Subgenre Sampler

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Ted K: The Unabomber (2021): Dir. Tony Stone
Feat. Sharlto Copley; An ambient, minimalistic approach to portraying the life of notorious U.S. domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, who lives a life of quiet seclusion in…
Incitement (2019): Dir. Yaron Zilberman
Feat. Yehuda Nahari Halevi, Amitai Yaish, Daniella Kertesz; Tense, slow–building thriller depicting Israeli right–wing extremist Yigal Amir in the year leading up to his assassination of the…
Beirut (The Negotiator) (2018): Dir. Brad Anderson
Feat. Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris…; Meaty old–school espionage thriller with John Hamm perfectly cast as a fixer turned business consultant in war torn Beirut, negotiating the…
Hotel Mumbai (2018): Dir. Anthony Maras
Feat. Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi…; Gripping dramatisation of the 2008 siege of Mumbai's Taj Hotel, following the staff and guests as they fight to survive the merciless attack by a…
Informer (TV Series) (2018): Dir. Jonny Campbell
Feat. Nabhaan Rizwan, Paddy Considine, Bel Powley; A complex, character–driven thriller that follows a young East Londoner who is coerced into going undercover for a counter–terrorism…
Little Drummer Girl, The (TV Mini-series) (2018): Dir. Park Chan-Wook
Feat. Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgard, Florence Pugh…; Korean master Park Chan–Wook directs this typically savvy adaptation of the novel by John le Carré that follows the life of a young English…
Stockholm (2018): Dir. Robert Budreau
Feat. Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace, Mark Strong; Serviceable crime thriller taking some entertaining liberties with the true story of the 1973 bank heist and hostage crisis in Stockholm, often…
Patriots Day (2016): Dir. Peter Berg
Feat. Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon…; Director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg follow DEEPWATER HORIZON with another gutsy dramatisation of a tragic American event, this time the 2013…
Homeland - Season 5 (TV Series) (2015): Feat. Claire Danes, Rupert Friend, Mandy Patinkin; Further episodes from this outstanding counter–terrorist thriller of post–9/11 paranoia, with Claire Danes's riveting, high–tensile…
Made in France (2015): Dir. Nicolas Boukhrief
Feat. Malik Zidi, Dimitri Storoge, François Civil; Eerily predicting the November 2015 Paris attacks, this crime–thriller follows a journalist infiltrating a jihadist cell that plans to…
Big Game (2014): Dir. Jalmari Helander
Feat. Samuel L. Jackson, Onni Tommila, Felicity Huffman…; Bonkers actioner with Sam Jackson as the U.S. President relying on a teenager for aid after Air Force One crash lands in Finnish forest.
Homeland - Season 4 (TV Series) (2014): Feat. Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend; Further episodes from this outstanding counter–terrorist thriller of post–9/11 paranoia, with Claire Danes's riveting, high–tensile…
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014): Dir. Kenneth Branagh
Feat. Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner…; Kenneth Branagh directs the latest big screen installment in the adventures of Tom Clancy's hero CIA agent, Jack Ryan, this time revolving around a…
Kindnapping Mr. Heineken (2014): Dir. Daniel Alfredson
Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Sam Worthington, Jim Sturgess…; Bizarre true crime flick based on the successful kidnapping of the heir to the Heineken beer empire in the 1980's.
Captain Phillips (2013): Dir. Paul Greengrass
Feat. Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Catherine Keener; Paul Greengrass directs with exhilarating dramatic realism this gripping true account of the hijacking of a U.S. container ship by Somali pirates.
