Subgenre Sampler

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21 Grams (2003): Dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Feat. Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro…; For his English–language debut, the celebrated Mexican director of AMORES PERROS weighs in with an unconventional, soul–baring drama that…
Agent Cody Banks (2003): Dir. Harald Zwart
Feat. Frankie Muniz, Cynthia Stevenson, Hilary Duff…; Teen heart–throb Frankie Munz plays a junior CIA agent in this lightweight but savvy James Bond–parody. Skateboarding his way into a…
Back River Rd (2003): Dir. Peter Tait; A roughly–hewn thriller set in the backroads of northern New Zealand, where various characters in the dope–growing scene vie for success.…
Blind Flight (2003): Dir. John Furse
Feat. Ian Hart, Linus Roache; True story of the 4–year kidnapping in 80s Lebanon of Irishman Brian Keenan and Englishman John McCarthy, given an affecting depth by its…
Heaven (2002): Dir. Tom Tykwer
Feat. Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi; An art–thriller worked from a script by the late Krzysztof Kieslowski which follows the enigmatic trail of recently widowed and vengeful Cate…
Missing Gun, The (Xun qiang) (2002): Dir. Chuan Lu
Feat. Wen Jiang; Wound–up thriller set in a small and eccentric Chinese village, where a policeman wakes one morning with a hangover to find his…
Anti-Trust (2001): Dir. Peter Howitt
Feat. Ryan Phillippe, Tim Robbins, Rachael Leigh Cook…; Dot.com billlionaire Tim Robbins (modelled on Bill Gates) tries to buy the soul of computer whizz Ryan Phillippe in this competent hacker thriller,…
Forever Mine (2001): Dir. Paul Schrader
Feat. Ray Liotta, Gretchen Mol, Joseph Fiennes; The victim of a squelched distribution deal, this film–noir romance from dir. Schrader (AFFLICTION) is one of the most notable films to ever go…
Four Days (2001): Dir. Curtis Wehrfritz
Feat. Colm Meaney, Lolita Davidovich, Kevin Zegers…; This accomplished 'existential thriller', based on 60s crime novel by John Buell, fuses genre conventions with weightier concerns about loneliness…
Love the Hard Way (2001): Dir. Peter Sehr
Feat. Adrien Brody, Pam Grier; Big–city fable with Brody playing a snakeskin–jacketed thief with some polished one–liners, who nurses a secret ambition to be a…
Fail Safe (2000): Dir. Stephen Frears
Feat. Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Richard Dreyfuss; A TV–movie with a difference, this remake of Sidney Lumet's 1964 feature, was acted and broadcast live on American TV, heightening the…
Hole, The (2000): Dir. Nick Hamm
Feat. Thora Birch, Daniel Brocklebank, Desmond Harrington…; Thora Birch (AMERICAN BEAUTY) delivers a convincing English accent for this Brit variation of Teenage Gothic, emerging as the only survivor of a…
Lost Son, The (2000): Dir. Chris Menges
Feat. Nastassja Kinski, Katrin Cartlidge, Daniel Auteuil; Noir–ish excursion into the world of child sex–slavery rings in the London criminal underworld, has Daniel Auteuil (A HEART IN WINTER) as…
O (Othello) (2000): Dir. Tim Blake Nelson
Feat. Josh Hartnett, Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles; Continuing recent trends, this ‘updating’ of Shakespeare’s ”Othello” transfers the dialogue and setting into the US schoolyard, where Josh…
Original Sin (2000): Dir. Michael Cristofer
Feat. Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie; Candlelit plantation melodrama set in late 19th century Cuba, that ignites a ‘sight–unseen’ marriage between owner Antonio Banderas and…
Princess and the Warrior, The (2000): Dir. Tom Tykwer
Feat. Franke Potente; Follow–up and companion piece to dir. Tykwer’s RUN LOLA RUN, is a 'Snow White'–inspired tale of a psychiatric nurse who is hit by a…
Risk (2000): Dir. Alan White
Feat. Tom Long, Bryan Brown, Claudia Karvan; With an assured sense of style and atmosphere, the dir. of ERSKINVILLE KINGS crafts a thriller with more than the usual depth. Tom Long is an…
Where the Money Is (2000): Dir. Marek Kanievska
Feat. Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino, Dermot Mulroney; A still–charismatic Paul Newman is an aged bank–robber esconsed in a nursing home after suffering a stroke, though his nurse Linda…
Bone Collector, The (1999): Dir. Phillip Noyce
Feat. Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie; Denzel Washington's acting skills are put to the test playing a quadriplegic forensics expert helping to track down a particularly grisly serial…
Channeling Baby (1999): Dir. Christine Parker
Feat. Danielle Cormack, Kevin Smith; 'First sight' romance between a blind pacifist and a shell–shocked soldier in the 70s ended in heartbreak after the tragic 'disappearance' of…
Criminal, The (1999): Dir. Julian Simpson
Feat. Bernard Hill, Stephen Mackintosh, Eddie Izzard…; Brit–crime without the big flashy style, instead opting for a classic prime–suspect–on–the–run plotline, underworld…
Desert Blue (1999): Dir. Morgan J. Freeman
Feat. Brendon Sexton III, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci…; Various moods of isolation pervade the Californian desert–town setting of this comical melange of cliché and eccentricity, contrived around an…
Envy (1999): Dir. Julie Money
Feat. Anna Lise Phillips, Linda Cropper, Wade Osborne; A family is devastated in the aftermath of the ‘rape’ of her teenage son at the hands of a trio of young crims – mother Linda Cropper then…
Gun Shy (1999): Dir. Eric Blakeney
Feat. Liam Neeson, Sandra Bullock, Oliver Platt…; Implausible and cartoonish, this crime comedy has the novelty of Liam Neeson trying out a comedy role – as stressed–out undercover cop…
If… Dog… Rabbit… (1999): Dir. Matthew Modine
Feat. Matthew Modine, Bruce Dern, John Hurt…; Directorial debut for actor Matthew Modine (who also stars), coming up with a by now rather familiar gangster caper, set among an eccentric bunch of…
Jerry and Tom (1999): Dir. Saul Rubinek
Feat. Joe Mantegna, Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy…; Adding mileage to the crime–caper genre, Joe Mantegna plays a hitman who puts used–car salesman Sam Rockwell (LAWN DOGS) through a droll…
Kin (1999): Dir. Elanie Proctor
Feat. Miranda Otto, Isaiah Washington, Chris Chameleon; A game–keeper of elephants in the Namibian desert, Miranda Otto hovers between passions for brother Chris Chameleon and American newcomer…
Minus Man, The (1999): Dir. Hampton Fancher
Feat. Owen Wilson, Mercedes Ruehl, Janeane Garofalo…; Comic actor Owen Wilson is sort–of cast against type as an impassive, child–like drifter with a penchant for random poisonings, settling…
Omega Code, The (1999): Dir. Rob Marcarelli
Feat. Casper Van Dien, Michael York, Michael Ironside…; Casper Van Dien plays an academic in on a global conspiracy overseen by Michael York – who has managed to decode hidden predictions in the Bible.
