525 Best Thrilling Movies to Watch (Page 29)

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Staff & contributors

When it comes to memorable viewing experiences, it’s usually all about the scenes that pull you to the edge of your seat. Whether you’re into suspenseful mysteries or emotional dramas, here are the most thrilling movies and shows to stream.

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, 2011

With the difference between our day-to-day selves and our darker desires, it’s hard to say which side is the real slice of one’s identity, given that there are certain compromises we have to make in existing in society. Cold Fish takes a wildly violent and explicit approach to this, with a seemingly innocent favor spiralling into a toxic co-dependence between tropical fish sellers Yukio and Nobuyuki, and it’s a harrowing depiction of how quiet, unassuming men can be pushed into evil deeds because of passivity, whether that’s being taken advantage of, or being unwilling to speak against it. And of course, with Sion Sono at the helm, it’s painted and etched with all the gore and taboo he’s well known for.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller

Actor: Asuka Kurosawa, Denden, Hideo Nakaizumi, Hikari Kajiwara, Ichiro Hashimoto, Jyonmyon Pe, Kazuma Yamane, Lorena Koto, Makoto Ashikawa, Masahiko Sakata, Masaki Miura, Megumi Kagurazaka, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Natsumi Seto, Rina Saito, Ryohei Abe, Suwaru Ryû, Taro Suwa, Tetsu Watanabe

Director: Sion Sono

Rating: NR

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, 2024

Set in the British colonial era, Captain Miller is more unapologetically violent than its counterparts, but it’s not mindlessly so. Sure, the film has plenty of spectacle with numerous battles between townsfolk versus British colonialists, some scenes having gruesome, gory deaths. But in between these battles is Dhanush as the central character, contemplating the oppression from his fellow countrymen, the dignity denied to him from both the colony and more privileged locals, and the choices he chooses to make in spite of this. It’s not a straightforward bad versus good anti-colonial film like RRR, and it may not be as emotionally compelling, but Captain Miller is certainly a unique take on British colonialism with all of director Arun Matheswaran’s signature style.

Genre: Action, Adventure, War

Actor: Abdool Lee, Aditi Balan, Alexx O'Nell, Ashwin Kumar, Bose Venkat, Dhanush, Edward Sonnenblick, Elango Kumaravel, Jayaprakash, John Kokken, Kaali Venkat, Mark Bennington, Nivedhithaa Sathish, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Shivaraj Kumar, Sumesh Moor, Sundeep Kishan, Swayam Siddha, Vijay Kumar, Viji Chandrasekhar, Vinoth Kishan

Director: Arun Matheswaran

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, 2001

Much like its monster, Brotherhood of the Wolf is quite a hard movie to pin down. It’s an unscary French creature feature but it's a rather refreshing period drama romance, made much more action-packed courtesy of a randomly placed, supposedly Iroquois, talented martial artist. Yet somehow, it works. Perhaps it works because it was released ahead of many other early aughts action horror films, and perhaps, at CGI’s infancy, it’s a bit easier to suspend disbelief over the wolf, but the wacky experimentation writer-director Christophe Gans brings in depicting this historical beast is just so entertaining to watch. Brotherhood of the Wolf is just pure bonkers.

Genre: Action, Adventure, History, Horror

Actor: Bernard Farcy, Charles Maquignon, Edith Scob, Émilie Dequenne, Gaëlle Cohen, Gaspard Ulliel, Hans Meyer, Jacques Perrin, Jean Yanne, Jean-François Stévenin, Jean-Paul Farré, Jérémie Renier, Johan Leysen, Mark Dacascos, Monica Bellucci, Pascal Laugier, Philippe Nahon, Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Virginie Darmon

Director: Christophe Gans

Rating: R

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, 2017

What would it take to push you to kill? Thankfully, for the general public, modern everyday life would not likely push you to (so far), but in certain circumstances, people might be surprised at the lengths they’re willing to go to for their loved ones. Brawl in Cell Block 99 depicts a man pushed into those circumstances, and thus director S. Craig Zahler takes this to extremely violent ends, with blood gushing and bones crushing all to save his family. Plotwise, Brawl in Cell Block 99 would be typical prison film fare, but fans of Vince Vaughn would appreciate his performance here.