Closed Circuit (2013): Dir. John Crowley
Feat. Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Jim Broadbent…; A dangerous conflict of interest arises when two ex–lovers end up on opposite sides of a high profile terrorism trial in this probing courtroom…
East, The (2013): Dir. Zal Batmanglij
Feat. Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Elliot Page…; In this tense, thinking person's thriller from the writer and director behind SOUND OF MY VOICE, a covert operative attempts to infiltrate a group of…
Homeland - Season 3 (TV Series) (2013): Feat. Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin…; Further episodes from this outstanding counter–terrorist thriller of post–9/11 paranoia, with Claire Danes's riveting, high–tensile…
A Hijacking (2012): Dir. Tobias Lindholm
Feat. Mikkel Hartmann, Pilou Asbæk, Søren Malling; A Danish cargo ship is hijacked off the coast of Somalia in this gripping, intense maritime adventure that cuts out all the action heroics usually…
Homeland - Season 2 (TV Series) (2012): Feat. Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin…; Further episodes from this outstanding counter–terrorist thriller of post–9/11 paranoia, with Claire Danes's riveting, high–tensile…
Reluctant Fundamentalist, The (2012): Dir. Mira Nair
Feat. Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber…; A Pakistani Princeton graduate's life in America is shattered in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in this searing adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's…
Siege (2012): Feat. Mark Mitchinson, Joel Tobeck, Kirk Torrance; Napier's recent siege crisis in which small–time cannabis grower Jan Molenaar barricaded himself in his home after shooting a Senior Constable…
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
Feat. Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler…; Kathryn Bigelow (THE HURT LOCKER) directs this formidable thriller based on the CIA's decade–long manhunt for Osama bin Laden.
Greetings to the Devil (2011): Dir. Juan Felipe Orozco
Feat. Édgar Ramírez, Ricardo Vélez, Carolina Gómez; Fast and aggressive Colombian thriller stars the charismatic Édgar Ramírez, fresh off CARLOS, as a former guerrilla forced to hunt down and kill…
Homeland - Season 1 (TV Series) (2011): Feat. Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin…; Anchored by Claire Danes's riveting, high–tensile performance, this outstanding surveillance thriller centres on the return of an Iraq war hero…
Kidnap and Ransom (TV Series) (2011): Feat. Trevor Eve, John Hannah, Helen Baxendale; Muscular ITV hostage thriller, centred on an expert negotiator whose latest assignment comes unstuck in volatile South Africa. Carefully balances…
Rebellion (2011): Dir. Mathieu Kassovitz
Feat. Mathieu Kassovitz, Iabe Lapacas, Malik Zidi…; A proficient, airtight geopolitical thriller from dir. Kassovitz, who also stars as the captain of a counterterrorist division sent to New Caledonia…
Straw Dogs (2011): Dir. Rod Lurie
Feat. James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard…; Sam Peckinpah's controversial 1971 film is bleached, but certainly not bettered in this nasty remake that goes for broke in the violence stakes,…
24 - Season 8 (TV Series) (2010): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland; Final season of the high–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode) with Kiefer Sutherland as lead…
Carlos (Carlos the Jackal) (2010): Dir. Olivier Assayas
Feat. Édgar Ramírez, Nora von Waldstätten, Alexander Scheer; An explosive, globe–trotting biopic of Venezuelan terrorist and fugitive Ilich Ramírez Sánchez – aka Carlos the Jackal – whose exploits…
Essential Killing (2010): Dir. Jerzy Skolimowski
Feat. Vincent Gallo, Emmanuelle Seigner; Vincent Gallo plays a terrified Taliban fighter on the run from American forces in this oddly compelling chase movie, distinctive for its relentless…
Unthinkable (2010): Dir. Gregor Jordan
Feat. Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Michael Sheen…; Troubling psychological thriller with Sheen as a terrorist suspect who won't divulge the whereabouts of rogue nuclear weapons, Jackson and Moss…
Disappearance of Alice Creed, The (2009): Dir. J Blakeson
Feat. Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan, Martin Compston; Nominally another addition to the flavorless torture genre, this ransom drama centred on the abduction of a millionaire's daughter by two…
Incendiary (2009): Dir. Sharon Maguire
