Some of the best thriller movies grab the audience’s attention immediately, setting themselves apart from the pack. This isn’t always the case, because there are plenty of great movies that start slowly and work into a groove, including thrillers. A bold opening doesn’t work for every narrative, but it can elevate an entire movie when it’s executed well.
It brings a certain sense of comfort when a movie immediately seems like a masterpiece. It means that the audience can surrender themselves to the experience wholeheartedly, which is an attitude that is especially rewarding in thrillers. Movies that are designed to excite people work well if they can set the scene early and create an immersive atmosphere.
10
Rear Window (1954)
Some of Alfred Hitchcock’s best movies qualify as thrillers, and many of them have brilliant opening sequences too. Rear Window is probably the best example, since its iconic opening shot sets the scene perfectly. Hitchcock’s camera peers into the private lives of several neighbors, before resting on his protagonist.
Rear Window also sets up its themes of voyeurism and domestic unrest from the beginning. It keeps its momentum going throughout the first act, portraying Jeff’s boredom in a way that somehow makes it feel lively. Hitchcock often casts his attention on the neighbors, even while Jeff is talking, which allows his audience to scan for any morsels of information.
9
Decision To Leave (2022)
Park Chan-wook sets up a fascinating story in the first few minutes of Decision to Leave, slowly drawing his audience in without anything too splashy. He shows how Detective Jang has a settled but dispassionate home life and a frustrating day-to-day grind at work. The introduction of femme fatale Song Seo-rae changes everything in an instant.
The opening of Decision to Leave swings from one tone to another, pairing bursts of comedic levity with quiet tragedy. This gives some indication of the movie’s powerful narrative, but there are many more twists in store. What starts as a compelling murder mystery evolves into an emotionally complex romantic drama.
8
Children Of Men (2006)
Children of Men is a brilliant dystopian thriller, painting a lifelike portrait of a near future in which a mysterious global infertility crisis has torn society to shreds. The first scene provides a first look at this society, first with a news bulletin, and then with a violent explosion that rips through the streets of London.
Alfonso Cuarón uses plenty of long takes in Children of Men, starting with the very first scene. This helps create a more immersive atmosphere, as he gives his audience time to pick up on every rich detail in the background, before grabbing their attention once again with a burst of violence.
7
Nightcrawler (2014)
Jake Gyllenhaal delivers one of his most captivating performances in Nightcrawler. He plays Lou Bloom, a Los Angeles grifter who turns to freelance journalism to turn his city’s traffic accidents and violent crimes into profit. He gradually develops into a truly depraved sociopath, but the opening of Nightcrawler shows the early signs of his duplicitous nature.
The first 10 minutes of Nightcrawler show the two most important elements of Lou’s character. The first is that he has no qualms about resorting to violence, and the second is that he puts on the smiling facade of a salesman. Even if his sales persona isn’t wholly convincing, it’s enough to distract those around him from his true nature.
6
Drive (2011)
Drive offers up one of its most exciting action scenes at the beginning, which ultimately serves as the perfect introduction to Ryan Gosling’s protagonist. It’s a completely fresh approach to a chase scene, stripped of any fast-paced music or death-defying stunts. This makes it feel more authentic and relatable.
The first chase in Drive shows that the unnamed driver is highly skilled, resourceful and calm under pressure, but it doesn’t reveal much about who he is when he isn’t behind the wheel of a car. This mystery continues throughout most of the movie, as he keeps his cards close to his chest.
5
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Dog Day Afternoon is one of the best heist movies ever, but it subverts the swagger of the genre’s most entertaining crime capers. It’s a rare heist movie based on a true story, and it shatters the stereotype of the debonair thief that pops up in movies. What remains is a strikingly authentic picture of a robbery going badly wrong.
Although Dog Day Afternoon turns into a high-stakes thriller, the first few minutes resemble a dark comedy. Al Pacino’s panicked robber slides around the floors of the bank, falls short of knocking out the surveillance cameras, and struggles to remember his plan. It’s a masterclass in physical comedy, even as Sidney Lumet sets the stakes of his narrative.
4
Zodiac (2007)
David Fincher’s filmography includes some of the best thrillers ever made. After the likes of Se7en and Fight Club, Fincher found a way to reinvent the genre once again with Zodiac. Again, he started things off with a bang, unfolding a real-life murder case in meticulous detail, setting the scene for a murder mystery like no other.
Zodiac ultimately examines the audience’s morbid fascination with true crime and serial killers, but Fincher first baits his trap by providing an engrossing pastiche that turns into a violent tragedy. There are countless relatable details in the opening sequence that make it feel more real, many of which are drawn from real-life accounts.
3
Gravity (2013)
Gravity opens with a moment of stillness above the Earth, before a space shuttle comes coasting into view. Without cutting away, the following few minutes introduce the major characters, their dynamic, and the catastrophe that pushes them to the extreme. The scene goes from serenity to chaos, and Gravity maintains a rapid pace until the end.
There’s no respite from the oncoming space debris until Dr. Stone detaches from the shuttle’s arm and finds herself untethered against the dark and hostile background of outer space. Another fascinating detail is the lack of sound, which, of course, can’t travel in a vacuum. Other sci-fi movies seem to think that loud explosions are more frightening than eerie silence.
2
Memento (2000)
Memento is like many Christopher Nolan movies, in the sense that it uses its unconventional style to explore a unique concept. Part of the joy of watching Memento comes from the process of discovering the film’s storytelling machinations, and piecing the puzzle together alongside the protagonist.
The first part of Memento is all about this journey, as the protagonist is just as bewildered as the audience. It’s fascinating to drop into the black-and-white scenes alongside the main narrative, which provides clues about the real story. The first scene sums up Memento‘s non-linear timeline, showing a Polaroid in reverse, so that its clear image fades to nothingness.
1
Jaws (1975)
Like a lot of Steven Spielberg’s movies, Jaws hooks the audience from the first scene. Before any main characters are introduced, Spielberg sets the stakes with an iconic kill. The tense string music, the POV shots from below the surface of the water, and the ominous pacing of Chrissie Watkins’ death are enough to immediately grab the audience’s attention.
It takes a surprisingly long time before the shark comes into view in Jaws, and the anticipation creates a sense of dread throughout the film’s opening. Even as the people of Amity Island come together to address the problem, they never really know what exactly they’re dealing with until it’s too late.
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