Thriller: 228

Bad Influence (1990) is an American psychological thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson. A man leaves a naked woman sleeping as he disappears into the city, tossing away items to cover his tracks. Michael Boll, a shy, socially awkward doormat, discovers that important work data has gone missing. He suspects Patterson, his deceitful coworker, but lacks evidence and the courage to confront him. Frustrated, he retreats to his office where he is interrupted by his fiancée Ruth, whose incessant wedding planning adds to Michael’s stress. Seeking solace at a beach bar, Michael buys a drink for a wallet-less woman and ...

The American mystery comedy thriller film, The Mighty Quinn (1989), features Denzel Washington as the titular character. Quinn is the chief of police for a small US territory in the Caribbean. When Donald Pater, the millionaire owner of a luxury resort hotel, is murdered, Quinn’s best friend Maubee becomes the prime suspect. Despite this assumption, Quinn remains doubtful and clashes with Governor Chalk and his cocky political advisor Thomas Elgin. The murder case adds to Quinn’s personal struggles; he is estranged from his wife Lola and has little time for his son. Maubee continuously evades arrest by the ...

Tequila Sunrise (1988) is a romantic crime flick penned and helmed by Robert Towne. Former drug dealer Dale ‘Mac’ McKussic is determined to leave his shady past behind. His longtime friend, Detective Lieutenant Nick Frescia from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, must uphold the law and arrest Mac if he resumes his illegal activities, as believed by DEA Agent Hal Maguire. Meanwhile, Mac finds himself attracted to Jo Ann Vallenari, a restaurant owner. As Nick delves deeper into Mac’s affairs, specifically his ties to Mexican drug lord Carlos, who is suspected of coming into town by DEA ...

No Way Out is (1987) an American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson. In a house near the Pentagon, Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell of the Office of Naval Intelligence undergoes questioning about his connection with Secretary of Defense David Brice. Six months prior, Farrell attends an inaugural ball at the invitation of his college friend Scott Pritchard. There, he meets Secretary Brice and develops an affair with Susan Atwell. Shortly after, he departs for the Philippines. Upon returning, Brice recruits Farrell to gather information for him within the CIA. As he settles into his new role in ...

Ridley Scott’s Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) is an American neo-noir romantic thriller that follows socialite Claire Gregory as she attends a party and art show hosted by her long-time friend, Winn Hockings. Her boyfriend, Neil Steinhart, joins her for the evening. Meanwhile, newly appointed NYPD detective Mike Keegan is at a separate party in another part of town. Tensions arise when Winn is confronted by his former partner, Joey Venza, who is upset that Winn didn’t come to him for money to fund his new art studio. The altercation takes a deadly turn when Venza stabs Winn in front of Claire. As she ...

The Fourth Protocol (1987), a British spy film set during the Cold War, boasts a star-studded cast with Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. John Mackenzie directed this adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s 1984 novel bearing the same title. In 1968, world powers establish an agreement to halt nuclear proliferation, which includes the Fourth Protocol that strictly prohibits unconventional delivery of nuclear weapons to targets. However, when MI5 officer John Preston discovers ...

The American neo-noir psychological thriller film, The Bedroom Window (1987), was directed by Curtis Hanson. After an office party, Terry invites his boss’s wife Sylvia to his apartment and they end up in bed together. When Sylvia sees a man attacking a young woman outside the window, she calls out and the assailant flees. The next day, when it is reported that the young woman was murdered near Terry’s apartment that night, he decides to inform the police about what Sylvia witnessed but claims that he saw it instead in order to protect her. However, during a police lineup neither Terry nor the victim Denise ...

The Hitcher (1986), an American thriller directed by Robert Harmon and written by Eric Red, follows Jim Halsey on his delivery journey from Chicago to San Diego. Along the way, he picks up a hitchhiker in the West Texas desert who goes by John Ryder. However, things take a dark turn when Ryder reveals his violent tendencies and forces Jim to speed past a stranded car. Terrified for his life, Jim musters up the courage to ask what Ryder wants, to which he responds with a chilling demand to be stopped. In a moment of adrenaline-fueled panic, Jim manages to push Ryder out of ...

Manhunter (1986) is an American thriller film directed and written by Michael Mann, based on the 1981 novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Will Graham, a former FBI criminal profiler who captured cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecktor, has since retired following a mental breakdown. At his Florida home, Graham’s former boss, Jack Crawford, asks for help with a new serial killer case. Despite promising his wife he will only search for evidence and not put himself in harm’s way, Graham agrees to visit the most recent crime scene in Atlanta. ...

Jud Taylor directed License to Kill (1984), a television film. The Peterson family is devastated when their daughter Lynne is killed by a drunk driver on the day of her high school graduation and safe driving award ceremony. John becomes fixated on seeking justice for his daughter’s death at the hands of Tom Fiske, an unremorseful businessman responsible for the accident. Despite Fiske hiring a clever defense lawyer who repeatedly delays the trial and successfully suppresses evidence of his intoxication, prosecutor Martin Sawyer persists in proving Fiske’s guilt by presenting his bar bill from the day of the ...

