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Tag: Thriller

One Hour Photo (2002)

Thriller Rated R

A creepy conceit – that the photo developer (Robin Williams) at a supermarket is secretly obsessed with a family whose pictures he handles – is left unexploited in this disappointing independent feature. At first, writer-director Mark Romanek seems firmly in control of his material, laying out this paranoid fantasy with careful framing and bright colors.

Original Sin (2001)

Thriller Rated R

Angelina Jolie has always tried too hard to maintain her sexy reputation (few other people with lips as big as hers feel the need to do so much pouting), but she manages to outdo herself here as a conniving seductress who targets a rich coffee grower (Antonio Banderas) in turn-of-the-century Cuba. Trying to sexualize every

Hannibal Rising (2007)

Thriller Rated R

More than any of the previous installments in the Hannibal Lecter series, this prequel turns our ghoulish fascination with the character into a moral quandary. In explaining how Hannibal turned into a monster – it has something to do atrocities he witnesses as a boy during World War II – the movie gets us to

Klute (1971)

Thriller Rated R

Because she has offered so many different public versions of herself – from Vietnam activist to workout video mogul – it is difficult to accept Jane Fonda onscreen as anything but a slight variation of her persona. In Klute she plays Bree Daniels, a New York City call girl being stalked by a client, and

What Lies Beneath (2000)

Thriller Rated PG-13

With this thriller about married empty-nesters (Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford) living in a haunted house, director Robert Zemeckis was accused of aping suspense master Alfred Hitchcock, but he’s really reinvigorated the genre by giving it a modern twist. After the couple’s daughter leaves for college, she’s replaced by a ghost who’s trying to avenge

Panic Room (2002)

Thriller Rated R

A first-rate thriller from director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) about a single mother (Jodie Foster) whose cavernous New York brownstone is invaded by three men. There’s a streak of feminism beneath Fincher’s fancy camera work, making Panic Room a guys’ movie fueled by girl power.

Blue Velvet (1986)

Thriller Rated R

Blue Velvet sent a shock wave through the film world in 1986, just when Hollywood was in another one of its factory-production heydays. While most pictures were being engineered by studio marketing departments, here was a movie that seeped directly from its maker’s consciousness (a crazy consciousness at that). Blue Velvet opens in a satirically

Basic (2003)

Thriller Rated R

Basic may set a record for plot twists, and the movie seems to think that’s a good thing. Simply having surprises is only half the battle, however. It helps tremendously if they’re clever. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson star – Jackson plays an elite Army commander who disappears with some of his men in

Watcher, The (2000)

Thriller Rated R

Evidence that serial killers are still dull, derivative cliches even when they’re played by Keanu Reeves. James Spader’s burnt-out FBI man (is there any other kind?) chases Reeves’ killer through Chicago’s gritty streets. There’s hardly a scene without the el in the background, which should give you an idea of the level of creativity at

Birth (2004)

Thriller Rated R

If you ever wondered what was going through the head of Mary Kay Letourneau when the teacher started an affair with her seventh-grade student, Birth offers a possible answer. The movie stars Nicole Kidman as a grieving widow who meets a 10-year-old claiming to be her reincarnated husband. That’s good enough for her, and before

Recent Reviews

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)

Horror Rated R

“A slasher flick that doubles as sex therapy…”

Tony (2026)

Drama Rated R

“Sessa gives you the sense that he could not care less about the likability of his character.”

The Circle (2000)

Drama Rated NR

“A portrait of women stuck in a loop of patriarchal oppression…”


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