Pups (1999): Dir. Ash
Feat. Burt Reynolds; A frustrated thirteen–year–old comes across the family firearm, prompting him to hold up the local bank with his reluctant girlfriend in…
Simpatico (1999): Dir. Matthew Warchus
Feat. Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone…; Two former criminal–partners replay the old grudges in this thriller–cum–drama based on Sam Shepard's play. Nick Nolte and Jeff…
Suicide Kings (1999): Dir. Peter O'Fallon
Feat. Christopher Walken, Denis Leary; Post–PULP FICTION black–comedy, that does better than most in juggling a crime setting, a mystery and various comical dialogues, with a…
Brown's Requiem (1998): Dir. Jason Freeland
Feat. Michael Rooker, Selma Blair, Kevin Corrigan; Initially promising requiem for the sacred conventions of classic film noir, with an excellent Michael Rooker moonlighting as a P.I. and getting a…
Final Cut (1998): Dir. Dominic Anciano, Ray Burdis
Feat. Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Ray Winstone; A sordidly comic tale of sex, lies and 8mm film – eleven 'friends' gather for the funeral of a film–maker (Jude Law) and discover that…
Hush (1998): Dir. Jonathan Darby
Feat. Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow, Johnathon Schaech; Familiar variation on the mother–in–law–from–hell model, with an above–average cast unable to pull it out of the…
Nightwatch (1998): Dir. Ole Bornedal
Feat. Ewan McGregor, Nick Nolte, Patricia Arquette; Ewan MacGregor checks in for morgue attendance in this Anglo remake of the director's own Danish thriller. Must confess, we never watched this…
One Tough Cop (1998): Dir. Bruno Barreto
Feat. Stephen Baldwin, Christopher Penn, Gina Gershon; Based on the NYPD memoirs of Bo Dietl, this proficient thriller benefits from the machismo of hardline cops Stephen Baldwin and partner Chris Penn,…
Players Club, The (1998): Dir. Ice Cube
Feat. Monica Calhoun, Lisa Raye, Jamie Foxx…; Proving a talent on his first directorial outing, actor–rapper Ice Cube enlists a no–name cast in this seriocomic glimpse into a tawdry…
Return to Paradise (1998): Dir. Joseph Ruben
Feat. Vince Vaughn, Joaquin Phoenix, Anne Heche; The Third World fears of America are played out in this knotty variation on MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. Vince Vaughn has to decide whether to save his buddy…
Snake Eyes (1998): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise; Morally dubious cops Nicolas Cage and Gary Sinise investigate an assassination during a pro–boxing match. Esteemed hack Brian De Palma…
Thursday (1998): Dir. Skip Woods
Feat. Thomas Jane, Aaron Eckhart, Paulina Porizkova…; Architect Thomas Jane has his suburban life up–ended when his drug–dealing past catches up with him in the form of Aaron Eckhart and his…
Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, The (1998): Dir. Anthony Shaw
Feat. Angela Lansbury, Ed Bishop, Peter Bland; Game old lady Angela Lansbury fulfils her life ambition to be a CIA–spy when she's accidentally sent on a mission to Morocco. Although this has…
Versace Murder, The (1998): Dir. Menahem Golan
Feat. Franco Nero, Steven Bauer; Hackmeister General Golan is at it again with this predictably schlocky treatmenr of the tragic slaying of fashion designer Versace. Franco Nero…
American Perfekt (1997): Dir. Paul Chart
Feat. Robert Forster, Amanda Plummer, David Thewlis; The most familiar of premises, an American desert road–trip entangling three motorists with a series of mysterious killings is elevated by an…
Assassin(s) (1997): Dir. Mathieu Kassovitz
Feat. Mathieu Kassovitz, Michel Serrault; Disappointing followup to LA HAINE for dir./star Kassovitz, plumping for a story of an apprentice hitman (Kassovitz) to aging pro Michel Serrault,…
Blood and Wine (1997): Dir. Bob Rafelson
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Jennifer Lopez…; Jack Nicholson dusts off his cynical, scowling persona of the 70s, as a desperate, philandering Florida wine merchant who enlists Michael Caine for a…
Blood Oranges, The (1997): Dir. Philip Haas
Feat. Charles Dance, Sheryl Lee, Colin Lane…; An obscure indie–psychodrama from the dir. of MUSIC OF CHANCE and ANGELS AND INSECTS, with Charles Dance and Sheryl Lee as a…
Deceiver (Liar) (1997): Dir. Josh Pate, Jonas Pate
Feat. Michael Rooker, Christopher Penn; Suspected of a gruesome homicide, troubled rich kid Tim Roth may or may not be running rings around not–so–clever cops Michael Rooker and…
Eye of God (1997): Dir. Tim Blake Nelson
Feat. Martha Plimpton, Kevin Anderson, Hal Holbrook; A firm patch of Southern Gothic, this cautionary tale examines spousal and religious abuse in sombre and convincing detail, secured by deft multiple…
Face (1997): Dir. Antonia Bird
Feat. Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone, Phillip Davis; The wily Robert Carlyle plays lead 'face' of an armed–robbery gang, in a tense, grabby thriller that more than holds its own in…
Full Alert (1997): Dir. Ringo Lam
Feat. Lau Ching-wan, Francis Ng; Quality police thriller with realistic drama, bracing action and strong sense of locale – regarded as one of the last 'classics' from the…
Gravesend (1997): Dir. Sal Stabile
Feat. Thomas Brandise, Tom Malloy, Michael Parducci…; Following a desperate night among four buddies in the run–down New York neighbourhood of Gravesend on the fringe of Coney Island, this…
Head Above Water (1997): Dir. Jim Wilson
Feat. Cameron Diaz, Harvey Keitel, Craig Sheffer…; An island respite turns afoul for Cameron Diaz, who adds to her multiple man troubles with a gush of fateful coincidences. Frantic suspense farce has…
Innocent Lies (Halcyon Days) (1997): Dir. Patrick DeWolfe
Feat. Joanna Lumley, Stephen Dorff, Gabrielle Anwar…; An English detective arrives in pre–WWII France to unravel a murder–mystery in a household fraught with Freudian overtones: matriarch…
Locusts, The (1997): Dir. John Patrick Kelley
Feat. Vince Vaughn, Kate Capshaw, Ashley Judd; Tawdry, mostly shallow slice of Southern 'Faulkner–esque' pulp has Vince Vaughn (SWINGERS) drifting into a hot spot of small–town trouble…
Lost Valley (1997): Dir. Dale G Bradley
Feat. Andrea Thompson, Meg Foster, Mandie Gillette…; Straight–to–video local thriller concerning two backpackers (Meg Foster and Andrea Thompson) and their daughters (Mandie Gillette and…
Maker, The (1997): Dir. Tim Hunter
Feat. Johnathon Rhys-Myers, Matthew Modine, Fairuza Balk…; To all appearances a straightforward crime–film, the dir. of RIVER'S EDGE distinguishes the coming–of–age tale of troubled teen…
Murder in Mind (1997): Dir. Andrew Morahan
Feat. Mary-Louise Parker, Nigel Hawthorne; Mary Louise Parker wakes up clutching a bloodied knife, her murdered husband beside her, and suffering from complete amnesia. Turning to…
Playing God (1997): Dir. Andy Wilson
Feat. David Duchovny; Diverting psycho–thriller for David Duchovny, playing a doctor struck–off for malpractice. After flirting with skid–row he lands in…
Port Djema (1997): Dir. Eric Heumann
Feat. Jean-Yves Dubois, Nathalie Boutefeu, Christophe Odent…; A Paris surgeon gets into the thick of dangerous politics at an East African colonial port as he traces the footsteps of a murdered friend. Won Best…
Resurrection Man (1997): Dir. Marc Evans
