To categorize a movie solely as athrillerfilm is rather difficult to do when you consider what information is being used to create suspense. There arepsychological thriller moviesthat tend to have a grand plot twist at the end, action thrillers keep up a fast pace without giving away too much information, and crime thrillers have an audience feeling like they are solving cases with bits and pieces of evidence. Then, there are movies that are equal parts horror and thriller. One does not necessarily supersede the other — just like a romantic-comedy is equally romantic and comedic — but it is important to recognize how the elements of a thriller are being used in a dual-labeled film.
When done right, a good thriller film will have an audience on the edge of their seats. The purpose is to keep them guessing at what will come next. With the added horror, psychological, crime, etc. label, other elements such as gore, tormented minds, and difficult cases among other things will play a part throughout the film. People naturally like to be challenged, and with a thriller, uncovering the ending before it happens is the goal.
Check out these underrated thrillers from the 21st Century that you need to watch next if you want to get your heart as well as your mind racing.
10Flightplan (2005)
Psychological thrillers are difficult to pull off because an audience has to rely on the one or two characters experiencing the trauma to deliver raw and relatable emotions. While Jodie Foster does a great job at portraying a terrified mother who lost her child (or so she thinks),Flightplandid not receive the praise it deserved.
Kyle Pratt (Foster) realizes that her daughter is no longer seated next to her on aflight back to Americawhen she awakes from a nap. While panicked, the flight crew and even other passengers assure her that she did not board with a daughter. Unable to find evidence of her own daughter’s existence, Kyle questions herself on a variety of levels. This film forces fans to question their own realities and gut instincts, and it challenges them to think about how far they would go to prove what they believe to be true.
930 Days of Night (2007)
Instead of making vampires charismatic and suave,30 Days of Nightreminds audiences that these supernatural creatures are deadly and terrifying. This film begins with the residents of a small town in Alaska preparing for their 30 days of complete darkness. Many of them have left, some people have stocked up on items as to not have to travel as much, and a few see it as just another month to live through. Little do any of them know, bloodthirsty monsters who rely on the cover of night have discovered their town.
This horror-thriller film will have audiences holding their breaths alongside several of the characters. Personal histories and issues between residents are forgotten or forgiven while those who survive attempt to outlast the vampires until the sun rises once again.
Related:9 Gory Vampire Movies with No Time for Romance
8Amusement (2008)
Childhood trauma can do a lot to a person as they get older. For a particular unnamed boy, the rejection of a few girls back in grade school led him to a life of plotting. In the thrilling and horrific film,Amusement, the unnamed young man brutally kidnaps three women in an act of revenge. For several years, he has fixated on three girls laughing at him and dismissing his rather creepy project — he had a mouse cut open in a box. The women do not understand why he has killed their friends and captured them, but one woman, Tabitha, realizes who he is.
When faced with yet another horrifying display, Tabitha laughs rather that screams. This causes a change in the killer’s behavior.Amusementwill ironically have an audience more terrified and disturbed rather than amused, but most importantly, the film will have people biting at their nails in anticipation of what a deeply troubled man is willing to do to his former classmates.
7The Last House on the Left (2009)
The 2009 version ofThe Last House on the Leftwas brutally ripped apart by critics when compared to theoriginal 1972 film. However, if taken into account as its own story without the comparison, this 21st-Century thriller movie does a great job at keeping an audience on the edge of their seat.
The film poses the horrors people think of when it comes to living or vacationing in an isolated area. Pairing that storyline with murderers being on the loose makes for a great thriller. However, what sets this film aside from other cabin-in-the-woods movies is that when faced with a group of killers who have nothing to lose, the innocent citizens take up arms rather than try to flee. The modern-day remake of the original film is relatable, and it does a fine job at creating real fear.
6Vile (2011)
If you like the premise oftheSawfilms, this underrated thriller film is for you. Imagine helping out a person in need only to be knocked out and later woken up to a room full of people and torture devices. A person then appears on a screen and tells everyone that they have to inflict enough pain on one another to fill vials that are strapped to their bodies. The chemicals released into the vials is for a scientific experiment, and possible death is simply an unfortunate side effect to some.