Feat. Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams, Matthew MacFadyen…; Thriller set in the aftermath of a terrorist strike in London, based on the novel by Chris Cleave. Though it boasts a typically fine Michelle…
Taking Of Pelham 123, The (2009): Dir. Tony Scott
Feat. Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Luis Guzman; Flashy remake of the 70s heist movie sees John Travolta as the mastermind behind the hijack of a New York subway train, and Denzel Washington as the…
24 - Season 7 (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland; Further episodes in this high–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode) with Kiefer Sutherland as lead…
Baader Meinhof Complex, The (2008): Dir. Uli Edel
Feat. Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek…; A big–budget, pulse–pounding account of terrorism and political protest in 1960s and 70s Germany, centred on the notorious Red Army…
Body Of Lies (2008): Dir. Ridley Scott
Feat. Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Vince Colosimo…; Double–crossing political thriller starring DiCaprio as a street–savvy US intelligence operative at the beck and (phone)call of a CIA…
Cactus (2008): Dir. Jasmine Yuen Carrucan
Feat. Travis McMahon, Bryan Brown, Shane Jacobson…; Claustrophobic Aussie thriller pitting a kidnapper and his captive against each other in a battle of wills while travelling through the scorching…
Eagle Eye (2008): Dir. D. J. Caruso
Feat. Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson…; Derivative but entertaining cyber–thriller in which a young man and single mother get framed as terrorists and find themselves unexpectedly…
Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008): Dir. Kari Skogland
Feat. Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Zegers…; Sharp docu–drama with Jim Sturgess as Irishman Martin McGartland, charged with infiltrating the IRA during the 1980s. Tense action sequences…
I Come with the Rain (2008): Dir. Tran Anh Hung
Feat. Josh Hartnett, Elias Koteas, Tran Nu Yen-Khe…; Dir. Tran Anh Hung revives the humid, squalored atmosphere of his acclaimed CYCLO with this stylish, heavy–handed international noir. Josh…
Julia (2008): Dir. Erick Zonca
Feat. Tilda Swinton, Saul Rubinek, Kate del Castillo; Gutsy, dynamic melodrama propelled by a full–tilt performance from Tilda Swinton as a loose cannon alcoholic who becomes embroiled in…
Restraint (2008): Dir. David Denneen
Feat. Teresa Palmer, Stephen Moyer, Travis Fimmel; Gripping, stripped–back thriller from across the ditch, in which an agoraphobic toff is taken hostage by a young couple on the run from the…
Shuttle (2008): Dir. Edward Anderson
Feat. Tony Curran, Peyton List, Cameron Goodman…; An airport shuttle ride turn into a nightmare for its nubile passengers in this tightly contained indie adbuction thriller from first–time…
Traitor (2008): Dir. Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Feat. Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Said Taghmaoui…; Don Cheadle stars as a Semtex racketeer selling to the highest bidder – be he CIA or Jihadist – and finds himself a pawn on the twin…
Vantage Point (2008): Dir. Peter Travis
Feat. Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid…; Tipsy, time–swapping political thriller cribs liberally from RASHOMON and TV–terrorist heart–stopper 24 in congealing multiple…
24 - Season 6 (TV Series) (2007): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland; Further episodes in this high–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode) with Kiefer Sutherland as lead…
Butterfly on a Wheel (2007): Dir. Mike Barker
Feat. Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Butler, Maria Bello; Tantalising thriller centred on a couple whose idyllic existence is shattered when their daughter is kidnapped by a man (Brosnan) with increasingly…
Extraordinary Rendition (2007): Dir. Jim Threapleton
Feat. Andy Serkis, Omar Berdouni, Ania Sowinski; Topical, slightly underdone small–budget political thriller tracks a forward thinking UK teacher who is abducted and brutally tortured in an…
He Was a Quiet Man (2007): Dir. Frank A. Cappello
Feat. Christian Slater, Elisha Cuthbert, William H. Macy; With his best role in donkey's years, Christian Slater stars in this bleakly satirical drama as a frustrated loner who decides to take out his anger…
Hunting Party, The (2007): Dir. Richard Shepard
Feat. Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, James Brolin…; Action–packed serio–comic political thriller in the spirit of THREE KINGS centres on the shaggy dog story of an intrepid trio of…