Feat. Stuart Townsend; Cut–above Irish thriller based around the notorious 1970s razor–gang Shankill Butchers, who dealt in drugs and intimidation with Stanley…
She's So Lovely (1997): Dir. Nick Cassavetes
Feat. Robin Wright, Sean Penn, John Travolta; As a low–life couple whose romantic intensity borders on madness, married double–act Robin Wright and Sean Penn off–handedly…
Smilla's Feeling for Snow (Smilla's Sense of Snow) (1997): Dir. Bille August
Feat. Julia Ormond, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Harris; From Peter Hoeg's acclaimed novel, Julia Ormond glistens in the plumb role of the frosty, feisty half–eskimo woman who over–concerns…
Ulee's Gold (1997): Dir. Victor Nunez
Feat. Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Jessica Biel; Peter Fonda gives good grace as an ageing, emotionally reticent beekeeper who is much less at ease with what's going on in his family's hive, a unit…
Unforgettable (1997): Dir. John Dahl
Feat. Ray Liotta, Linda Fiorentino; A modern noir with a conceit lifted straight out of a sci–fi B–movie, cop Ray Liotta's obsession to learn the truth about his wife's…
Crimetime (1996): Dir. George Sluzier
Feat. Stephen Baldwin, Pete Postlethwaite, Sadie Frost…; An educated, grisly thriller from director of THE VANISHING, set in a near–future where TV re–enacts, week by week, the latest efforts of…
Diabolique (1996): Dir. Jeremiah Chechik
Feat. Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, Chazz Palminteri; Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani and Chazz Palminteri star in this flashy remake of the 1955 French classic, LES DIABOLIQUES. Strictly for those that…
Heaven's Prisoners (1996): Dir. Phil Joanou
Feat. Alec Baldwin, Eric Roberts, Teri Hatcher; Cajun ex–cop Alec Baldwin investigates his wife's death, and encounters old pal turned crime–lord Eric Roberts lurking in the Bayou.…
Jaded (1996): Dir. Caryn Krooth
Feat. Carla Gugino, Rya Kihlstedt, Christopher McDonald…; Putting a hefty, controversial twist on the subject of rape, this psychodrama has smalltown loner Carla Gugino sexually abused, not by a man, but by…
Jason's Lyric (1996): Dir. Doug McHenry
Feat. Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Forest Whitaker…; If you can't get enough boys in the 'hood, there's plenty of bloodshed and moral penance to be found in this tale of doomed lovers struggling to…
Keeper, The (1996): Dir. Joe Brewster
Feat. Giancarlo Esposito, Isaach de Bankole, Regina Taylor…; An idealistic black corrections officer bails out and offers shelter to a Haitian immigrant unjustly accused of rape, a gesture that will profoundly…
Killer: a Journal of Murder (1996): Dir. Tim Metcalfe
Feat. James Woods, Robert Sean Leonard, Ellen Greene; James Woods plays America's first official serial killer, Carl Panzram, but his demonic energies seem wasted on a simplistic film that offers scant…
Lowball (1996): Dir. Demian Lichenstein
Feat. Peter Greene; Grimy, low–budget drama pursues NY cop Peter Greene through the mire of his deep cover assignment, as the various temptations of the scumbag…
Mistrial (1996): Dir. Heywood Gould
Feat. Bill Pullman, Robert Loggia, Blair Underwood…; Frustrated by the legal system, cop Bill Pullman pours gasoline on community tensions by kidnapping a judge and jury – to put a suspected…
Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead (1996): Dir. Agustin Diaz Yanes
Feat. Victoria Abril, Pilar Bardem; Alcoholic and reluctant whore Victoria Abril turns a few clever tricks on a Mexican mob's laundering operation. A Spanish pulpy fiction grafted with…
Normal Life (1996): Dir. John McNaughton
Feat. Ashley Judd, Luke Perry, Kate Walsh…; Based on a true story of a by–the–book cop who turns to bank–robbing with a bit of encouragement from his off–the–boil…
Passion of Darkly Noon (1996): Dir. Philip Ridley
Feat. Ashley Judd, Brendan Fraser, Viggo Mortensen…; The director of the underrated THE REFLECTING SKIN revisits the bayou for another round of redneck neurosis, repressed desire and violent madness. A…
Pure Formality, A (Una pura formalità) (1996): Dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Roman Polanski; A chilling interrogation of an elusive murder suspect transpires under weather most foul. Roman Polanski and Gerard Depardieu face–off…
Secret Agent, The (1996): Dir. Christopher Hampton
Feat. Bob Hoskins, Gerard Depardieu, Patricia Arquette…; Faithful period adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel concerning political intrigues in Edwardian London. Russian spy Bob Hoskins is ordered out…
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1996): Dir. Gary Fleder
Feat. Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken, Gabrielle Anwar…; Things get messy for 'good guy' Andy Garcia under the sadistic tutelage of crippled crime–boss Christopher Walken. Cool and confident…
This World, Then the Fireworks (1996): Dir. Michael Oblowitz
Feat. Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, Chet Baker…; Billy Zane and Gina Gershon play bad seed twins seemingly bonded by irrational behaviour and an incestuous streak in 50s California. Stylised noir…
Bait, The (L'Appat) (1995): Dir. Bertrand Tavernier
Feat. Marie Gillain; A claustrophobic psychological thriller dealing with a trio of young friends who naively conspire to commit a home invasion, that becomes a study of…
Citizen X (1995): Dir. Chris Gerolmo
Feat. Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, Max von Sydow; A suitably disturbing account of the world's most prolific serial killer, Viktor Burakov, a man whose eight year, 52–victim reign of terror…
Fall Time (1995): Dir. Paul Warner
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Stephen Baldwin; A prank backfires for three teenagers who interrupt the plans of hardened gangsters. The innocence lost of '50s America is disturbingly mirrored as…
Infiltrator, The (1995): Dir. John Mackenzie
Feat. Oliver Platt, Arliss Howard, Alex Kingston…; Israeli journalist Oliver Platt infiltrates the modern–day German neo–Nazi movement to his considerable peril. Made all the more gripping…
Innocent Sleep, The (1995): Dir. Scott Michell
Feat. Rupert Graves, Michael Gambon, Annabella Sciorra…; Rupert Graves makes a convincing derelict who unveils a complex international conspiracy after reporting a Thames–side murder to the police. An…
Just Cause (1995): Dir. Arne Glimcher
Feat. Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Ed Harris…; Power–attorney Sean Connery defends a death row prisoner despite the evidence against him, and butts heads with Larry Fishburne, the cop…
Kamikaze Taxi (1995): Dir. Masato Harada
Feat. Koji Yakusho, Kazuya Takahashi, Reiko Kataoka; An apprentice gangster fouls up his first major assignment and flees Tokyo in a taxi, the driver of which turns out to be a unlikely confident with a…
L'Amour Molesto (Wounded Love) (1995): Dir. Mario Martone
Feat. Anna Bonaiuto, Angela Luce, Gianni Cajafa…; Filial difficulties between mother and daughter act as the centre of gravity for this Italian mystery that matches its edgy storyline with a…
Last Tattoo, The (1995): Dir. John Reid
Feat. Kerry Fox, Rod Steiger, Robert Loggia…; Kerry Fox stars in this American–Kiwi co–produced WW2 drama as a public health nurse who uncovers a murder mystery and conspiracy…
