Action/Thrillers
by samberdina | created - 24 Apr 2018 | updated - 22 Jan 2023 | PublicSuspense, Tension, Drama, Crime, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Horror and more are the building blocks for perfect action and thriller films. These are just a few.
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1. The Hunt (II) (2020)
R | 90 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are, or how they got there. They don't know they've been chosen - for a very specific purpose - The Hunt.
Director: Craig Zobel | Stars: Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Wayne Duvall
Votes: 128,675 | Gross: $5.81M
Brilliant story and perfect cast. Awesome movie!
2. Green Room (2015)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.
Director: Jeremy Saulnier | Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart
Votes: 139,146 | Gross: $3.22M
3. Gone (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A woman is convinced her kidnapper has returned when her sister goes missing.
Director: Heitor Dhalia | Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Carpenter, Wes Bentley, Daniel Sunjata
Votes: 46,385 | Gross: $11.65M
4. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,547,225 | Gross: $130.74M
5. Panic Room (2002)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A divorced woman and her diabetic daughter take refuge in their newly-purchased house's safe room when three men break-in, searching for a missing fortune.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam
Votes: 296,787 | Gross: $96.40M
Never a dull moment. Smart, intense. Perfect cast. Excellent acting. I cared enough about the characters to become involved in their plight.
6. Don't Breathe (2016)
R | 88 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Hoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn't as helpless as he seems.
Director: Fede Alvarez | Stars: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto
Votes: 300,316 | Gross: $89.22M
There's so much more to this film than I expected. Very impressed.
7. Bound (1996)
R | 109 min | Crime, Thriller
Tough ex-con Corky and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caesar.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano, John P. Ryan
Votes: 60,707 | Gross: $3.80M
8. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
Votes: 1,192,801 | Gross: $70.10M
9. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
R | 137 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 804,802 | Gross: $66.21M
10. Death Proof (2007)
R | 127 min | Action, Thriller
Two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito
Votes: 313,653
11. Machete (2010)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After being set-up and betrayed by the man who hired him to assassinate a Texas Senator, an ex-Federale launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss.
Directors: Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba
Votes: 204,034 | Gross: $26.59M
12. Machete Kills (2013)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The U.S. government recruits Machete to battle his way through Mexico in order to take down an arms dealer who looks to launch a weapon into space.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Danny Trejo, Alexa PenaVega, Mel Gibson, Jessica Alba
Votes: 82,391 | Gross: $8.01M
13. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
Director: Charles Laughton | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason
Votes: 97,272 | Gross: $0.65M
14. Rear Window (1954)
PG | 112 min | Mystery, Thriller
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 521,763 | Gross: $36.76M
15. Cape Fear (1991)
R | 128 min | Crime, Thriller
A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis
Votes: 216,492 | Gross: $79.10M
16. Chloe (2009)
R | 96 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Suspecting her husband of infidelity, gynecologist Dr. Catherine Stewart hires an escort named Chloe in order to test his faithfulness. Soon, the relationships between all three intensify.
Director: Atom Egoyan | Stars: Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Max Thieriot
Votes: 77,809 | Gross: $3.07M
17. Donkey Punch (2008)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Things go drastically wrong for a group of British holidaymakers in Spain.
Director: Olly Blackburn | Stars: Sian Breckin, Nichola Burley, Jaime Winstone, Robert Boulter
Votes: 11,571 | Gross: $0.02M
18. A Perfect Getaway (2009)
R | 98 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Two pairs of lovers on a Hawaiian vacation discover that psychopaths are stalking and murdering tourists on the islands.
Director: David Twohy | Stars: Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Kiele Sanchez
Votes: 76,352 | Gross: $15.48M
19. Sunshine (2007)
R | 107 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
A team of international astronauts is sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun with a nuclear fission bomb in 2057.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Cliff Curtis
Votes: 267,270 | Gross: $3.68M
20. Don't Hang Up (2016)
R | 83 min | Horror, Thriller
An evening of drunken prank calls becomes a nightmare for two teenagers when a stranger turns their own game against them, with deadly consequences.
Directors: Damien Macé, Alexis Wajsbrot | Stars: Gregg Sulkin, Garrett Clayton, Bella Dayne, Sienna Guillory
Votes: 16,333
21. You're Next (2011)
R | 95 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
When the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of the victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.
Director: Adam Wingard | Stars: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci
Votes: 109,379 | Gross: $18.47M
22. The Good Son (1993)
R | 87 min | Drama, Thriller
A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and becomes friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse
Votes: 45,739 | Gross: $44.59M
23. Godsend (2004)
PG-13 | 102 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
A couple agree to have their deceased son cloned, under the supervision of an enigmatic doctor, but bizarre things start to happen several years after his rebirth.
