The best thrillers: reviews. Top best thrillers

A thriller is called a film that can cause even a sophisticated viewer a sense of anxiety, fear and excitement. In the cinema, this direction has no strictly defined boundaries; it includes spy and detective, gangster and adventure films, horror films and horror films, as well as films of the new-fashioned noir style.

Hitchcock - maestro of the genre

What characterizes the best thrillers? Feedback from fans comes down to one thing: they excite, provoking an adrenaline rush and causing a surge of emotions. The recognized maestro of this genre is Alfred Hitchcock, who introduced a new term - “McGuffin”, which means there is a reason / excuse for the development of the plot action. A vivid example of this technique is observed in the picture "North through the north-west." In it, the director, making profitable use of techniques for constantly escalating psychological stress, literally learned to control the emotions of the viewer. Hitchcock undoubtedly created the best thrillers, the rating of which is headed by the picture Psycho, followed by Birds, Strangers on the Train, Window to the Courtyard, Vertigo, and many others. A number of his works are characterized not only by the invariable presence of subtle black humor, but also by the secondary nature of the plot in relation to the elaborate development of key episodes.

The difference is great and significant.

Often, inexperienced moviegoers, not knowing the precise definition and classification of thrillers, confuse pictures of this genre with detectives or horror films, because they also cause an increasing sense of anxiety. The best thriller detectives not only stand out among their own kind, but also compare favorably with standard film detectives. With what? In a detective picture, the plot action traditionally moves back in time to a solution, and in the thriller it steps forward, to an inevitably impending tragedy, a catastrophe. However, it is not possible to draw a clear line between these genres, since often one contains elements of the other. The best thrillers (reviews of this direct evidence) are based on a detective story, and in many films events unfold with the direct participation of detectives. For example, the film "Seven": two agents, young and wise by experience, are trying to catch a killer, whose basis of criminal activity is 7 sins. Or "Torture Chamber", where the main character - a prudent and cautious killer - starts a deadly game with a detective so that he receives a reward for the sins of the past. The best detectives-thrillers will always be in demand and popular, because their theme is infinitely relevant, stirs the minds and souls of a wide audience.

Awakening of irrational fear

This is precisely the goal of the horror thriller sub-genre films: not just to scare, but to arouse secret fears. The opportunity to "make believe" to experience quite a thrill attracts the viewer. Moreover, the best horror thrillers literally break generally accepted norms, are characterized not by an abundance of violent scenes, but by a gloomy atmosphere. This is not cheap low-budget horror films, but highly artistic works. In this section, it is worth mentioning the great Stephen King, whose novels, starting with Carrie, have become an inexhaustible source of ideas for film thrillers: Radiance (1980), Children of the Corn (1984), Salem Vampires (1979) , “Running Man” (1987), “The Dead Zone” (1983), “Langoliers” (1995), “It” (1990) and, of course, “1408” (2007).

The atmosphere is where the dog is buried!

The best horror thrillers are easy to distinguish from a bad horror movie. In a low-budget picture, the viewer is scared with all his might by rivers of blood, people burning alive, broken glass and zombies suddenly appearing. But in the films mentioned by us, a ball may quietly roll into the frame, and this may cause a panic attack in the viewer, to breathe in a wave of all-consuming horror - the nerves are so strained. Examples of such films: “The Spell”, “Order”, “Astral”, “Mom”, “Ghosts in Connecticut: Shadows of the Past”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Hellraiser”, “Mirrors”, “The Exorcist”, "Paranormal," "The Curse of Annabelle."