Op Centre (1995): Dir. Lewis Teague
Feat. Harry Hamlin, Patrick Bauchau, Kabir Bedi; Tightly directed made–for–TV action pic about a crisis involving a renegade KGB colonel who steals three nuclear warheads from the Yanks…
Patriotes, Les (1995): Dir. Eric Rochant
Feat. Yvan Attal, Richard Masur, Allen Garfield…; Disillusionment erodes the ideals of a young Frenchman who emigrates to Israel to train for a career in their intelligence division. Its astute focus…
Suite 16 (1995): Dir. Dominique Deruddere
Feat. Pete Postlethwaite, Antoine Camerling, Géraldine Pailhas; Lurid psycho–sexual drama in which a gigolo is hired by a rich cripple to bed women for his voyeuristic pleasure. Almost interesting, if it was…
Underneath, The (1995): Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Feat. Peter Gallagher, Alison Elliott, William Fichtner; A worldweary return to his home–town finds Peter Gallagher tempted all–too–easily into a dangerous criminal enterprise. A…
Wild Side (1995): Dir. Donald Cammell
Feat. Anne Heche, Christopher Walken, Joan Chen…; Bank exec Anne Heche moonlights as a hooker to service a debt and initiates a twisted game of role–playing with miscreants Christopher Walken…
Against the Wall (1994): Dir. John Frankenheimer
Feat. Kyle MacLachlan, Samuel L. Jackson, Frederic Forrest…; Gruelling true story of the uprising at Attica Prison in 1971 in which a new recruit to the prison service, along with several of his colleagues get…
Bad Company (1994): Dir. Damian Harris
Feat. Laurence Fishburne, Ellen Barkin; Disgraced CIA agent Larry Fishburne defects to a rebel intelligence bureau who service high–priced clients with no questions asked. Slick…
Blink (1994): Dir. Michael Apted
Feat. Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, James Remar; A blind woman (Madeleine Stowe) becomes a sole yet unreliable murder witness after successful eye surgery gives her troubling side–effects.…
Color of Night (1994): Dir. Richard Rush
Feat. Bruce Willis, Jane March, Ruben Blades…; Bruce Willis plays a grief–stricken psychiatrist, and it's downhill from there in this post–BASIC INSTINCT misfire that can only be…
Hawk, The (1994): Dir. David Hayman
Feat. Helen Mirren; Helen Mirren brings edgy believablity as a mother–of–two who watches the evidence mount against her husband as the notorious serial…
Innocent, The (1994): Dir. John Schlesinger
Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Campbell Scott, Isabella Rossellini; Anthony Hopkins toplines WW2 espionage thriller about a British engineer (Campbell Scott) who becomes caught in the crossfire of suspicion during his…
Killer (1994): Dir. Mark Malone
Feat. Anthony LaPaglia, Mimi Rogers; Ace hitman Anthony LaPaglia is hired to bump off glamour informant Mimi Rogers, whom he discovers is suicidal. Pacey and atmospheric, with an…
Kiss of Death (1994): Dir. Barbet Schroeder
Feat. David Caruso, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson…; David Caruso (NYPD Blue) does fine in his big–screen debut as a redeemed petty crook lured back into the void between the cops and the…
Machine, La (1994): Dir. Francois Dupeyron
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye; Gerard Depardieu goes into mad–doctor mode for this high–tech mind–transplant thriller, as a shrink/inventor whose fleeting…
Man in Uniform, A (I Love a Man in Uniform) (1994): Dir. David Wellington
Feat. Tom McCamus; This sharp, brooding satire is reminiscent of TAXI DRIVER but has a flavour and agenda all of its own. A meek bank clerk gets an acting break in…
Night Train to Venice (1994): Dir. Toni Hirtreiter
Feat. Hugh Grant, Malcolm McDowell; A scenic holiday in Italy probably tempted Hugh Grant and Malcolm McDowell to appear in this eurotrash excursion that takes a few leaves from another…
Nightwatch (1994): Dir. Ole Bornedal
Feat. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau; A student (Nikolaj Waldau) takes a job as nightwatchman in a morgue so he can swat for his exams, but is dragged into trouble by an unruly companion…
Silent Fall (1994): Dir. Bruce Beresford
Feat. Richard Dreyfuss; An autistic child is the only witness to a brutal murder. The job of bringing him out of his shell falls to discredited child psychologist Richard…
Six Days, Six Nights (1994): Dir. Diane Kurys
Feat. Anne Parillaud, Beatrice Dalle; Favourite French fatales Anne Parillaud and Beatrice Dalle brood into Polanski territory, finding sibling and sexual rivialry, and possibly madness…
Torment (L'Enfer) (1994): Dir. Claude Chabrol
Feat. Emmanuelle Beart, Francois Cluzet; Based on an unproduced H.R. Clouzot screenplay from the 1950s, and not quite up to the standard of its follow–up, A JUDGEMENT IN STONE, but a…
Trial by Jury (1994): Dir. Heywood Gould
Feat. Armand Assante, Joanne Whalley, Gabriel Byrne…; A ruthless mob boss (Armand Assante) on trial for multiple murders employs strong–arm tactics to 'influence' mother–of–two…
Blind Side (1993): Dir. Geoff Murphy
Feat. Rutger Hauer, Rebecca De Mornay, Ron Silver; Geoff Murphy directs this efficient thriller in which Rutger Hauer reprises his psycho–turn from THE HITCHER. Creepy events mount after…
Boxing Helena (1993): Dir. Jennifer Lynch
Feat. Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands; Ludicrous psycho–sexual drama in which an obsessed surgeon keeps his reluctant object of desire (Sherilyn Fenn) all 'boxed' in. David Lynch's…
Chain of Desire (1993): Dir. Temistocles Lopez
Feat. Linda Fiorentino, Malcolm McDowell; A 'chain' of sexual encounters between numerous partners, brought full circle before the stinging twist in its tale. Linda Fiorentino and Malcolm…
Darkness in Tallinn (1993): Dir. Ilka Jarvilaturi
Feat. Elina Aasa, Milena Gulbe, Juri Jarvet; In liberated Estonia, gangsters plan the elaborate ambush of gold bullion being restored from a Paris vault. A humble electrician has the pivotal job…
Fatherland (1993): Dir. Christopher Menaul
Feat. Rutger Hauer, Miranda Richardson; Ambitious film posits an alternative history in which Germany controls Europe and is locked in a cold war with the U.S. twenty years after winning…
Ghost in the Machine (1993): Dir. Rachel Talalay
Feat. Karen Allen, Chris Mulkey; Computer effects ala THE LAWNMOWER MAN punctuate this high–tech thriller in which a serial–killer does some heavy–duty destruction…
Golden Gate (1993): Dir. John Madden
Feat. Matt Dillon, Joan Chen, Bruno Kirby; Rookie FBI agent Matt Dillon is assigned to expose subversives in McCarthy–era San Fransisco, but years later becomes embroiled with the…
Good Son, The (1993): Dir. Joseph Ruben
Feat. Elijah Wood, Macaulay Culkin; Mild gothic tale of two cousins – goody–good Elijah Wood, and psychotic bad seed Macaulay Culkin, who attempts to shrug off typecasting…
La Scorta (1993): Dir. Rick Tognazzi
Feat. Ennio Morricone; Bold dramatic thriller draws from real events surrounding the indictment of Mafia collaborators with the focus on the four bodyguards of a maverick…
Nun and the Bandit (1993): Dir. Paul Cox
Feat. Chris Haywood, Gosia Dobrowolska; Cox returns with regulars Chris Haywood and Gosia Dobrowolska for a tale of industrial disputes, revenge and kidnapping in the Australian bush.
