence).
Where to watch North by Northwest: Tubi
28. Blow Out (1981)
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In this nail-biter from Brian De Palma, John Travolta stars as an audio engineer who records a car crash and inadvertently discovers a political scandal. It’s a Hitchcockian thriller, a lament of intense political cynicism, and a troubling examination of our relationship with art and media, all rolled into one. De Palma is a filmmaker whose unmistakable style is both thematically expressive and visually enticing. He loves split screens, split diopters, long takes, swirling camera maneuvers, and slow motion, using them all to enhance Blow Out’s ideas and entertainment value.
27. Inside Man (2006)
Spike Lee’s heist drama charts the conflict between a bank robber (Clive Owen) and a hostage negotiator (Denzel Washington). The film elegantly builds layers of tension between quiet interpersonal moments, and it feels as though any character could betray everyone else, even if they’re on the same side. Each scene reveals just enough information to keep us on our toes, so that, like all great heist movies, we don’t see the complete plan until the very end. It’s also technically dazzling — the camera spins and ducks throughout the bank, enhancing the anxiety of the situation while also familiarizing the audience with the layout of the building.
Where to watch Inside Man: Starz
26. All the President’s Men (1976)
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The definitive journalism movie tracks Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) as they uncover the Watergate scandal at The Washington Post. The film almost exclusively takes place in offices, parking structures, and living rooms, but Alan J. Pakula’s direction and William Goldman’s screenplay ensure a constant simmering tension. There’s always an underlying fear for every character’s safety, especially when it becomes clear how high the conspiracy goes.
Where to watch All the President’s Men: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
25. A Man Escaped (1956)
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During World War II, a French Resistance fighter (Fran?ois Leterrier) hatches a plan to escape from a Gestapo prison. For the majority of its runtime, A Man Escaped derives its tension from sound design, with the protagonist obtaining valuable information as he listens to movement beyond the walls of his cell. The film’s climax is perhaps the most thrilling prison break in cinema history.
Where to watch A Man Escaped: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
24. Sunshine (2007)
Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) and screenwriter Alex Garland (Ex Machina) team up for a star-studded sci-fi drama/slasher about a crew of astronauts on a mission to reignite the sun after a catastrophic ice age. The impressive ensemble includes Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, Cliff Curtis, and Rose Byrne. It’s a film about how the incomprehensible scale and power of the cosmos — and humanity’s minuscule place within it — can break your mind and complicate your sense of purpose. There’s a constant sense of individual and species-wide existential dread that’s rarely achieved in cinematic sci-fi.
Where to watch Sunshine: Vudu (to rent)
23. Seven (1995)
David Fincher’s breakthrough crime drama stars Morgan Freeman as a veteran detective and Brad Pitt as his newly minted partner as they investigate a web of murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. Though it looks like a fairly standard police procedural on its surface, Se7en gradually reveals itself as one of the most oppressively bleak movies ever created in the American studio system. Misery, tension, and dread emanate out of every frame, as Fincher presents a world full of pain, cruelty, and evil so pervasive that its characters can only survive when they switch off their emotions.
22. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
In William Friedkin’s sprawling crime saga, William Petersen plays an obsessive Secret Service agent who tries to avenge his fallen partner by busting an expansive counterfeiting ring. Willem Dafoe steals every one of his scenes as the primary antagonist. Like Friedkin’s other acclaimed crime procedural The French Connection (1971), To Live and Die in L.A. contains one of the most exciting car chase sequences in Hollywood history — and isn’t afraid to make its characters into unsympathetic monsters.
Where to watch To Live and Die in L.A.: Not available to stream
21. Wait Until Dark (1967)
Audrey Hepburn gives one of her strongest performances as a blind woman battling home invaders in this terrifying suspense film based on a successful play by Frederick Knott. Like Rear Window, Wait Until Dark provides nail-biting tension without leaving the comfort of the protagonist’s on-screen home. A young Alan Arkin excels as the villain, vacillating between charismatic coolness and explosive rage.
Where to watch Wait Until Dark: Tubi
20. Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele’s breathtaking directorial debut (which he classifies as a “social thriller”) follows a Black man (Daniel Kaluuya) as he meets the parents (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener) of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams) for the first time. Get Out’s tense character dynamics steadily evolve from everyday awkwardness and familiar microaggressions into chilling sci-fi terror that reflects the commodification and fetishization of Black bodies in society. But Peele’s crowd-pleasing capabilities and mastery of genre tropes ensure that the film is as exciting to watch (and re-watch) as it is to analyze.
