10 Top Suspense Movies You Don’t Want to Miss
While a lot many movies have been made in the suspense genre, a few have been able to create their own niche following and live on in the minds of the masses long after they have stopped playing at movie theaters. Here’s a list of some such suspense movies you don’t want to miss.
The Mask of Dimitrios
1. The Mask of Dimitrios
Unless you are an aficionado of old movies, chances are that you have never heard or seen this gem by Jean Negulesco. When the body of Dimitrios Makropolous, a notorious criminal, washes up on a shore in Turkey, a crime novelist embarks on delineating the career of Dimitrios in company of the mysterious Mr. Peters.
Psycho
2. Psycho
Hitchcock is one film maker whose movies alone can make up the top ten list of suspense movies right from ‘Rear Window’ to ‘Vertigo’. But the one we will brood upon here is ‘Psycho’, whose popularity encouraged Gus Van Sant to make a poor remake by the same name in 1998. It shows how a Phoenix office worker Marion flees off with $40,000 and stops in the Bates Motel in the way which is run by a young man Norman, dominated by his mother and the chilling incidents that follow.
Klute
3. Klute
This is the movie that made people take notice of Jane Fonda’s acting skills as well, apart from her curves, which she had amply shown in ‘Barbarella’. John Klute is a detective searching for his missing friend and his only point of contact is a prostitute who is stalked by a killer.
Silence of the Lambs
4. Silence of the Lambs
It is a masterpiece of director Jonathan Demme and was based on a novel of the same name written by Thomas Harris. It won five Oscars in all the top five categories. Although Jodie Foster gave a great performance as a young FBI cadet, it was Anthony Hopkins’ character Hannibal Lecter-a psychiatrist turned into a psychopath, that will remain embedded in your imagination for good.
Se7en
5. Se7en
Directed by the genius film maker David Fincher, who recently has been famous for ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, this is one film you won’t forget in a jiffy. It narrates the story of two detectives played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman who try to hunt down a serial killer, brilliantly portrayed by Kevin Spacey, whose killings are based on the seven deadly sins.
The Usual Suspects
6. The Usual Suspects
It narrates the story of five conmen who are arrested following a truck hijack and plan their revenge against the police. But the shadow of one mastermind killer, Keyser Söze, looms large upon them as no one knows whether he is real or a figment of the imagination.
The Sixth Sense
7. The Sixth Sense
Writer and director, M. Night Shyamalan became an instant sensation when this movie was released and he followed it up with ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Signs’. However, ‘The Sixth Sense’ is considered his best work by many. Bruce Willis plays a child psychologist who seems to be the only hope for a boy who sees the dead.
What Lies Beneath?
8. What Lies Beneath?
An underrated movie starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, it tells the story of a middle aged couple who seem to be doing well. One fine day, the wife starts hearing voices and seeing things in and around their Vermont home which makes them believe that the house is haunted by a ghost and they try to find out ‘what lies beneath’.
Memento
9. Memento
Directed by the man behind ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Inception, Christopher Nolan, this is one of the most complex movies ever made which starts at the middle and then switches back and forth. It chronicles the story of Leonard who has amnesia, and is trying to track the killer of his wife.
The Others
10. The Others
Driven by a great performance by Nicole Kidman, the film revolves around the life of a woman and her two children who are photo-sensitive and need to be kept away from the sun. All seems to be well until a group of servants is hired by her which has eerie consequences.