Nobel Son (2007): Dir. Randall Miller
Feat. Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg, Shawn Hatosy…; Peppy crime caper about a recent Nobel Prize winner whose son is kidnapped and ransomed for the $2 million prize money. Directed with whiz, pop,…
Rendition (2007): Dir. Gavin Hood
Feat. Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Sarsgaard…; Frenetic thriller by dir. of TSOTSI concerns Witherspoon's desperate search for her husband after he goes missing on an international flight,…
Shoot on Sight (2007): Dir. Jag Mundhra
Feat. Naseeruddin Shah, Greta Scacchi, Om Puri…; Not so much hot potato as lukewarm, this political thriller bases its story on the real–life shooting of an innocent Brazilian man gunned down…
Trade (2007): Dir. Marco Kreuzpaintner
Feat. Kevin Kline, Cesar Ramos, Alicia Bachleda…; Grimy drama sees a 13–year–old–girl kidnapped by sex traffickers, prompting her older brother to set off in pursuit aided by Texas…
24 - Season 5 (TV Series) (2006): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland; Further episodes in this high–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode) with Kiefer Sutherland as lead…
Civic Duty (2006): Dir. Jeff Renfroe
Feat. Peter Krause, Richard Schiff; Post–9/11 paranoia and propaganda combine to arouse the suspicions of a newly–redundant accountant (SIX FEET UNDER's Krause), who…
Deja Vu (2006): Dir. Tony Scott
Feat. Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel; More flash and bang from blockbuster teamsters Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott, here devising a series of brute action sequences around a…
Fay Grim (2006): Dir. Hal Hartley
Feat. Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Thomas Jay Ryan…; This unlikely sequel to HENRY FOOL finds Parker Posey deep undercover for the CIA, dispatched to France to recover her ex–husband’s (ruffian…
Five Fingers (2006): Dir. Laurence Malkin
Feat. Ryan Phillippe, Laurence Fishburne, Colm Meaney…; Hostage drama with a few surprises up its sleeve has Dutch pianist (Phillippe) on a charity trip to Morocco who gets abducted by Moroccan terrorists…
Infinite Justice (2006): Dir. Jamil Dehlavi
Feat. Kevin Collins, Raza Jaffrey; Following in the footsteps of A MIGHTY HEART, this vigorous political thriller inspired by the Daniel Pearl case follows an investigative journalist…
Inside Man (2006): Dir. Spike Lee
Feat. Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster…; Proficient, personalised heist thriller from dir. Spike Lee (25TH HOUR) in which a smooth and cold super–crim (Owen) engineers the robbery of…
Out of the Blue (Aramoana) (2006): Dir. Robert Sarkies
Feat. Karl Urban, Matthew Sunderland, Simon Ferry…; A moving, uncomfortably harrowing account of New Zealand’s worst mass murder, bringing the trauma of 1990’s Aramoana massacre to the screen with…
Unit, The (TV Series) (2006): Dir. David Mamet, various
Feat. Dennis Haysbert, Scott Foley, Robert Patrick…; The brainchild of David Mamet, this riveting black–ops suspenser serialises the daring assignments of a covert special forces team who, under…
Unknown (2006): Dir. Simon Brand
Feat. Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Bridget Moynahan…; Unbelievably twisty, indie hostage thriller in the tradition of RESERVOIR DOGS and The USUAL SUSPECTS. Five men awake bloody and beaten in a…
24 - Season 4 (TV Series) (2005): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland, Elisha Cuthbert; Further episodes in this high–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode) with Kiefer Sutherland as lead…
Hidden (Cache) (2005): Dir. Michael Haneke
Feat. Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Maurice Benichou…; A disquieting modern thriller that pulls no punches, depositing a climate of terrorism and fear onto the lives of two French professionals and their…
Hostage (2005): Dir. Florent Emilio Siri
Feat. Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Jonathan Tucker…; Bruce Willis negotiates familiar territory as a SWAT agent drawn into a messy siege in a high–security mansion, where three white–trash…
Munich (2005): Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz…; Compelling, if occasionally muddily–overearnest thriller based around the aftermath of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich…
Paradise Now (2005): Dir. Hany Abu-Assad
Feat. Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal; This extraordinarily brave film shadows the martyrdom of two Palestinian friends recruited by an extremist group to perpetrate a suicide bombing in…