Where to watch Get Out: Amazon Prime Video
19. The Departed (2006)
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Martin Scorsese’s Best-Picture-winning remake of Infernal Affairs (2002) pits a dirty cop (Matt Damon) against an undercover officer (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Boston’s seedy criminal underbelly. Since both of the main characters are in constant danger of blowing their cover, The Departed is one of the most thrilling films in Scorsese’s filmography. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker enhances the tension with some reliably exhilarating sequences, many of which don’t even need music to heighten the suspense.
Where to watch The Departed: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
18. The Dark Knight (2008)
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Christopher Nolan’s propulsive second trip to Gotham City starring Christian Bale strips the Batman mythos down to the bare essentials to explore the gray area between commonly oversimplified extremes: good and evil, heroes and villains, order and chaos. With a scene-stealing villain (Heath Ledger), a relentlessly percussive score, anxiety-inducing editing, and breathtaking urban cinematography, The Dark Knight remains the most intense comic book movie ever made. You can’t look away while it’s all happening or stop thinking about it when it’s over.
Where to watch The Dark Knight: Max
17. Double Indemnity (1944)
Billy Wilder’s splendid film noir sees an insurance agent (Fred MacMurray) conspire with an alluring housewife (Barbara Stanwyck) to murder her husband for a hefty payout. The screenplay, which Wilder co-wrote with legendary author Raymond Chandler, is filled to the brim with elegant, stylish dialogue. MacMurray’s character narrates events as they unfold, which provides an especially literary tone. And against all odds, it successfully makes you hope that the shady characters will get away with murder.
Where to watch Double Indemnity: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
16. Memento (2000)
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Christopher Nolan’s neo-noir breakout follows a man (Guy Pearce) suffering from anterograde amnesia who tries to solve his wife’s murder without the ability to form new short-term memories. Memento pulls off a daring structural gambit: It tells its story in reverse chronology, with each scene taking place before the previous one, inviting the audience to uncover its multitude of mysteries by reconstructing the fractured narrative. Beneath all the smoke and mirrors, it’s a devastatingly somber film, and one of Nolan’s most emotionally complex projects.
Where to watch Memento: Amazon Prime Video
15. The Third Man (1949)
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Carol Reed’s noir follows an American novelist (Joseph Cotten) who visits his friend (Orson Welles) in Vienna, only to discover that he recently died in a mysterious accident. The Third Man employs off-putting Dutch angles and moody lighting to craft some of the most beautiful black-and-white cinematography put to film. Indeed, every shot of the characters running through Vienna’s slick, shadowy streets and tunnels is absolutely gorgeous. The Third Man also has the catchiest theme music of any movie on this list, courtesy of Anton Karas.
Where to watch The Third Man: Tubi
14. Mulholland Drive (2001)
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David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive is a confounding nightmare of artifice and fractured identity, exploring the relationship between an aspiring actress (Naomi Watts) and an amnesiac (Laura Harring). We can’t ascertain what’s real, what’s fantasy, and what’s performance when the film and its characters continually blur the lines between truth and embellishment. The dreamy rhythm established by Mary Sweeney’s editing and Lynch’s surreal imagery yields a cinematic experience that’s impossible to look away from and almost impossible to fully understand.
Where to watch Mulholland Drive: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
13. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Jonathan Demme’s legendary film fuses crime procedural and horror elements to deliver one of the most purely entertaining movies of the last 40 years. Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, an up-and-coming FBI agent who reluctantly consults imprisoned murderer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to track down a dangerous serial killer. The Silence of the Lambs is probably the most successful thriller in Oscar history, nabbing awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Where to watch The Silence of the Lambs: Max
12. Bound (1996)
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Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s claustrophobic directorial debut sees an ex-con (Gina Gershon) and her neighbor (Jennifer Tilly) attempt to steal millions of dollars from the latter’s mobster boyfriend (Joe Pantoliano). By prioritizing the female characters’ perspective, Bound becomes a stylish subversion of film noir conventions, allowing the women at the center to exploit the paranoid masculine posturing of the crime-movie world for personal gain. The constantly roaming camera makes you feel like an active, voyeuristic participant in the action, and it imbues the whole endeavor with an overwhelming amount of energy and tension.
11. Parasite (2019)
A working-class family infiltrates a wealthy household with a dangerous secret in Bong Joon-ho’s Best Picture-winning genre-bender. It’s a gripping tale of socioeconomic anxiety with intense performances, precise cinematography, impeccable set design, and an energetic score. Bong’s dark sense of humor also ensures that Parasite is the funniest movie on this list by a considerable margin.
10. The Sixth Sense (1999)
The supernatural mystery from M. Night Shyamalan is best known for its unforgettable twist ending, but The Sixth Sense is a riveting piece of suspense entertainment for its entire duration, not just its revelatory final minutes. Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist who befriends a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) with an unusual ability. Shyamalan proves unafraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, prompting his actors to emote with a raw vulnerability that’s rare in contemporary thrillers.
