The 10 best thrillers of the 1990s

The 1990s were a great time for genre films. There were action classics being released on a weekly basis, a steady stream of (mostly) good sequels, and dramas that ranged from groundbreaking to traditionally excellent. It was before Hollywood realized that comic book adaptations made billions, and put more attention to smaller, riskier projects as a result.

The genre we want to focus on today, however, is the thriller. The 90s were loaded with them, and even the ones that were cheap knockoffs of the popular ones were pretty good. We are not here to shine a light on lesser-known titles, though; we’re here for the best, and to break down the 10 finest of the decade.

10. Cape Fear (1991)

Martin Scorsese knows what he’s doing. He’s directed a dozen classics, and based on the glowing response to his upcoming drama, Killers of the Flower Moon, we’d say he did it again. Cape Fear (1991) is not as celebrated as some of the director’s mafia efforts, but it remains one of his most underrated because it allows him to use all of his stylistic tricks.

Scorsese takes the B-movie premise of the 1962 original and quadruples down. He makes sure the camera angles are weirder, the musical score is more intrusive, and the performance by Robert De Niro is more outlandish than anything the actor had done before. Cape Fear lives on through De Niro memes and Rick & Morty parodies, but there’s a lot more craft going on here than meets the eye.

9. The Firm (1993)

It’s strange to consider now, but there was a time when Tom Cruise played normal guys. Talented normal guys, of course, but guys who were overwhelmed by their situation and unable to rely on death-defying stunts, and The Firm (1993) is a perfect example. Cruise plays a Harvard Law School graduate who accepts an offer from the boutique Bendini, Lambert & Locke. The more the character learns about the outfit, however, the more he realizes his career (and his life) is at risk.

The Firm has an incredible roster of talent. Cruise is flanked by Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Gary Busey and Hal Holbrook. Every scene has a memorable line of dialogue, and Sydney Pollack knows when to apply directorial flourishes, and when to step back and let his actors cook. Simple yet effective.

8. Breakdown (1997)

Breakdown (1997) is one of the lesser-known entries on the list, but it’s an absolute knockout nonetheless. Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan play a married couple who are in the midst of a road trip, but their idyllic vacation turns harrowing when they stop at a gas station and Quinlan’s character is abducted. The rest of Breakdown plays out exactly as you think it would (Russell’s character goes on the warpath), and it’s just as good as you want it to be.

Writer/director Jonathan Mostow executes one exciting set piece after another, and Russell, arguably the most underrated of the 80s action stars, brings a vulnerability to the table that grounds even the most absurd moments. We suggest making this the second part of a double feature with Unlawful Entry (1992), another thriller in which Russell’s character has to defend his wife.

7. Primal Fear (1996)

Primal Fear (1996) is a courtroom thriller of the highest order. Richard Gere plays a Chicago lawyer who gets tasked with defending an altar boy accused of killing a priest. The evidence is damning, but Gere’s character is convinced that the altar boy is innocent, and bends whatever corners he can to make sure that his client gets justice. If he only knew…

Gere is in rare form, but Primal Fear is the Edward Norton show. He dazzles from the moment he’s introduced, and manages to outshine nearly every other actor, despite it being his first film. Norton was nominated for an Oscar, and rightfully so. That climactic reveal is still one of the best twists of the decade, but we don’t want to spoil it in case you haven’t seen it yet.

6. In the Line of Fire (1993)

Clint Eastwood has more thrillers than most people have total films, and In the Line of Fire (1993) is one of his best. He plays a secret service agent who was present the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and now he’s being stalked by a crazed gunman. The gunman vows to murder the president, and requests that Eastwood’s character be put on presidential detail so that history can repeat itself.

Like Primal Fear, In the Line of Fire has an excellent lead performance that’s overshadowed by a supporting turn. Eastwood is his usual magnetic self, but John Malkovich is mesmerizing as the gunman who likes to taunt his opposition over the phone. The latter absolutely chews the scenery, and was rightfully nominated for an Oscar (though he lost to another performance on this list).

5. Basic Instinct (1992)

Basic Instinct (1992) was the apex of the erotic thriller genre. There had been well-known examples dating back to the 80s, but Paul Verhoeven’s scintillating story was the perfect blend of sex, star power and San Francisco scenery. Michael Douglas is a cop assigned to a brutal murder case, and Sharon Stone is an author who appears to be the main suspect.

The sexual tension between Douglas and Stone is still electric decades later, and the screenplay by Joe Eszterhas manages to balance lewd moments with a genuinely riveting mystery. Basic Instinct spawned a million imitations, some of which starred Douglas and Stone themselves, and remains one of the decade’s most iconic films.

4. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Matt Damon is good at playing likable characters, but he’s even better at playing despicable ones. There’s something about his Cheshire grin, and his All-American looks, that makes his evil moments land harder than they would with someone else. It’s why Damon is so good in The Departed (2006) and Interstellar (2014), and why his turn in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) remains his greatest performance.

Damon plays Ripley, a conman who travels to Italy to integrate himself into the inner-circle of a rich playboy. The film is oddly structured and features charismatic supporting turns from Jude Law and Philip Seymour Hoffman, but it’s Damon, with his shifting identities and effortless manipulation of others, who dominates the screen ‘til the very last frame.

3. The Fugitive (1993)

Hollywood was already doing reboots in the 90s. Some of them were duds, but some transcended the source material and were so popular that they became the de facto version of the story, with The Fugitive (1993) the best case scenario. The movie lifted the premise of the TV show of the same name and elevated it through nail-biting chase scenes and characterizations that felt real rather than one-dimensional.

Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones are superb as the titular fugitive and the U.S. Marshal tasked with finding him. They are the yin and yang that drive the plot, and their differing approaches (one quiet and methodical, the other loud and intuitive) ensure that it never lags. Jones took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, beating out the aforementioned John Malkovich for In the Line of Fire. Tough, but we don’t disagree.

2. Se7en (1995)

David Fincher is the premiere thriller director of the last 30 years. His methodical approach to storytelling, coupled with a fascination for serial killers and sociopaths, have resulted in some of the finest genre films of all time. The fact that Fincher’s breakout hit, Se7en (1995), remains one of his best is a testament to its quality.

Se7en follows two detectives (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) as they investigate a string of murders. Each of the murders align with the seven deadly sins, and while they don’t know it at first, the detectives play a crucial role in helping the killer carry out his master plan. Calling the ending of Se7en shocking is an understatement – even when you know what happens, the reveal hits like a slug to the chest. 

1. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is a candidate for greatest film of all-time, so we couldn’t help but put it at the top of the list. It’s a gateway thriller for a lot of people, given the memorable quotes and the iconography of Anthony Hopkins’ performance as serial killer Hannibal Lecter. It almost feels perfunctory to list off the different strengths of The Silence of the Lambs, because it almost exclusively consists of them.

The Oscars thought so, too. Despite the grim subject matter, The Silence of the Lambs became the third (and last) move in history to win all five major categories: Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster) and Best Screenplay (Ted Tally). If that isn’t an endorsement, we don’t know what is.