Red Eye (2005): Dir. Wes Craven
Feat. Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox; Dir. Wes Craven whittles a lean, claustrophobic thriller around the plight of a woman (McAdams), menaced onboard of short–haul plane flight by…
Secuestro Express (2005): Dir. Jonathan Jakubowicz
Feat. Mia Maestro, Ruben Blades; Venezuela comes off second best in this exploitative thriller peddling the country's professional kidnapping trade, where a couple of wealthy young…
Sorry, Haters (2005): Dir. Jeff Stanzler
Feat. Robin Wright, Abdellatif Kechiche, Elodie Bouchez…; The after–effects of September 11 act as a racially–charged backdrop to this low–budget thriller set on the mean streets of New…
24 - Season 3 (TV Series) (2004): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland; Further episodes in this high–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode) with Kiefer Sutherland as lead…
Cellular (2004): Dir. David R Ellis
Feat. Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham…; Interesting abduction thriller leads with a premise that has flaky beachbum Evans rung on his cellphone with a chilling message from a kidnap victim…
Clearing, The (2004): Dir. Pieter Jan Brugge
Feat. Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe, Helen Mirren…; An unusually flavoured and structured kidnapping thriller, in which wealthy entrepeneur Redford is abducted by a polite, former–employee…
Grid, The (Mini-series) (2004): Dir. Mikael Salomon
Feat. Dylan McDermott, Julianne Margulies, Bernard Hill…; Solid and swiftly moving mini–series in which members of multiple security and intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI, M16, M15, NSC...) attempt to…
Man on Fire (2004): Dir. Tony Scott
Feat. Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Radha Mitchell…; A hard–eyed revenge thriller which sees an alcoholic bodyguard (Washington) losing a 11–yr old girl he's assigned to protect in Mexico…
Spartan (2004): Dir. David Mamet
Feat. Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy…; An expert 'special ops' agent (Kilmer) is sucked headfirst into a wild, yet plausible conspiracy involving the kidnapping of the US president's…
24 - Season 2 (TV Series) (2003): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland; Further episodes in this high–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode) with Kiefer Sutherland as lead…
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…
Tears of the Sun (2003): Dir. Antoine Fuqua
Feat. Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser…; Bruce Willis leads the charge in a 'Special Ops' mission in war–ravaged Nigeria. Assigned to rescue a UN doctor (Belluci!) he and his squad…
24 - Season 1 (TV Series) (2002): Feat. Kiefer Sutherland, Leslie Hope, Dennis Haysbert…; High–concept TV thriller, covering 24 hours of real time events (an hour per episode), with Kiefer Sutherland as lead special agent of a…
Dancer Upstairs, The (2002): Dir. John Malkovich
Feat. Javier Bardem; John Malkovich debuts as a director with this slow–burn police thriller played out in the humid atmosphere of an unamed South American…
John Q (2002): Dir. Nick Cassavetes
Feat. Denzel Washington, Ray Liotta, Robert Duvall…; Denzel Washington plays a cash–strapped pillar–of–decency who can’t afford his son’s heart–transplant in the mercenary US…
Sum of All Fears, The (2002): Dir. Phillip Alden Anderson
Feat. Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Philip Baker Hall; A nightmarish post–9/11 thriller from Tom Clancy, with Ben Affleck taking the place of Harrison Ford as CIA–man Jack Ryan, here hunting…
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002): Dir. Park Chan-Wook
Feat. Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Doona Bae; Incredibly bleak suspenser witnesses the disastrous efforts of a deaf–mute man and his girlfriend (who is on the fringes of a terrorist cell)…
Don't Say a Word (2001): Dir. Gary Fleder
Feat. Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Jennifer Esposito…; “Threatened–family” thriller, with psychiatrist Michael Douglas rising to the challenge – outwit the kidnappers of his daughter, who…
Way of the Gun (2001): Dir. Christopher McQuarrie
Feat. Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis…; A kidnap–chase down Mexico way, featuring “live–by–the–gun” crims Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillipe and abductee…
Proof of Life (2000): Dir. Taylor Hackford