Where to watch The Sixth Sense: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
9. M (1931)
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Fritz Lang’s incredible serial killer procedural follows a murderer (Peter Lorre) as he attempts to escape the clutches of law enforcement and a community of vengeful civilians in Berlin. Through its complex depiction of a bloodthirsty mob, M explores the disturbingly violent tendencies inherent in human nature. It all revolves around fear, displaying how collective anxiety — used as a justification to exert force, invade privacy, and enact bitter violence — has the unparalleled ability to unite and reshape societies for the worse.
8. The Handmaiden (2016)
Park Chan-wook’s period power play sees four characters — an heiress (Kim Min-hee), her servant (Kim Tae-ri), her wealthy uncle (Cho Jin-woong), and her conniving suitor (Ha Jung-woo) — battle for vast wealth in a swirling mess of love, lust, class, political tension, cruelty, and manipulation. Park maintains a steady directorial hand, revealing precise amounts of information for rug pulls and double-crosses that are impossible to see coming but feel inevitable once they occur. Meanwhile, Kim Tae-ri and Kim Min-hee are incredible as the complex women at the center, always broadcasting layers of inner conflict that make their actions and motivations difficult to predict.
Where to watch The Handmaiden: Amazon Prime Video
7. Zodiac (2007)
This fact-based crime drama from David Fincher follows a cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he seeks the help of a detective (Mark Ruffalo) and a reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) to track down the Zodiac Killer. Fincher’s meticulous, detail-oriented style perfectly matches the material, which explores a man’s descent into paranoid obsession as he seeks answers he’s incapable of finding. Like Seven and Panic Room, Zodiac is a gripping, grimy crime story filled with intense performances and slick cinematography.
Where to watch Zodiac: Paramount+
6. High and Low (1963)
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The first act of Akira Kurosawa’s kidnapping mystery is a Hitchcockian one-room thriller where characters receive troubling phone calls and face profound moral dilemmas. The remainder of High and Low is one of the strongest police procedurals of all time. It makes the minutia of investigation unbelievably exhilarating, and the antagonist is neither sympathetic nor a one-dimensional cartoon figure. The film is also attuned to class dynamics without hitting you over the head with simplified, over-explained commentary.
Where to watch High and Low: Max
5. Rear Window (1954)
In Alfred Hitchcock’s claustrophobic crime drama, a wheelchair-bound photographer (James Stewart) unravels a violent mystery as he spies on his neighbors from his apartment. With Rear Window, Hitchcock and his collaborators miraculously craft an exhilarating, satisfying mystery-thriller while confining the protagonist to a single location. It embraces the rush of voyeurism while calling its characters’ snoopy inclinations into question, resulting in a morally complex film that never relents its entertainment value.
Where to watch Rear Window: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
4. Children of Men (2006)
Based on P.D. James’ novel, Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian drama envisions a world where universal infertility causes global upheaval, and a man (Clive Owen) must protect a young woman with a mysterious secret (Clare-Hope Ashitey). The precise chaos of its execution — particularly its meticulously choreographed, long take-action sequences and grimy production design — ensure that Children of Men grips you from start to finish. It’s a hauntingly beautiful story about fragments of hope in a crumbling society.
Where to watch Children of Men: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
3. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
In Sidney Lumet’s crime classic, a frazzled man (Al Pacino) tries to rob a bank to fund his partner’s sex change operation. Dog Day Afternoon has unique sympathy for its central characters, emphasizing their desperation and seemingly endless complexity without condescension or over-simplification. It’s tightly paced, full of excellent dialogue, and beautifully shot. Pacino gives one of the most exhausted yet energetic performances in cinematic history, and Chris Sarandon grounds the whole thing in genuine pathos.
Where to watch Dog Day Afternoon: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
2. Jaws (1975)
Steven Spielberg’s terrifying shark attack thriller set the template for the modern summer blockbuster, fusing action, suspense, and horror elements to make the entire world afraid of the water. Since the animatronic shark frequently malfunctioned on set, Jaws was forced to merely suggest the creature’s foreboding presence with ominous first-person camerawork instead of showing the killer up close. As a result, the film derives overwhelming tension from the creature’s unknown qualities and the terror of an unseen force wreaking havoc on an unassuming community.
Where to watch Jaws: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
1. Psycho (1960)
A paranoid young woman (Janet Leigh) goes on the run and encounters a suspicious motel manager (Anthony Perkins) in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic proto-slasher. Psycho playfully subverts expectations and rejects structural norms to deliver one of the most surprising thrillers ever committed to film. With its daring jumps between multiple protagonists, the movie makes it impossible to anticipate what might happen in subsequent scenes, while Bernard Herrmann’s ominous score turns even the most mundane scenes into nail-biters.
Where to watch Psycho: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
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