Vilewas not well received likely because it felt like a homemade flick that was loosely based off an already thriving franchise, but the acting and psychological thrill of the overall idea was greatly executed. Audiences have to ask themselves is they would be willing to go the same lengths as these characters to escape a horrible experiment.
5The Roommate (2011)
College is supposed to be a time for new friends and fresh beginnings. For Rebecca Evans (played by Leighton Meester), her time away from home is spent obsessing over her new roommate, Sara (Minka Kelly). Sara naturally tries to befriend her roommate, but Rebecca quickly develops an unhealthy admiration that eventually turns deadly.
The psychological thriller,The Roommate, received horrible reviews, wherein critics talked about the plot having too many holes or the acting falling flat. But again, these types of thrillers are meant to be realistic. Jump scares and gore are not prime elements of these films, and that tends to make them more relatable. Any young woman going off to college can watch this film and have the hairs on her neck stand up because the storyline is plausible in her situation. This film is grossly underrated, and more people should admire how the writers were able to pull off the horrific acts that can and do take place.
4House at the End of the Street (2012)
Jennifer Lawrence and Max Thieriot star as Elissa and Ryan in the underrated psychological thriller,House on the End of the Street. Elissa and her mother have moved into a house far away from their previous life. Against her mother’s wishes, Elissa befriends Ryan, a troubled young man who supposedly lost his parents due to a murderous incident by his sister whom then ran away. Rumors have made their way around the town and neighborhood about Ryan living in his former family’s house, but Elissa sees something in him that is worth knowing.
Ryan finds Elissa’s companionship comforting, but he is hiding a big secret from her and everyone else. No matter how close the two become, Ryan knows that he can never make Elissa his priority. That is, unless he does something about the other young woman. The casting, acting, and execution of this film is amazing, and it will have anyone questioning the secrets and sanity of their neighbors.
Related:Why House at the End of the Street Deserves a Prequel
3The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)
Based on the real life occurrences ofPhilip Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experimentthat took place on Stanford University in 1971, this drama documentary shows just how terrifying some experiments can get when people are either given power or restricted from it.
The Standford Experimentrecreates a psychology professor’s social experiment that separated 18 male students into two categories: officers and prisoners. The goal was the see how the young men would take on their assigned roles for 14 days while they did not have the distraction of their outside lives. To Zimbardo’s surprise, the guards became abusive towards the prisoners which resulted in two students withdrawing from the experiment and Zimbardo shutting down the entire act after only six days. The premise of this social experiment is fascinating, but watching the individuals lose themselves at the expense of a curious mind is heart-wrenching.
2The Boy (2016)
There is something aboutdolls and puppetsin a horror or thriller movie that just sends a chill down the neck. Lauren Cohan stars as Greta Evans, a perfectly normal American woman who gets hired as a nanny by a family in the UK. When Greta goes to meet the parents' “child,” they introduce her to a lifesize doll named Brahms and a list of rules to follow for his care.
Greta initially thinks something is wrong with the parents, but some strange occurrences happen around the house that make her believe she should take her job a bit more seriously.The Boywill have audiences forming theories based on the seriousness that surrounds the porcelain doll, but nothing can prepare them for the psychological torture that certain characters undergo.
1The Belko Experiment (2016)
Social experiments where people are expected to harm one another seem to be more common than you would think. InTheBelko Experiment, the employees of an American company that is housed in Bogotá, Columbia are told to either start killing one another in an attempt to survive or be killed by a device implanted in their heads. At first the employees are confused as well as concerned, but they soon learn to obey the words of the mysterious voice.
Many former friends, lovers, and colleagues develop an every-man-for-himself mentality, but there are a few who believe they can escape the horrific experiment. By the end of the film, there should only be a single person left standing who can explain how he/she is feeling and what they did to survive. However, the final words of the movie indicate that the sole survivor is not alone, and the experiment is far from over.