Directors: Frank M. Calo, Nick Hamm | Stars: Robert De Niro, Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn, Cameron Bright
Votes: 26,459 | Gross: $14.38M
24. Fargo (1996)
R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Votes: 726,183 | Gross: $24.61M
25. U-571 (2000)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, War
A German submarine is boarded by disguised American submariners trying to capture their Enigma cipher machine.
Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi
Votes: 87,363 | Gross: $77.09M
26. Run Lola Run (1998)
R | 80 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri
Votes: 206,912 | Gross: $7.27M
27. 21 Grams (2003)
R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a born-again ex-con.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston
Votes: 245,799 | Gross: $16.29M
28. The Fugitive (1993)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.
Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Julianne Moore
Votes: 318,460 | Gross: $183.88M
29. The Glass House (2001)
PG-13 | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An orphaned teenager is taken in by a Malibu couple but discovers they aren't the caring friends they seemed to be.
Director: Daniel Sackheim | Stars: Diane Lane, Leelee Sobieski, Stellan Skarsgård, Bruce Dern
Votes: 39,814 | Gross: $18.00M
30. Flightplan (2005)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet, the child vanishes, and nobody will admit she was ever on the plane.
Director: Robert Schwentke | Stars: Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sean Bean, Kate Beahan
Votes: 171,753 | Gross: $89.71M
31. North by Northwest (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 345,939 | Gross: $13.28M
32. Black Swan (2010)
R | 108 min | Drama, Thriller
Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder
Votes: 824,129 | Gross: $106.95M
33. Don't Say a Word (2001)
R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret...
Director: Gary Fleder | Stars: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Skye McCole Bartusiak
Votes: 57,057 | Gross: $55.00M
34. Insomnia (2002)
R | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan
Votes: 318,949 | Gross: $67.36M
Character development, top notch acting, mystery and suspense keep tension real.
35. The Game (1997)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a wealthy San Francisco banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down as he begins to question if it might really be a concealed conspiracy to destroy him.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger, Sean Penn, James Rebhorn
Votes: 428,969 | Gross: $48.32M
Twists and turns make thrills and action collide at every pivot in the storyline. An exciting ride!
36. Taxi Driver (1976)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
Votes: 919,759 | Gross: $28.26M
The film may not be labeled by IMDB as a thriller, but to travel De Nero's path into a frenzy is definitely a psychological thrill.
37. Persona (1966)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Thriller
A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand
Votes: 130,818
Mystery and tension never let up.
38. Raze (2013)
R | 92 min | Action, Drama, Horror
50 abducted women are forced to fight each other using their bare hands.
Director: Josh C. Waller | Stars: Zoë Bell, Rachel Nichols, Tracie Thoms, Bruce Thomas
Votes: 6,420 | Gross: $0.00M
Zoe Bell is an actress with a full plate of skills. Her acting chops and stunts harmoniously fill out her lead role in this action-thriller. The film is well-done and is hard-core with substance.
39. Battle for Sevastopol (2015)
110 min | Action, Biography, Drama
A story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the most successful female sniper in history.
Director: Sergey Mokritskiy | Stars: Yuliya Peresild, Evgeniy Tsyganov, Oleg Vasilkov, Nikita Tarasov
Votes: 13,939
A true story, this war film is action-packed and loaded with sensitive character development.
40. Underwater (2020)
PG-13 | 95 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A crew of oceanic researchers working for a deep sea drilling company try to get to safety after a mysterious earthquake devastates their deepwater research and drilling facility located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Director: William Eubank | Stars: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Mamoudou Athie, T.J. Miller
Votes: 97,049 | Gross: $17.29M
This is a solid thriller that never slows down. It's not a predictable story.
41. 16 Blocks (2006)
PG-13 | 102 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
An aging alcoholic cop is assigned the task of escorting a witness from police custody to a courthouse 16 blocks away. There are, however, chaotic forces at work that prevent them from making it in one piece.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Bruce Willis, Yasiin Bey, David Morse, Jenna Stern
Votes: 134,747 | Gross: $36.90M
Action and character development make it worth watching more than once.
42. Nightcrawler (2014)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
Votes: 604,126 | Gross: $32.38M
43. Brokedown Palace (1999)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Two women are arrested for smuggling while vacationing in Thailand.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman, Jacqueline Kim
Votes: 24,043 | Gross: $10.11M
44. Hanna (2011)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A sixteen-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Vicky Krieps
Votes: 206,807 | Gross: $40.26M
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