Thematic classification

What films fall under the category of "Best Thrillers"? Reviews of viewers and specialists in the field of cinema allow us to divide the paintings of this genre into several groups:

• Judicial (“Justice is us”, in which the main character - the charming TV presenter - is tried for the murder of a traitor, and the jury decides her fate).
• Spyware (“Cape Town Access Code”: a young CIA employee starting his career, Matt Weston, gets into serious trouble, and the name of the main villain is not known before the final scene).
• Detective stories (“Ripley's Game”, “Devil in a Blue Dress”, “Zodiac”, “I saw the Devil” and others).
• Adventure (the film "Fight", in which the main characters fight not only with a hostile environment, but also with their passions).
• Medical (“Surgeon”, where a maniac professor brings patients to the state of “refined tenderness”).
• Police officers (“Lucky Number Slevin”, “Departure Game”, “Law-abiding Citizen” and others).
• Romantic ("Woman from the Fifth District", "Quiet Harbor").
• Historical ("Captive. Escape", "Emperor).
• Political, military, corporate, sci-fi, high-tech, religious, psychological and mystical.
  

Psychological Thriller - An Alluring Puzzle

This subcategory of the genre is hardly capable of leaving the viewer indifferent. These are paintings that cause fear from the depths of the subconscious. Filmed, as a rule, against the background of ordinary everyday events, they frighten a person from the inside, raising a sticky sensitive horror, which can not be hidden, because it is in the head. The best thrillers (reviews of viewers confirm our words) - this is not just a feeling of fear, but its anticipation, expectation of inevitability, this is watching the game of the mind and the internal contradictions of the main characters. A distinctive feature of most films in this category is the effect of violating expectations, that is, at the climax, everything seems to stand upside down. Films of the thriller genre very often use such a cinematic device as an unexpected ending, because this is the most effective way to crown the oppressive suspense and introduce the viewer into real ecstasy. An ideal representative of such paintings is “Primal Fear” with a brilliant acting duet (Richard Gere and Edward Norton). Of the psychological thrillers with an unexpected ending , the “Fight Club” should be singled out, in which the storyline is so famously twisted that the viewer is led by the nose for an entire hour and a half, so that at the culmination moment it will amaze to the core. Nevertheless, the top of the best thrillers, changing the consciousness and perception of the world, opens the well-known film “Silence of the Lambs”. Here, FBI agent Clarissa Sterling makes contact with prisoner Hannibal Lecturer to help her understand the motives of a psychopath roaming free and killing young girls. Further, it is worth mentioning “The Dark Side of Passion”, “Cube”, “Game”, “Black Swan”, “Areas of Darkness”, “Child of Darkness”, etc.

Mystery Films

Mystical thrillers have combined the best of psychological thrillers and horror films. These paintings are for those who are fascinated by everything inexplicable, mysterious and supernatural, including evil spirits, ghosts and other evil spirits. The most prominent representatives of this subgenre: “The Six Demons of Emily Rose”, “Rosemary's Baby”, “Omen”, “The Sixth Sense”, “Shine”, “Others”, “The Key to All Doors”, “Jacket”, “The Heart of an Angel” . The top of the best thrillers with a mystical component will be incomplete without the cult series: Twin Peaks, The X-Files, The Twilight Zone. The mystical element is inherent in the work of many contemporary directors - David Lynch, Apichatpong Virasetakul, M. Knight Shyamalan.

The best of the best

Of course, the picture, which should be positioned as the best thriller of the year, should be exciting, dynamic and exciting, have colorful characters, stylish editing, brilliant special effects, a memorable soundtrack and harmonious musical accompaniment. This is a kind of stereotype, because with reality, the thriller connects the skill of the director and the quality, filigree of the production. 2014 was a generous year for paintings of this genre, and all of the following films can claim this high title: “Disappeared,” “A Walk Among the Graves,” “The Insurer,” “The Abode of the Damned,” “Before I Fall Asleep,” “13 Sins” .

Director himself

Despite the huge number of films of the genre we are considering, it is recommended that each viewer individually select the best thrillers for themselves, the rating of which, most likely, will not coincide with the chart of famous film critics. And the popularity and artistic value of the selected works can be preliminarily estimated by the value of box office receipts, adequate explanations of the failure or success of the film.