These 10 Thrillers Are a Masterclass in Suspense

Thrillers can do something few other films manage: sustain continuous suspense. Some deliver an unrelenting rush, while others unfold as slow burns that create dread through performance, atmosphere and music. The ten films here showcase one or both approaches. Victoria (2015) is notable for being filmed in a single take; its shifting pace and sudden descent into criminal violence make the one-take technique feel electrifying.

Boiling Point turns a restaurant kitchen into a pressure cooker, condensing a night at Jones & Sons into a study of stress and fracture, with Stephen Graham as head chef Andy Jones and Vinette Robinson as his tense sous chef Carly. Prisoners demonstrates how framing and pacing can sustain unease: Hugh Jackman’s Keller Dover pushes beyond patience as detectives, including Jake Gyllenhaal’s Loki, race to find his missing child.

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