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Actor: Bill Anagnos, Brian Wiles, Clark Johnson, Dan Amboyer, Dion Mucciacito, Don Johnson, Fred Melamed, Gabriel Sloyer, Geno Segers, Jay Hieron, Jennifer Carpenter, Marc Blucas, Michael Medeiros, Mike Hodge, Mustafa Shakir, Peter Jay Fernandez, Philip Ettinger, Pooja Kumar, Rob Morgan, Tom Guiry, Tuffy Questell, Udo Kier, Vince Vaughn, Willie C. Carpenter

Director: S. Craig Zahler

Rating: Not Rated, NR

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, 2023

Pollution disproportionately affects developing nations, and when governments continue to allow the lackluster waste management processes of large-scale industries, sometimes the only option is to leave. That’s what the six protagonists do in Blood Vessel, though escaping the situation isn’t as easy as it sounds. The first half starts out fairly slow, as we get to know the group, but it’s all to bring about emotional devastation as the film unfolds into violent ends. While certain plot elements don’t have a neat resolution, and certain technical aspects sometimes feel distracting, Blood Vessel works through the strength of its six lead performances.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Alex Budin, Bimbo Manuel, David Ezekiel, Dibor Adaobi, Jidekene Achufusi, René Mena, Slyvester Ekanem

Director: Moses Inwang

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, 2006

Of course, with wartime spy romances, it’s expected to have conflicted desire, twisty betrayals, and the internal war between personal love and national duty. Black Book delivers this in spades, infusing the drama with writer-director Paul Verhoeven’s propensity for sex and violence, which he brings back to his homeland after two decades apart. The drama is well-made, especially with the talented Carice van Houten as a survival-first composite spy character inspired by several resistance members, but the familiar plot, the melodrama, and the pacing can make the 2 and a half hour runtime feel a bit tedious for some viewers. Still, for fans of the genre, Black Book isn’t a terrible choice to watch.

Genre: Drama, Thriller, War

Actor: Bert Luppes, Carice van Houten, Christian Berkel, Derek de Lint, Diana Dobbelman, Dolf de Vries, Frank Lammers, Garrick Hagon, Gijs Naber, Halina Reijn, Hugo Metsers, Johnny de Mol, Marcel Musters, Marisa van Eyle, Matthias Schoenaerts, Menno van Beekum, Merel Pauw, Michiel Huisman, Mike Reus, Nolan Hemmings, Peter Blok, Pieter Tiddens, Ronald Armbrust, Sebastian Koch, Theo Maassen, Thom Hoffman, Timothy Deenihan, Waldemar Kobus, Xander Straat

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Rating: R

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, 1988

Before Wong Kar Wai made his signature romantic dramas, he first made his directorial debut As Tears Go By, a film that wouldn’t be out of place in the crime and action flicks that characterized 1980s cinema. There are moments that feel a tad derivative, such as the use of Take My Breath Away from 1986’s Top Gun, and the gangster love triangle reminiscent of Martin Scorcese’s Mean Streets, but Wong’s style starts to peek through with his use of color and light, and of course, the distinctive blurred action that transforms movement into lines. It’s not as sleek as Wong’s better known works, but As Tears Go By is still a good film to watch, marking Wong as one of the biggest names in the then-emerging Hong Kong New Wave.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance

Actor: Alex Man, Alex Man Chi-Leung, Andy Lau, Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Benz Kong To-Hoi, Chan Chi-Fai, Cheung Wing-Cheung, Chow Gam-Kong, Chun Kwai-Bo, Fei Pak, Ho Wing-Cheung, Hui Fan, Jacky Cheung, Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau, Kam Shan, Lam Kau, Lee Chi-Git, Ma Yuk-Sing, Maggie Cheung, Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk, Pak Yan, Ronald Wong, Ronald Wong Ban, William Chang Suk-Ping, Wong Aau, Wong Chi-Wai

Director: Wong Kar-wai

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, 2024

If you want a powerful, masterful rendition of the ill-fated space mission, go and watch Apollo 13 (1995). But the documentary more than half a century after the mission, and two decades after the feature film, is not half bad. Of course, being a documentary, Apollo 13: Survival is much more factual, but the true tale still manages to hold the tension, the high stakes, and the emotional pull of the actual spaceflight, with excellent editing stitching the never-before-seen archival footage and key interviews into an exciting, compelling account. That being said, older viewers that already watched the Tom Hanks drama would likely not find anything new in this film, but Apollo 13: Survival would be a decent documentary to those who have never heard of the spacecraft.

Genre: Documentary, History

Actor: Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, Jim Lovell, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Walter Cronkite

Director: Pete Middleton

Rating: PG-13

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