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| Scene from The Silence of the Lambs (1991), all-time top thriller. |
Welcome
to our Reel
Fives pre-launch movie rankings for the best thriller movies of all time.
After an extensive online search we found 54 published rankings for thriller
movies. Reel Fives has taken all of those rankings and aggregated them into definitive
rankings for the top 100 thriller movies of all time. For each ranked list of
top movies for the thriller film genre we found online, we have taken the top
five ranked thriller films. The original sources of rankings on top thriller
movies are included at the bottom of this post and include rankings of the best
thriller movies created by movie experts as well as thriller movie rankings
from polling sites, such as ranker.com.
Thrillers
take audiences on a psychological rollercoaster ride for a few hours. While the
action is important, the psychological aspect is just as important. The Silence of the Lambs (1991), the
all-time best thriller movie, follows FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster)
as she talks to serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to catch
another serial killer. The winner of five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Leading
Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Lead Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Director, and
Best Writing) focuses on Clarice’s forced vulnerability to get Dr. Lecter to
talk to her. Se7en (1995), ranked
second, chronicles detectives William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and David Mills
(Brad Pitt) hunt for a serial killer who commits murders motivated by the seven
deadly sins. The serial killer leaves hints along the way antagonizing the
detectives. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960),
ranked third, is why showers are considered terrifying up to this day. The use
of shadows in the film helps move the film along during Marion Crane (Janet
Leigh) and Sam Loomis’s (John Gavin) stay at the Bates Motel known for a its
psychotic manager Norman Bates. The top thriller movies play mind games with
audiences to create an exciting film.
Thrillers
use different perspectives to engage audiences and misdirect their minds. Shutter Island (2010), ranked sixth,
delves deep into a hospital for the criminally insane. U.S. Marshal Teddy
Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is unsure of who is worse: the criminals or their
doctors who tortured them. Rule on of Fight Club: do not talk about fight club.
Fight Club (1999), ranked eighth, revolves
around a secretive group that provides therapy for men who need to fight and
not talk. The club spirals out of control faster than the men could have predicted
and changes those men. The Unusual Suspects (1995) ranked
tenth, won two Oscars including Best Supporting Actor for Kevin Spacey and Best
Screenplay for Christopher McQuarrie. The film attempts to figure out how 27
people died on a boat through questioning five suspects who have all wronged
the criminal Keyser Söze, except no one knows who he is. It tells the story
through a non-linear plot and presents what is considered one of the greatest surprise
endings in film history. These thrillers show how perspectives can frame a film
and make it thrilling.
We
found the first half of the list to have more in common with the ghost rankings and the second
half to have more action elements. Considering this larger list, the genre has
a wide range. From criminal thrillers like The
Departed (2010, ranked 389th) to horror film like Rosemary’s Baby (1968, ranked 21st),
the thriller genre is more about an exciting plotline than following genre
standards. We like that this genre is driven by great plotlines because it gives
it so much room for growth. The thriller genre has so many ways to go and the
top movies show those different directions.
| Top 100 Thriller Movies based on 54 published rankings | |
| Percent of online top fives movies appear in shown | |
| 1 . The Silence of the Lambs (1991): 48.1% | |
| 2 . Se7en (1995): 29.6% | |
| 3 . Psycho (1960): 22.2% | |
| 4 . Memento (2000): 22.2% | |
| 5 . The Sixth Sense (1999): 20.3% | |
| 6 . Shutter Island (2010): 20.3% | |
| 7 . Rear Window (1954): 18.5% | |
| 8 . Fight Club (1999): 16.6% | |
| 9 . Inception (2010): 14.8% | |
| 10 . The Usual Suspects (1995): 14.8% | |
| 11 . North by Northwest (1959): 11.1% | |
| 12 . Pulp Fiction (1994): 7.40% | |
| 13 (tied). Jaws (1975): 7.40% | |
| 13 (tied). Black Swan (2010): 7.40% | |
| 15 . The Dark Knight (2008): 7.40% | |
| 16 . Taxi Driver (1976): 7.40% | |
| 17 . Zodiac (2007): 5.55% | |
| 18 . The Shining (1980): 5.55% | |
| 19 . The Third Man (1949): 5.55% | |
| 20 . Fatal Attraction (1987): 5.55% | |
| 21 (tied). Misery (1990): 5.55% | |
| 21 (tied). The Prestige (2006): 5.55% | |
| 21 (tied). L.A. Confidential (1997): 5.55% | |
| 21 (tied). Identity (2003): 5.55% | |
| 21 (tied). Rosemary’s Baby (1968): 5.55% | |
| 26 (tied). The Butterfly Effect (2004): 5.55% | |
| 26 (tied). Vertigo (1958): 5.55% | |
| 28 . The Conversation (1974): 5.55% | |
| 29 . Triangle (2009): 3.70% | |
| 30 . Jacob's Ladder (1990): 3.70% | |
| 31 (tied). The Godfather (1972): 3.70% | |
| 31 (tied). The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999): 3.70% | |
| 31 (tied). The Game (1997): 3.70% | |
| 34 (tied). The Maltese Falcon (1941): 3.70% | |
| 34 (tied). Marathon Man (1976): 3.70% | |
| 36 . The Machinist (2004): 3.70% | |
| 37 (tied). M (1931): 3.70% | |
| 37 (tied). The Dark Knight Rises (2012): 3.70% | |
| 39 (tied). Donnie Darko (2001): 3.70% | |
| 39 (tied). The Departed (2006): 3.70% | |
| 41 (tied). Repulsion (1965): 3.70% | |
| 41 (tied). No Country for Old Men (2007): 3.70% | |
