10 Thrillers That Are Almost Masterpieces

Thrillers keep us glued to the screen, raising pulses and setting the standard for tense, adrenaline-fueled storytelling. Some become instant classics, while others fall just short—great films that feel like nine out of ten. The following selections explore that near-miss quality: movies that impress in most ways but miss a final piece needed for true masterpiece status.

Wait Until Dark (1967) adapts Frederick Knott’s play into a claustrophobic cat-and-mouse starring Audrey Hepburn as Susy, a recently blinded woman terrorized by three criminals. The film’s real-time tension and a finale that plunges the action into darkness deliver brilliant suspense, though the stage’s live immediacy still registers as something the film can’t fully replicate.

Heretic (2024), from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, is a dialogue-driven psychological horror-thriller about two Latter-day Saint missionaries trapped by a menacing Mr.

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