Nothing beats a good thriller for an adrenaline rush. Over the years, the genre has continually evolved. Whether it’s classic staples like The Silence of the Lambs or more recent whodunits like Knives Out, thrillers give audiences something to latch onto as they follow the lead character working to crack the case. However, a great thriller isn’t necessarily about the case itself.
Blood, weapons, and victims aside, a thriller is a study of human behavior. It’s not every day people are haunted by murder. These situations prompt characters to take on the most questionable choices, which typically result in an unsavory consequence. Although many thrillers have found success on screen, some deserve far more attention in today’s discourse. Without further ado, here are 10 relentless thriller movies that no one remembers today.
1
‘The Chaser’ (2008)
A disgraced ex-detective turned pimp, Eom Joong-ho (Kim Yoon-seok), finds himself in a race against time when one of his women disappears after meeting a suspicious client. With more and more of his girls going missing, Joong-ho is pushed deeper into financial trouble. Little does he know that a psychotic killer is on the loose.
There’s a reason why it’s called The Chaser. Given only 12 hours, Joong-ho scrambles to find anything that could put the suspect behind bars. All while this is happening, the suspect waits eerily calm in custody. What makes the film all the more biting is how Joong-ho ends up outpacing the actual police, who are too caught up in bureaucracy to do their job.
2
‘Prisoners’ (2013)
After a Thanksgiving dinner, six-year-old Anna Dover (Erin Gerasimovich) and her friend Joy Birch (Kyla-Drew Simmons) vanish. Suspecting Alex Jones (Paul Dano), a mentally impaired RV owner briefly detained and released, father Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) abducts and tortures him for answers. As Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) tracks hidden leads, he learns that Alex might not be the one responsible.
Jackman is arguably most famous for his role as Wolverine in the MCU. While the superhero is already a stern character, few could expect the level of intensity Jackman delivers in Prisoners. Unlike a cop chasing after victims, a father searching for his missing children is a different kind of desperation — one that pushes Keller to break the law in pursuit of justice.
3
‘Michael Clayton’ (2007)
Michael Clayton (George Clooney), a burned-out “fixer” for a powerful New York law firm, is sent to contain a crisis when star litigator Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) suffers a breakdown during a $3 billion lawsuit against agrochemical giant U-North. As Arthur insists the company is guilty, Clayton discovers a corporate cover-up and a pool of debt. Unfortunately, he’s got bigger problems ahead.
Michael Clayton is a story of maintaining integrity in one of the most corrupt institutions: corporate America. Clayton himself is no innocent man, as he has a history of doing everything from shoplifting to bending congressmen to get what he wants. But if there’s anything Clayton refuses to be, it’s a scapegoat.
4
‘The Pledge’ (2001)
On the eve of retirement, detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) vows to a grieving mother he’ll catch her daughter’s killer. Linking similar murders of young blonde girls, he buys a remote gas station to stake out a suspect — a man in a black station wagon called “the wizard.” As he forms a bond with a local girl, he ultimately uses her to bait the killer.
At the core of The Pledge is a detective’s final promise. That promise determines whether Jerry can truly leave his life in law enforcement behind. Although the film revolves around finding a killer, it is ultimately about the weight of a moral obligation. Failure to fulfill it will undo everything he has worked for over the years leading up to his retirement.
5
‘Tell No One’ (2006)
Eight years after his wife Margot’s brutal murder, pediatrician Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet) becomes a suspect again when two bodies are found near the original crime scene. On the same day, he receives a video showing Margot alive, with a warning to tell no one. As police close in, Alexandre goes on the run, following secret messages that lead him to a staged death.
Tell No One has a premise similar to Netflix’s His & Hers, in the sense that everyone is keeping secrets from each other. There are many versions of the truth, and each is delivered convincingly. What’s painful is that most of the people involved are victims of the elite, who think they can control anyone they want — until they are bloodily proven otherwise.
6
‘Frailty’ (2001)
A man named Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) approaches FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe), claiming his brother Adam is the “God’s Hand” killer. As told through flashbacks, he recounts a childhood shaped by their father’s belief that he was chosen to kill demons disguised as humans. As Fenton leads Doyle to buried bodies, they learn what’s actually going on behind their father’s “visions.”
Frailty stands out thanks to its use of religious imagery, offering something that feels refreshingly unsettling in the thriller genre. Basing one’s murderous intentions on a sign from “God” can be a touch too blasphemous for audiences, but the risk pays off. Although Frailty takes it to extremes with the concept of being divinely instructed to kill, religious fanaticism is not unheard of.
7
‘A Simple Plan’ (1998)
Hank (Bill Paxton), his dim-witted brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton), and their friend Lou (Brent Briscoe) discover a crashed plane containing $4.4 million of what is likely drug money. Hank insists on hiding it until authorities find the wreck. With encouragement from his manipulative wife, Sarah (Bridget Fonda), mistrust grows. After Jacob impulsively kills a passing neighbor, the plan escalates into violence as the FBI pursues an investigation.
They say money is a good servant but a bad master, and that idea plays out clearly in A Simple Plan. The film observes how the bond between three close men begins to dissolve once a large sum of money quite literally falls at their feet, pushing them to betray one another. With $4.4 million, it seems like there’s much to share, but some people just want everything to themselves.
8
‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ (2009)
Retired Argentine investigator Benjamín Espósito (Ricardo Darín) revisits the 1970s rape and murder of Liliana Coloto (Carla Quevedo) while writing a novel to find closure. Haunted by the case’s unresolved ending, he reconnects with former colleagues, including Irene Menéndez-Hastings (Soledad Villamil), his longtime unspoken love. As he retraces the pursuit of suspect Isidoro Gómez (Javier Godino), Espósito looks back at a criminal whose fate remains hanging in the air.
The Secret in Their Eyes shows one alarming point about the judicial system: it is not perfect. The bleak reality is that certain individuals within the institution have no real interest in bringing justice. Some are more invested in keeping criminals untouched so they can be used for their own self-interests. More importantly, The Secret in Their Eyes shows that police cases can take years — even decades — to be resolved. Justice is often heartbreaking; rarely is it heroic.
9
‘Wind River’ (2017)
On the frozen Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, tracker Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers the body of a young Native American woman. Rookie FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) arrives and partners with Cory, covering everything from the unpredictably harsh terrain to limited authority. As evidence of assault emerges, everything comes down to the victim’s unknown boyfriend.
Wind River addresses one of America’s biggest yet overshadowed crises: missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Many of these cases stem from a lack of authoritative resources and the sheer difficulty of the terrain. It is a no-man’s land in Wyoming, and as shown through Cory’s and Jane’s investigative methods, there is no single “correct” approach to police work in places where the law is no longer relevant.
10
‘Zodiac’ (2007)
Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes obsessed with identifying the mysterious Zodiac Killer, who terrorizes Northern California with cryptic letters and murders. As investigators and journalists pursue leads, the case consumes their lives. Cartoonist Robert Graysmith’s (Gyllenhaal) fixation strains his career and family, but he’s already so close to figuring out the decades-long mystery.
Zodiac is more about Robert’s obsession with solving the case than the case itself. Every time Robert seems to gain the upper hand, his efforts ultimately end in failure. Audiences are taken through Robert’s investigative highs and lows, riding on a wild momentum that doesn’t seem to end. Meanwhile, the killer barely makes an appearance, but whether it’s through letters or coded messages, he knows how to make a scene.
- Release Date
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March 2, 2007
- Runtime
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157 minutes
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