Shadow of Doubt, A (1993): Dir. Aline Issermann
Feat. Mireille Perrier, Alain Bashung, Sandrine Blancke; A painfully credible exploration of how a father's alleged crime against his young daughter affects a middle class family. Well researched and…
Voyage (1993): Dir. John Mackenzie
Feat. Rutger Hauer, Karen Allen, Eric Roberts; A great black comedy B–movie with Rutger Hauer and Karen Allen as long–marrieds who share their yacht with old 'friends'. They soon…
Accompanist, The (1992): Dir. Claude Miller
Feat. Richard Bohringer, Romane Bohringer; A humble pianist is hired to accompany a wealthy soprano in occupied France, but their partnership becomes fraught with rivalry and…
Afraid of the Dark (1992): Dir. Mark Peploe
Feat. James Fox, Fanny Ardant, Paul McGann; A bespectacled youngster bares witness to a number of killings on blind women in this bizarre, stylised British entry which uses the mind of a child…
Body Parts (1992): Dir. Eric Red
Feat. Jeff Fahey; Criminal psychologist Jeff Fahey loses his arm in a car accident and becomes the recipient of an homicidal donor arm! Unsettling thriller soon takes…
Cold Heaven (1992): Dir. Nicolas Roeg
Feat. Nicolas Roeg, Theresa Russell; Typically enigmatic fare from Nic Roeg posits his wife, Theresa Russell, as an adulterous wife whose husband conveniently dies in an accident before…
Diary of a Hitman (1992): Dir. Roy London
Feat. Forest Whitaker, Sherilyn Fenn, Sharon Stone; An off–beat psychological study of a professional killer (Forest Whitaker) who fatally falls for his 'target' (Sherilyn Fenn). Wordy script is…
Dirty Weekend (1992): Dir. Michael Winner
Feat. Lia Williams; 'Death Wish' director Winner tweaks a familiar–sounding plot: here a stressed–out Lia Williams weekends in Brighton, to both relax and…
Flight of the Innocent (1992): Dir. Carlo Carlei
Feat. Manuel Colao, Federico Pacifici, Sal Borgese; A swirling steady–cam follows the chase of a young boy across Northern Italy after his family are slaughtered by a kidnapping ring. Thriller is…
Guncrazy (1992): Dir. Tamra Davis
Feat. Drew Barrymore, James LeGros, Billy Drago…; Drew Barrymore and James LeGros are tearaway teens who find solace in each other, but together sink further into the mire of trouble. Maturely…
Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1992): Dir. Jeff Stanzler
Feat. Tim Roth, Alexis Arquette; Tim Roth and Alexis Arquette both give knock–out performances in this powerful drama about a violent man trying to clean–up his…
L627 (1992): Dir. Bertrand Tavernier
Feat. Didier Bezace, Jean-Paul Comart; A sharp, unsentimental depiction of the daily grind that a Paris drugs–squad detective must endure, contending with dealers, addicts and…
Laws of Gravity (1992): Dir. Nick Gomez
Feat. Peter Greene, Edie Falco, Adam Trese…; Remarkably authentic Brooklyn street story follows a couple of aimless pals, their girlfriends and a volitile circle of hoods. The four leads are…
Love Field (1992): Dir. Jonathan Kaplan
Feat. Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert; Michelle Pfeiffer plays a forlorn housewife who befriends a black man and his daughter en route to JFK's funeral. Confederate cronies and bitter…
Overkill: The Aileen Wournos Story (1992): Dir. Peter Levin
Feat. Jean Smart; Jean Smart vividly incarnates the infamous female 'serial killer' who, at the time of this film, was awaiting execution on death row. Solid TV movie.
Public Eye, The (1992): Dir. Howard Franklin
Feat. Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey, Richard Riehle; Fascinating 40s film noir homage with Joe Pesci in a taylor–made role as a tabloid photographer whose seedy contacts enable him to be first on…
Redheads (1992): Dir. Danny Vendramini
Feat. Claudia Karvan, Catherine McClements, Alexander Petersons; With nothing in common except auburn locks, two women – a rookie barrister and a murder witness – join forces to unravel a mystery that…
After Dark, My Sweet (1991): Dir. James Foley
Feat. Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern; A punch drunk drifter befriends a mysterious couple in a sun–blasted desert town. A smoulderingly atmospheric tale based on the novel by Jim…
Autobus (1991): Dir. Eric Rochant
Feat. Yvan Attal, Kristin Scott Thomas; A desperate, attention–seeking young man (Yvan Attal – superb) hijacks a school bus, taking its two adults and little passengers hostage.…
Deceived (1991): Dir. Damian Harris
Feat. Goldie Hawn, John Heard; Goldie Hawn in her first dramatic role plays a mother–of–two who learns that Hubby is not who she thought he was. Nothing new here, but…
Highway Patrolman (1991): Dir. Alex Cox
Feat. Roberto Sosa, Bruno Bichir, Vanessa Bauche; A wayward film–maker returns to form in using road–movie conventions to enrich this tale of poverty, drugs, prostitution and rampant…
Hors La Vie (Life on Hold) (1991): Dir. Maroun Bagdadi
Feat. Hippolyte Girardot, Rafic Ali Ahmad, Nidal Ashkov…; A fictionalised depiction of a freelance photographer's ten months in Shi'ite custody. Charged with political anger but unsensationalist and…
In Broad Daylight (1991): Dir. James Steven Sadwith
Feat. Brian Dennehy, Cloris Leachman, Marcia Gay Harden…; True account of how a group of townsfolk took revenge on a barbaric bully whose unlawful antics kept them at his mercy. Brian Dennehy incarnates the…
Indecent Woman, The (1991): Dir. Ben Verbong
Feat. Jose Way, Coen Van Vrijberghe de Coningh, Huub Stapel; A married violinist is drawn into a no–holds–barred relationship with a mystery man. A decent erotic parable that perceptively explores…
Lovers (1991): Dir. Vincente Aranda
Feat. Victoria Abril; Almodovar–regular Victoria Abril brings her sultry star presence to this smouldering tale of illicit lovers who conspire to a horrendous crime…
Medicine Man (1991): Dir. John McTiernan
Feat. Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco; Sean Connery plays a crotchety mad scientist whose tinkerings in the Amazon rainforest result in a cure for cancer – but then he just as soon…
Nirvana Street Murder (1991): Dir. Aleksi Vellis
Feat. Mark Little, Ben Mendelsohn; Raw, inventive street story that juggles cultural conflict with matters of the heart as two disparate brothers find themselves in a scrape with Greek…
Returning, The (1991): Dir. John Day
Feat. Phillip Gordon, Alison Routledge, Max Cullen; An enigmatic thriller following the fortunes of a high–strung attorney who inherits a rural homestead and finds himself drawn into an obsessive…
Shattered (1991): Dir. Wolfgang Petersen
Feat. Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi…; Tom Berenger plays an amnesia victim perturbed with the fragments of his former life and the suspicious antics of his friends. An innocent victim or…
