MTDb › Best of › Thriller › 1990s
Best Thriller Movies of the 1990s
#1 Pulp Fiction (1994) · ★ 8.5 · 30,904 votes · 2h 34m · comedy, thriller, dramaA burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in…
#2 Fight Club (1999) · ★ 8.4 · 32,949 votes · 2h 19m · thriller, dramaA ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clu…
#3 Se7en (1995) · ★ 8.4 · 23,805 votes · 2h 7m · thriller, crime, mysteryTwo homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tor…
#4 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) · ★ 8.3 · 18,541 votes · 1h 59m · thriller, drama, crimeClarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psych…
#5 Perfect Blue (1998) · ★ 8.3 · 3,376 votes · 1h 21m · thriller, animationRising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up…
#6 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) · ★ 8.2 · 14,833 votes · 2h 17m · action, thriller, science-fictionTen years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, h…
#7 The Usual Suspects (1995) · ★ 8.2 · 11,788 votes · 1h 46m · thriller, drama, crimeHeld in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and h…
#8 Bound by Honor (1993) · ★ 8.2 · 1,643 votes · 3h 10m · action, thriller, dramaBased on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three ar…
#9 Reservoir Dogs (1992) · ★ 8.1 · 15,865 votes · 1h 39m · thriller, crimeA botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. O…
#10 The Sixth Sense (1999) · ★ 8.0 · 13,363 votes · 1h 47m · thriller, drama, mysteryFollowing an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.…
#11 Fargo (1996) · ★ 7.8 · 9,412 votes · 1h 38m · thriller, drama, crimeJerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty…
#12 L.A. Confidential (1997) · ★ 7.8 · 5,767 votes · 2h 18m · thriller, crime, mysteryThree detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night d…
#13 Misery (1990) · ★ 7.8 · 5,423 votes · 1h 47m · thriller, dramaAfter an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote…
#14 Carlito's Way (1993) · ★ 7.8 · 3,605 votes · 2h 24m · thriller, romance, dramaFree after years in prison, Carlito Brigante intends to give up his criminal ways, but it's not long before the ex-con is sucked back into the New York City underworld.…
#15 Primal Fear (1996) · ★ 7.7 · 4,188 votes · 2h 10m · thriller, drama, crimeDefense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering th…
#16 The Fifth Element (1997) · ★ 7.6 · 12,205 votes · 2h 6m · action, fantasy, adventureIn 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.…
#17 Twelve Monkeys (1995) · ★ 7.6 · 9,403 votes · 2h 9m · thriller, science-fiction, mysteryIn the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and…
#18 The Game (1997) · ★ 7.6 · 7,403 votes · 2h 9m · thriller, drama, mysteryIn honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift…
#19 Gattaca (1997) · ★ 7.6 · 7,170 votes · 1h 47m · thriller, romance, dramaVincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue…
#20 Sleepers (1996) · ★ 7.6 · 4,045 votes · 2h 27m · thriller, drama, crimeTwo gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crim…
#21 Thelma & Louise (1991) · ★ 7.6 · 4,012 votes · 2h 10m · adventure, thriller, dramaTaking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women…
#22 Lost Highway (1997) · ★ 7.6 · 3,072 votes · 2h 14m · thriller, drama, mysteryA tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.…
#23 JFK (1991) · ★ 7.6 · 2,506 votes · 3h 9m · thriller, drama, historyFollows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.…
#24 Cure (1997) · ★ 7.6 · 880 votes · 1h 51m · thriller, horror, crimeA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.…
#25 Eyes Wide Shut (1999) · ★ 7.5 · 7,104 votes · 2h 39m · thriller, drama, mysteryAfter Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexua…
#26 The Devil's Advocate (1997) · ★ 7.5 · 7,032 votes · 2h 24m · thriller, drama, horrorAspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far mo…
#27 Donnie Brasco (1997) · ★ 7.5 · 5,002 votes · 2h 7m · thriller, drama, crimeAn FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.…
#28 The Fugitive (1993) · ★ 7.5 · 4,969 votes · 2h 11m · action, thriller, dramaWrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.…
#29 The Crow (1994) · ★ 7.5 · 4,675 votes · 1h 42m · action, fantasy, thrillerExactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven, watched over by a hypnotic crow, returns from t…
#30 The Insider (1999) · ★ 7.5 · 2,160 votes · 2h 38m · thriller, dramaA research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.…
#31 Barton Fink (1991) · ★ 7.5 · 1,958 votes · 1h 57m · comedy, thriller, dramaA renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.…
#32 A Perfect World (1993) · ★ 7.5 · 1,930 votes · 2h 18m · thriller, drama, crimeA kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.…
#33 Open Your Eyes (1997) · ★ 7.5 · 1,256 votes · 1h 57m · thriller, drama, science-fictionHandsome 25-year-old Cesar had it all -- a successful career, expensive cars, a swank bachelor's pad, and an endless string of beautiful and willing women -- until he is thrown int…
#34 Hard Boiled (1992) · ★ 7.5 · 988 votes · 2h 6m · action, thriller, crimeA cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover…
#35 Thesis (1996) · ★ 7.5 · 980 votes · 2h 5m · thriller, horrorWhile working on a thesis about audiovisual violence, film student Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that she was a former student…
#36 Menace II Society (1993) · ★ 7.5 · 954 votes · 1h 37m · thriller, drama, crimeA young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.…
#37 Sonatine (1993) · ★ 7.5 · 708 votes · 1h 34m · action, thriller, crimeMurakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two…
#38 Jackie Brown (1997) · ★ 7.4 · 7,142 votes · 2h 34m · thriller, drama, crimeJackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she…
#39 The Godfather Part III (1990) · ★ 7.4 · 7,084 votes · 2h 42m · thriller, drama, crimeIn the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege…
#40 Falling Down (1993) · ★ 7.4 · 4,282 votes · 1h 53m · thriller, drama, crimeAn ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.…