Feat. Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse; South American ransom thriller with Meg Ryan seeking to extricate her rich husband (David Morse) from the jungle, and Russell Crowe as the…
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…
Negotiator, The (1998): Dir. F. Gary Gray
Feat. Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, J.T. Walsh; A touch angry after being framed for corruption, Samuel L. Jackson kidnaps the responsible party and squares off against the formidable eyeballs of…
Ransom (1996): Dir. Ron Howard
Feat. Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise…; Kidnappers post a nasty ultimatum to airline mogul Mel Gibson, who didn't get to where he is today by responding kindly to threats. Hi–gloss…
Bullet to Beijing (1995): Dir. George Mihalka
Feat. Michael Caine, Jason Connery, Mia Sara…; Fourth outing for Michael Caine as the dog–eared spy Harry Palmer, sent to Moscow, this time to recover a stolen 'Doomsday'–style…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
Hidden Agenda (1990): Dir. Ken Loach
Feat. Brian Cox, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif…; Perhaps dir. Loach’s most genre–based film, this political thriller about sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s involves…
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…
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…
Corrupt (a.k.a Copkiller; Order Of Death; L'assassino Dei Poliziotti) (1983): Dir. Roberto Faenza
Feat. Harvey Keitel, John Lydon, Nicole Garcia…; Surprisingly intense thriller has Harvey Keitel playing a dodgy NYC detective taunted by disturbed youth John Lydon (formerly 'Johnny Rotten' of the…
Night Hawks (1981): Dir. Bruce Malmuth
Feat. Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Rutger Hauer…; Two undercover NYC cops are faced with the unenviable task of tracking down Europe's number one terrorist in this underrated 80's action flick.…
Octagon, The (1980): Dir. Eric Karson
Feat. Chuck Norris, Karen Carlson, Lee Van Cleef…; Economical Chuck Norris martial arts adventure focusing on a retired karate champion recruited to take out a group of Central American terrorists he…
Black Sunday (1977): Dir. John Frankenheimer
Feat. Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller…; A suspenseful, violent terrorist thriller based on Thomas Harris' fictional novel about the pro–Palestinian "Black September" group who…
Fight For Your Life (1977): Dir. Robert A. Endelson
Feat. William Sanderson, Robert Judd; A racist hillbilly and two sadistic jail–breakers terrorize a black minister and his family, who eventually fight back and take bloody…
Bullet Train, The (1975): Dir. Jun'ya Sato
Feat. Ken Takakura, Sonny Chiba; Unstoppable, no–holds–barred action vehicle finds Sonny Chiba steering a passenger train rigged with a bomb to explode if its speed drops…
Lost Honor of Katherina Blum, The (1975): Dir. Volker Schlondorff
Feat. Angela Winkler, Jurgen Prochnow; Taken from the novel by Heinrich Boll, this reproach to the powers–that–be in mid–70s West Germany portrays the hardheaded…
Murder On Flight 502 (1975): Dir. George McCowan
Feat. Robert Stack, Farrah Fawcett, Fernando Lamas…; A cheesy yet effective '70s disaster flick that terrified viewers when it first aired as an American TV movie. A passenger is murdered on board a…
Rosebud (1975): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Peter O'Toole, Richard Attenborough, Peter Lawford…; Preminger's penultimate film is sadly a mess. Members of the Palestinian Liberation Army kidnap five heiresses in order to bring attention to their…
Terrorists, The (Ransom) (1974): Dir. Caspar Wrede
Feat. Sean Connery, Ian McShane, Jeffry Wickham; Improbable thriller with Connery as a Norwegian colonel charged with liberating a plane full of hostages in the "country" of Scandinavia.
Straw Dogs (1971): Dir. Sam Peckinpah
Feat. Dustin Hoffman, Susan George; With dir. Sam Peckinpah in top form, this powerful study of male territorial instincts pushed out the boundaries of movie violence in the…
Targets (1967): Dir. Peter Bogdanovich
Feat. Boris Karloff, Peter Bogdanovich; The influential first feature from a young Peter Bogdanovich, that effectively contrasts the story of a retiring horror actor (played by Boris…
High and Low (1963): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune; Adapted from a crime–novel by Ed McBain, this kidnapping–thriller is a central work in dir. Kurosawa’s series of film noirs, combining…

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