Storyville (1991): Dir. Mark Frost
Feat. James Spader, Joanne Whalley, Jason Robards Jr.…; The directing debut from TWIN PEAKS' co–creator. Upstart political candidate James Spader becomes involved in illicit activity. A gumbo of red…
Unlawful Entry (1991): Dir. Jonathan Kaplan
Feat. Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta, Madeleine Stowe; Ray Liotta makes a perfect cop from hell, abusing his civil privileges to manifest obsessions with the wife of the man he is hired to protect. A…
Catchfire (1990): Dir. Alan Smithee
Feat. Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster; An engaging oddity directed by Dennis Hopper under a pseudonym, after producers cut the film from its original 3hr length. Hopper himself plays a…
Class Action (1990): Dir. Michael Apted
Feat. Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio; A lawyer becomes forced to prosecute a case in which his estranged daughter will act for the defence. Courtroom ethics are violated in style by Gene…
Cup Final (1990): Dir. Eran Riklis
Feat. Moshe Ivgy, Mohamed Bakri, Salim Dau; An engaging Israeli film about a soccer player whose dreams of representing his country at the World Cup in Spain are shattered by war. He is…
Deadly Mr. Frost (1990): Dir. Philip Setbon
Feat. Jeff Goldblum; Intriguing black comedy with Jeff Goldblum well cast as a smug serial killer who breaks a two year silence to confide in a psychiatrist that he is…
Delusion (1990): Dir. Carl Colpaert
Feat. Jim Metzler, Jennifer Rubin, Kyle Secor…; Quirky cousin of ROADSIDE PROPHETS and HIGHWAY 61 adds a suspense element to its road–bound trio of odd–balls; a computer nerd with a…
Doctor Petiot (1990): Dir. Christian De Chalonge
Feat. Michel Serrault, Pierre Romans, Berangere Bonvoisin; A dark, expressionistic account of a depraved physician who, in occupied Paris, used his practise to facilitate emigration for hopeful Jews, only to…
Elegant Criminel, L' (1990): Dir. Francis Girod
Feat. Daniel Auteuil, Jean Poiret, Jaques Weber; Daniel Auteuil stars in this irreverent and witty biography of suave petty thief and condemned killer Pierre Lacenaire, whose brief flame burned…
Everybody Wins (1990): Dir. Karel Reisz
Feat. Debra Winger, Nick Nolte, Will Patton…; Arthur Miller's first screenplay since THE MISFITS tells the story of a private eye, hired for a murder enquiry by a strange woman who claims to know…
Havana (1990): Dir. Sydney Pollack
Feat. Robert Redford, Lena Olin; A gracefully ageing Robert Redford seeks his fortune on the verge of the Cuban revolution, while romantic entanglement with Lena Olin has political…
Horseplayer (1990): Dir. Kurt Voss
Feat. Brad Dourif, Sammi Davis, Max Perlich; Interesting item stars the incomparably strange Brad Dourif as a loner being manipulated by bored neighbours. Unfortunately for them, Brad turns out…
Internal Affairs (1990): Dir. Mike Figgis
Feat. Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis…; Richard Gere plays a repugnant cop that will do just about anything for a buck, or a kick. Andy Garcia is the investigator who adopts a personal…
Paper Mask (1990): Dir. Chris Morahan
Feat. Paul McGann, Amanda Donohoe; A frustrated hospital porter (Paul McGann) embarks on an outrageous bluff, assuming the identity of a deceased doctor. A truly scary indictment of…
Reflecting Skin, The (1990): Dir. Philip Ridley
Feat. Viggo Mortensen; An eerie and perverse tale of a young boy's unsettling experiences growing up in the prairie farmlands of Idaho, where the adults are weird and the…
Undercover (1990): Dir. Yvonne MacKay
Feat. William Brandt; Telemovie depiction of the lifestyle of an undercover detective in NZ's drug underworld. A bit rough around the edges, but perhaps worth a look.
Apartment Zero (1989): Dir. Martin Donovan
Feat. Colin Firth, Hart Bochner; Weird tale in which a loner (Colin Firth) rents half of his apartment to a man of dubious motives and background (Hart Bochner). Pays homage to many…
Cat Chaser (1989): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Peter Weller, Kelly McGillis, Charles Durning…; The director atypically sidesteps controversy in adapting Elmore Leonard's political novel about a Miami hotel owner who courts danger when he…
Club Extinction (Dr. M) (1989): Dir. Claude Chabrol
Feat. Alan Bates, Jennifer Beals, Jan Niklas…; Chabrol’s re–examination of Fritz Lang’s DR MABUSE is set in a future Berlin saturated with Big Brother messages and a plague of…
Criminal Law (1989): Dir. Martin Campbell
Feat. Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Tess Harper…; Hot shot lawyer Gary Oldman successfully defends psycho–killer Kevin Bacon, only to find he had made a costly misjudgement.
Dark Woods, The (1989): Dir. Jacques Deray
Feat. Beatrice Dalle; Beatrice Dalle (BETTY BLUE) marries a stranger on a whim, and lives to regret it when her affections for his brother leads to a brutal crime of…
Diamond Skulls (1989): Dir. Nick Broomfield
Feat. Gabriel Byrne, Amanda Donohoe; This brittle stab at fiction from renowned documentarian Nick Broomfield about "sex, class and obsession" suffers from unsympathetic…
Fellow Traveller (1989): Dir. Philip Saville
Feat. Ron Silver, Hart Bochner; A classy political thriller concerning the traumas of a blacklisted writer exiled in London during the McCarthy era.
Johnny Handsome (1989): Dir. Walter Hill
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern…; Mickey Rourke plays a deformed petty criminal who takes the rap for a major robbery. In prison he is given a new handsome face and proceeds to avenge…
Kill Off, The (1989): Dir. Maggie Greenwald
Feat. Andrew Lee Barrett, Jorja Fox, Ralph Graff; In a small New Jersey town, everyone has a motive to kill off the town gossip. Fascinating, off–beat story based on Jim Thompson's novel. A…
Kitchen Sink (1989): Dir. Alison Maclean
Feat. Theresa Healy, Peter Tait, Anagretta Christian; Three shorts from director Alison Maclean. Her 1989 award–winning Gothic horror is here paired with two earlier works, TALKBACK (1987), and the…
Master of the Marionettes, A (1989): Dir. Pedr James
Feat. Kenneth Cranham, Carol Drinkwater; Effective though modest BBC drama–thriller posits a 'Twilight Zone' scenario of a salesman suspected of stabbing a man he has rescued. As…
Amsterdamned (1988): Dir. Dick Maas
Feat. Huub Stapel, Monique Van de Ven, Serge-Henri Valcke; Around the canals of the Dutch capital, an elusive serial killer is manhunted. Huub Stapel stars in this sleek, exotic thriller from genre stylist…
Appointment with Death (1988): Dir. Michael Winner
Feat. Peter Ustinov, Lauren Bacall, John Gielgud; Agatha Christie mystery with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, and Lauren Bacall, John Gielgud among the suspects.