Firstborn (1984), an American drama film starring Teri Garr and Peter Weller, tells the story of 16-year-old Jake Livingston. After his parents’ divorce two years ago, his mother Wendy has been seeing other men, even though she is still in love with her ex-husband. However, when she finds out that her ex is getting remarried, she quickly starts dating a man named Sam on the rebound. Jake and his younger brother Brian are initially unsettled by this situation, but Sam’s charming nature and his gift of dirt bikes win them over. However, Jake becomes suspicious ...

The American spy drama film, The Little Drummer Girl (1984), directed by George Roy Hill and adapted from John le Carré’s novel of the same name, takes place in Europe and the Middle East. It follows the Mossad’s covert mission to expose a PLO bomber known as Khalil. In order to eliminate Khalil, they initially abduct (and ultimately execute) his brother, who is delivering speeches in a ski mask about the suffering and losses of Palestine under military control. Charlie, an American actress in London with anti-Zionist views, is lured to Greece under false ...

The American erotic psychological thriller film, Dressed to Kill (1980), follows the story of frustrated housewife Kate Miller. In therapy with New York City psychiatrist Dr. Robert Elliott, Kate’s plans to spend the day with her teenage son, Peter – an inventor on the cusp of a major breakthrough for a city science fair – are unexpectedly canceled. Instead, she ventures alone to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where she finds herself flirting with a mysterious stranger. The two engage in a cat-and-mouse game throughout the museum before eventually ending up at his apartment together. Several hours pass before Kate quietly decides to leave while her ...

The film The China Syndrome (1979), directed by James Bridges, follows a television reporter named Kimberly Wells and her colleagues Richard Adams and Hector Salas as they visit the Ventana nuclear power plant near Los Angeles. During their visit, they witness a turbine trip and emergency shutdown. Shift Supervisor Jack Godell notices an odd vibration in his coffee cup and responds to high water levels by removing water from the core. However, the gauge remains high even as more valves are opened to dump water. Another operator sees a second gauge showing low water levels. Godell taps the first gauge, causing it to ...

The BBC’s seven-part spy drama, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), is an adaptation of John le Carré’s novel of the same name. Directed by John Irvin and produced by Jonathan Powell, the series follows George Smiley, a retired deputy from the British Secret Intelligence Service. Smiley was forced into retirement after a failed mission in Czechoslovakia known as Operation Testify. The operation, orchestrated by the head of the Circus (the British Secret Intelligence Service), resulted in the capture and torture of ...

The Canadian thriller film, The Silent Partner (1978), directed by Daryl Duke, follows Miles Cullen, a teller at a small bank in Toronto’s Eaton Centre. Miles discovers that his bank is going to be robbed after finding a hold up note on one of the counters. He recognizes the potential robber as a mall Santa Claus with similar handwriting on his ‘give to charity’ sign. Instead of alerting his superiors or contacting the police, Miles secretly stashes the cash from his window’s transactions in an old lunch box rather than in the bank’s till. As expected, the Santa Claus robber holds up Miles ...

The British heist comedy film, The Great Train Robbery (1978), was both directed and written by Michael Crichton. Based on his 1975 novel of the same name, the story revolves around Edward Pierce, a member of London’s elite society who is secretly a skilled thief. His plan? To steal a shipment of gold aboard the London to Folkestone train, intended as payment for troops fighting in the Crimean War. With two safes in the baggage car, each with two locks requiring four keys, Pierce enlists his accomplices including pickpocket Robert Agar, mistress Miriam, and chauffeur Barlow. A train guard named Burgess is also ...

The British thriller film, The Thirty Nine Steps (1978), directed by Don Sharp, follows the story of a retired British Intelligence officer, Colonel Scudder. In 1914 London, Imperial German spies are lurking everywhere. As important British politicians fall victim to mysterious assassinations, Scudder realizes that his life and his enigmatic black notebook are at risk. Seeking help, he turns to Richard Hannay, a mining engineer visiting Great Britain for a short time before returning to the Union of South Africa. Ironically enough, Hannay is staying in the same building as Scudder’s flat. Scudder reveals a plot ...

La Menace (1977), a French-Canadian film by Alain Corneau, follows the story of Henri Savin, the supervisor of a large carrier company. He resides with Dominique Montlaur, who owns the truck company and is also his lover. After making the decision to leave both Dominique and the company for his pregnant mistress Julie Manet, Henri finds himself dealing with Dominique’s stalking behavior towards Julie. In one instance, Dominique tries to bribe Julie and ends up getting into a physical altercation with her at an abandoned fort. Despite managing to escape in her car, Julie is later arrested for murder when Dominique ...

Police Python 357 (1976) is a French crime-thriller film penned and helmed by Alain Corneau. Based on Kenneth Fearing’s 1946 novel, The Big Clock, it tells the tale of an inspector entangled in a clandestine romance. However, when his higher-up murders his lover, all evidence points towards him.