| 43 (tied). The Village (2004): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Hard Candy (2005): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Inside Man (2006): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Cape Fear (1991): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). The Number 23 (2007): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). The Wages of Fear (1953): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). The Red Dragon (2002): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). The Hidden (1987): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Argo (2012): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Prisoners (2013): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Session 9 (2001): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). Alien (1979): 1.85% | |
| 43 (tied). The Moon-Spinners (1964): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Hour of the Wolf (1968): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Odds Against Tomorrow (1959): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). High Noon (1952): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Les Diaboliques (1955): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Cach? (2005): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Citizen Kane (1941): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Halloween (1978): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Double Indemnity (1944): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). The French Connection (1971): 1.85% | |
| 57 (tied). Chinatown (1974): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). Gravity (2013): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). Red Eye (2005): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). What Lies Beneath (2000): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). The Seventh Victim (1943): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). Heat (1995): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). Copycat (1995): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). The Manchurian Candidate (1962): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). The Exorcist (1973): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). Now You See Me (2013): 1.85% | |
| 67 (tied). The Pledge (2001): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). Klute (1971): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). Wait Until Dark (1967): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). The Challenging (1980): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). A Tale of Two Sisters (2003): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). Laura (1944): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). Don’t Look Now (1973): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). African Queen (1951): 1.85% | |
| 78 (tied). Peeping Tom (1960): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Pan's Labyrinth (2006): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Devil (2010): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Reservoir Dogs (1992): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Open Your Eyes (1997): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). The Innocents (1961): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Coherence (2013): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Exam (2009): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Angel Heart (1987): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Gothika (2003): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). The Matrix (1999): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). Dr. No (1962): 1.85% | |
| 87 (tied). The Parallax View (1974): 1.85% | |
| 100 . Fargo (1996): 0% | |
| Thriller Movie Ranking Sources | |
| Film School WTF | List of top 100 (link) |
| Ranker | List of top 236 (link) |
| Rotten Tomatoes | List of top 100 (link) |
| Good Movies List | List of top 50 (link) |
| Film Crave | List of top 500 (link) |
| American Film Institute | List of top 100 (link) |
| Smashing Lists | List of top 10 (link) |
| Flavorwire | List of top 25 (link) |
| List Challenges | List of top 100 (link) |
| Film Affinity | List of top 100 (link) |
| Ranker | List of top 250 (link) |
| IGN | List of top 25 (link) |
| India Today | List of top 30 (link) |
| List Challenges | List of top 120 (link) |
| Taste of Cinema | List of top 25 (link) |
| Top Yaps | List of top 10 (link) |
| Flick Chart | List of top 7673 (link) |
| Istanbul Films | List of top 50 (link) |
| Aspect | List of top 20 (link) |
| Curiosity Human | List of top 10 (link) |
| ListVerse | List of top 10 (link) |
| Idea Herald | List of top 5 (link) |
| Made Man | List of top 5 (link) |
| Top 10 For | List of top 10 (link) |
| Metacritic | List of top 2006 (link) |
| A Knowledge Archive | List of top 5 (link) |
| ListVerse | List of top 15 (link) |
| MacGuffins | List of top 10 (link) |
| Azcentral | List of top 10 (link) |
| Neozinfo | List of top 10 (link) |
| Your Success Now | List of top 7 (link) |
| Hub Pages | List of top 5 (link) |
| Funny Or Die | List of top 5 (link) |
| Flick Chart | List of top 1558 (link) |
| What Culture | List of top 20 (link) |
| Cassie Carnage's House of Horror | List of top 13 (link) |
| ListVerse | List of top 10 (link) |
| ARY News | List of top 5 (link) |
| Made Man | List of top 5 (link) |
| Psych Mechanics | List of top 10 (link) |
| Menz Mag | List of top 10 (link) |
| Scatter Web | List of top 10 (link) |
| Movie Geek's Blog | List of top 5 (link) |
| GEVA | List of top 5 (link) |
| Lord of the Nerds | List of top 5 (link) |
| BookMyShow Blog | List of top 5 (link) |
| Film Racket | List of top 10 (link) |
| Cinema Forensic | List of top 10 (link) |
| Cinema Forensic | List of top 10 (link) |
| Crebs Park | List of top 41 (link) |
| Movie Film Review | List of top 100 (link) |
| Entertainment.ie | List of top 10 (link) |
| All Time Best | List of top 10 (link) |
Identifying the top movies is our mission.
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