Grasscutter, The (1988): Dir. Ian Mune
Feat. Terence Cooper, Joel Tobeck, Martin Maguire; A new life and identity in Dunedin proves to be no escape for a former IRA gunman who gave evidence that put 23 fellow terrorists behind bars.…
Rampage (1988): Dir. William Friedkin
Feat. Michael Biehn, Alex McArthur, Nicholas Campbell; This grapples with the psychology of murder and the moral dilemma surrounding the death penalty. A vicious serial killer is prosecuted but how will…
Short Takes: Dark Tales (1988-1994): Dir. Scott Reynolds, Simon Bare, Don McGlashan; A choice selection of short and shady New Zealand films: Game With No Rules (Dir. Scott Reynolds) 17m. Eau De La Vie (Dir. Simon Bare) 13m. The…
After Pilkington (1987): Dir. Christopher Morahan
Feat. Bob Peck, Miranda Richardson, Barry Foster; The exhilirating complications and barbed wit of Simon Gray's stageplay survive this BBC thriller, about an Oxford professor (Bob Peck) drawn into a…
Angel Dust (1987): Dir. Edouard Niermans
Feat. Bernard Giraudeau, Fanny Bastien, Fanny Cottencon; Accomplished thriller in the film noir tradition about an out–of–luck cop who falls for a woman he later begins to suspect of murder.
Bellman and True (1987): Dir. Richard Loncraine
Feat. Bernard Hill, Derek Newark, Richard Hope; From the director of RICHARD III, an intriguing little thriller whose main character, an alcoholic computer expert, is drawn into the world of…
Best Seller (1987): Dir. John Flynn
Feat. Brian Dennehy, James Woods, Victoria Tennant; An arresting thriller with Brian Dennehy and an on–form James Woods.
Honeymoon (1987): Dir. Patrick Jamain
Feat. Nathalie Baye, John Shea, Richard Berry; A French woman marries through an agency in order to stay in America. Soon a man she's never met knocks on her door with the groceries! A real…
Julia and Julia (1987): Dir. Peter Del Monte
Feat. Kathleen Turner, Gabriel Byrne, Sting; Kathleen Turner leads a double (love) life with husband Gabriel Byrne and toy–boy photographer Sting.
Masques (1987): Dir. Claude Chabrol
Feat. Philippe Noiret, Bernadette Lafont; Showbiz thriller with an offbeat setting and treatment typical of the director. Phillip Noiret excels as a vain and complacent TV celebrity, with…
Prayer for the Dying (1987): Dir. Mike Hodges
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, Alan Bates…; Adaptation of Jack Higgins' novel in which Mickey Rourke plays a retired IRA hitman who is enticed into one final killing, with disasterous…
Slamdance (1987): Dir. Wayne Wang
Feat. Tom Hulce, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Virginia Madsen…; Quirky, stylishly–shot thriller, with graphic artist Tom Hulce framed for murder.
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987): Dir. Norman Mailer
Feat. Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini; This curious black comedy–come–film noir enigma will provide fascinating viewing for some. Based on the director's novel, it marked a…
White of the Eye (1987): Dir. Donald Cammell
Feat. David Keith, Cathy Moriaty, Art Evans…; Smartly executed, disturbing thriller set in a small Arizona town where a psychotic balances his marital problems with his penchant for homicide.
8 Million Ways to Die (1986): Dir. Hal Ashby
Feat. Rosanna Arquette, Jeff Bridges; Late–career crime–thriller from dir. Ashby, lending his skills to the woozily–atmospheric tale of Florida cocaine deals gone wrong.…
Bridge to Nowhere (1986): Dir. Ian Mune
Feat. Bruno Lawrence; Young backpackers go bush and find themselves in a conflict of survival with bad–egg Bruno Lawrence.
Camorra (1986): Dir. Lina Wertmuller
Feat. Angela Molina, Harvey Keitel; Complicated but well–judged thriller about the Naples underworld and specifically the use of children in the drug trade. More conventional than…
Fantasist, The (1986): Dir. Robin Hardy
Feat. Moira Harris, Christopher Cazenove, Timothy Bottoms; Belated and little known second film from the director of “The Wicker Man” about a rural Irishwoman whose teaching stint in Dublin finds…
Half Moon Street (1986): Dir. Bob Swaim
Feat. Michael Caine, Sigourney Weaver; Michael Caine and Sigourney Weaver play British diplomat and call–girl who become locked in escalating political intrigue.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents… (1985): Dir. Various
Feat. Ned Beatty, John Huston, Steven Bauer…; Four episodes from the TV–series, posthumously endorsed by Hitch, which replicate his blend of suspense, macabre humour and brutal…
Blackout (1985): Dir. Douglas Hickox
Feat. Richard Widmark, Keith Carradine; Above–average stalker whodunit.
Mean Season, The (1985): Dir. Phillip Borsos
Feat. Kurt Russell, Mariel Hemingway, Richard Jordan…; Hack reporter Kurt Russell's propensity for a story edges him dangerously close to crazed psycho Richard Jordan.
Should I Be Good or Should I Be Evil? (1985): Dir. Graham McLean
Feat. Beaver , Harry Lyon; Musos Beaver and Harry Lyon from Hello Sailor have a bash at acting in a story based on the Mr Asia drug–ring. Music by Hammond Gamble.
Little Drummer Girl (1984): Dir. George Roy Hill
Feat. Diane Keaton, Klaus Kinski; Diane Keaton excels in this politically even handed labyrinthine terrorist thriller. The screenplay was adapted with the assistance of John Le Carre…
Fourth Man, The (1983): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Jeroen Krabbe; Jeroen Krabbe is a gay alchoholic writer prone to hallucinations who suspects his hairdresser of triple murder. Weird and stylish…
Hound of the Baskervilles, The (1983): Dir. Douglas Hickox
Feat. Ian Richardson, Martin Shaw, Denholm Elliott…; Ian Richardson (HOUSE OF CARDS) plays Sherlock Holmes in this crafted version of Conan Doyle’s most famous mystery, in which a monstrous…
Balance, La (1982): Dir. Bob Swaim
Feat. Nathalie Baye, Philippe Leotard, Richard Berry; Money, loyalty and death hang in the balance in this gritty, Cesar–winning thriller. A crime king–pin is exposed by an…
Angel of Vengeance (Ms.45) (1981): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Zoë Tamerlis, Jack Thibeau; Surreal drama about a deaf–mute who seeks revenge after two sexual assaults. Taut and disturbing, with minimal dialogue, it has the distinction…
Gloria (1980): Dir. John Cassavetes
Feat. Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen; Rowlands is devastating as a gangster moll who runs from the Mob after taking protective custody of a neighbour's son, whose parents have fallen…
Death Weekend (1977): Dir. William Freut
Feat. Brenda Vaccaro, Don Stroud, Chuck Shamata; Four sleazeballs invade a couple's country retreat and proceed to make things rather unpleasant. Well–acted shocker in the wake of the…
Mikey and Nicky (1976): Dir. Elaine May
Feat. Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Ned Beatty…; Loosely improvised drama, with a wild–eyed John Cassavetes calling on old pal Peter Falk to help escape the Mob. Turns out he may not be such a…
Macon County Line (1974): Dir. Richard Compton
Feat. Alan Vint, Jesse Vint, Cheryl Waters…; An under–rated, gritty kids vs. rednecks thriller in the EASY RIDER tradition about three youngsters pursued on Georgian byways for a gruesome…
Dillinger (1973): Dir. John Milius
Feat. Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman…; A tough portait of the Depression–era bank robber that like BONNIE AND CLYDE, invests the criminal with the mythic qualities of the outlaw.…
Images (1972): Dir. Robert Altman
Feat. Susannah York, Cathryn Harrison; A stark and daring portrait of descending madness, Susannah York gives a seismic performance as a woman troubled by disturbing hallucinations. Filmed…
Madame Sin (1971): Dir. David Greene
Feat. Bette Davis, Denholm Elliott, Robert Wagner…; Criminal mastermind Bette Davis casts her heavily mascaraed eye on nuclear submarines and the like. A cheesy pleasure.
Borsalino (1970): Dir. Jacques Deray
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Michel Bouquet; Delightful seriocomic film of two likeable hoods who become gangland chieftains in 1930s Marseilles. Music by Claude Bolling.
Femme Infidele, La (The Unfaithful Wife) (1969): Dir. Claude Chabrol
Feat. Michel Bouquet, Stephane Audran, Maurice Ronet; French bourgeoisie couple Michel Bouquet and Stephane Audran form a murderous love–triangle with seducer Maurice Ronet, revealing the hidden…
Michael Kohlhaas (1969): Dir. David Warner
Feat. David Warner; Bizarre high drama about a 16th Century horse–dealer who leads a revolt against an unscrupulous Baron overlord. David Warner inhabits the title…
Twisted Nerve (1968): Dir. Roy Boulting
Feat. Hywel Bennett, Hayley Mills; Hywel Bennett is suitably creepy as a homicidal youth who befriends a nubile Hayley Mills. Unnerving gothic melodrama is well served by Bernard…
Sadisterotica (1967): Dir. Jess Franco
Feat. Janine Reynaud, Rosanna Yanni, Adrian Hoven; Eurotrash comedy–thriller about a foxy private eye whose insignia is imprint of her red lips!? She teams with another babe to pursue a nasty…
Dead Ringer (1964): Dir. Paul Henreid
Feat. Bette Davis; Enjoyable, high camp star vehicle for Bette Davis who is driven by jealousy to murder her twin sister in order to assume her identity. Bette, of…
Hamlet (1964): Dir. Grigori Kozintsev
Feat. Innokenti Smoktunovsky; The legendary Russian version of Shakespeare's play, which visually at least, stands as the greatest yet. Staged amidst the massive battlements of…
Satan Bug, The (1964): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Alistair Maclean, Richard Basehart; Set in a hushed desert landscape of secret government laboratories and ominous rock–formations, this Cold War paranoia–thriller…
Prize, The (1963): Dir. Mark Robson
Feat. Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer; Paul Newman plays an alcoholic writer in Stockholm to collect his Nobel Prize who drunkenly stumbles upon an overly complicated spy plot.
Sadist, The (1963): Dir. James Landis
Feat. Arch Hall Jr.; Like BADLANDS, this little–known drive–in flick is based on the infamous Starkweather murder spree of the late 50s, and is never less…
October Man, The (1960): Dir. Roy Ward Baker
Feat. John Mills, Joan Greenwood, Edward Chapman…; Atmospheric pot–boiler in which John Mills plays an amnesiac accused of murder who fights to prove his innocence, apprehend the murderer and…
Rise and Fall of 'Legs' Diamond, The (1960): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Ray Danton, Karen Steele, Elaine Stewart…; A professionally–shot thriller about the career of New York gangster Jack 'Legs' Diamond, who rose to prominence in the 1920s and maintained…
Atomic Submarine (1959): Dir. Spencer Gordon Bennet
Feat. Arthur Franz, Dick Foran; Entertaining sci–fi thriller with a decent script and a believable cast, even if the small budget is plainly obvious.
I Died A Thousand Times (1955): Dir. Stuart Heisler
Feat. Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin…; Enjoyable remake of High Sierra that benefits from a fantastic cast and a rousing finale. Look for a young and uncredited Dennis Hopper.
Sleeping Tiger (1954): Dir. Joseph Losey
Feat. Dirk Bogarde; Suave street–crim Dirk Bogarde is sheltered by one of his victims, a psychiatrist who attempts to cure Bogarde's 'illness'. Shot with a baroque…
Don't Bother to Knock (1952): Dir. Roy Ward Baker
Feat. Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark; Marilyn Monroe in her first leading role plays a psychotic babysitter who lures an unwitting Richard Widmark into her world of delusion.
On Dangerous Ground (1951): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond…; Grimly rewarding noir, with real–life tough guy Robert Ryan in one of his best roles. As a cop helping with a protracted rural manhunt, he…
Blue Lamp, The (1950): Dir. Basil Dearden
Feat. Dirk Bogarde, Patrick Doonan, Jack Warner; A confident, precisely–judged thriller set in post–war London, with feral petty–crooks Dirk Bogarde and Patrick Doonan being hunted…
Enforcer, The (1950): Dir. Bretaigne Windust
Feat. Humphrey Bogart; Gripping, well–characterized crime drama leads D.A. Humphrey Bogart into the seedy underworld to trail the leader of a notorious murder ring.
Man on the Eiffel Tower, The (1949): Dir. Burgess Meredith
Feat. Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Burgess Meredith…; Solid early outing for Inspector Maigret has Laughton in the iconic role pursuing a murderer against some splendid Parisian locales.
Blanche Fury (1948): Dir. Marc Allegret
Feat. Valerie Hobson, Stewart Granger, Michael Gough…; Gothic melodrama set around a sombre English country estate, soon to be home to upwardly–ambitious Valerie Hobson. When her secret lover…
Brighton Rock (1947): Dir. John Boulting
Feat. Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell; One of the coolest British crime flicks sees Richard Attenborough give an attention–grabbing portrayal of a delinquent gang leader who wants…
Dark Passage (1947): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall; Smokey Bogie and Bacall noir thriller in which his convicted murderer flees prison and changes his face to prove his innocence. The first third is…
Red House, The (1947): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister, Dame Judith Anderson…; A man dares to unlock the mystery of the red house in the thick of the woods. Music, photography and Edward G. Robinson in a spooky key role combine…
Two Mrs Carrolls, The (1947): Dir. Peter Godfrey
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith; Bogie plays the baddie in this tense psychodrama – a mad artist who paints his female models before killing them. Barbara Stanwyk is the latest…
Woman in Green, The (1946): Dir. Roy Neill
Feat. Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce; Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce play the definitive Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in this updated (to the 40s) version of the original Conan Doyle…
Seventh Veil, The (1945): Dir. Compton Bennett
Feat. James Mason, Ann Todd; Renowned film serves up psychiatry in bite sized chunks as a concert pianist is cured of her complexes by a shrink intent on fixing her up with the…
Journey into Fear (1942): Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Orson Welles…; Hitchcockian suspenser set around an American engineer's adventures in WW2 Turkey. Loaded down with a maze–like plot (written by star Joseph…
Secret Weapon, The (1942): Dir. Roy Neill
Feat. Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill…; Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce play the definitive Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in this updated (to the 40s) version of the original Conan Doyle…
Crime and Punishment (1935): Dir. Josef von Sternberg
Feat. Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, Marian Marsh; Modest adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel about a criminology student turned murderer who becomes tortured with remorse.
Hitchcock Showcase (1930): Dir. Alfred Hitchcock; Four films from the early career of suspense's elder statesman, available on twin cassettes – MURDER (1930), SKIN GAME (1931), NUMBER 17…

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