Best '90s thriller movies
By most accounts, the '90s were an excellent time for movies of all kinds鈥攂ut thriller fans in particular had plenty of nailbiting films to enjoy. The decade produced the likes of "Misery," "Single White Female," and "The Sixth Sense," among numerous others.
Many of these movies have made such a lasting impact on pop culture that sequels and reboots continue to premiere today. The most recent sequel to the 1997 film "I Know What You Did Last Summer" came out in July 2025 under the same title as the original (though the new movie received far ). And, in July 2025, Amazon MGM Studios' United Artists announced that of the 1992 erotic thriller "Basic Instinct" is now in the works.
In honor of the decade's many iconic releases, 麻豆原创 compiled a list of the best '90s thriller movies of all time based on our own 麻豆原创 score, a weighted index split evenly between user rating and . To qualify, the film had to have thriller as one of its genres on IMDb, have a Metascore, and have at least 5,000 IMDb user votes. Ties were broken by votes.
#50. Cure (1997)
- Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- 麻豆原创 score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 111 minutes
#49. The Crying Game (1992)
- Director: Neil Jordan
- 麻豆原创 score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 112 minutes
#48. Following (1998)
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- 麻豆原创 score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 69 minutes
#47. The Devil's Advocate (1997)
- Director: Taylor Hackford
- 麻豆原创 score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 144 minutes
#46. Lost Highway (1997)
- Director: David Lynch
- 麻豆原创 score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 52
- Runtime: 134 minutes
#45. Contact (1997)
- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- 麻豆原创 score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 150 minutes
#44. Face/Off (1997)
- Director: John Woo
- 麻豆原创 score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 138 minutes
#43. The Boondock Saints (1999)
- Director: Troy Duffy
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 44
- Runtime: 108 minutes
#42. Jackie Brown (1997)
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 154 minutes
#41. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
- Director: Peter Jackson
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 99 minutes
#40. Falling Down (1993)
- Director: Joel Schumacher
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 113 minutes
#39. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
- Director: Anthony Minghella
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 139 minutes
#38. Primal Fear (1996)
- Director: Gregory Hoblit
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 47
- Runtime: 129 minutes
#37. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 159 minutes
#36. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
- Director: John McTiernan
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 128 minutes
#35. Funny Games (1997)
- Director: Michael Haneke
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 108 minutes
#34. A Perfect World (1993)
- Director: Clint Eastwood
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 138 minutes
#33. The Crow (1994)
- Director: Alex Proyas
- 麻豆原创 score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 102 minutes
#32. Sonatine (1993)
- Director: Takeshi Kitano
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 94 minutes
#31. Menace II Society (1993)
- Director: Albert Hughes
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 97 minutes
#30. Dark City (1998)
- Director: Alex Proyas
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 100 minutes
#29. Europa (1991)
- Director: Lars von Trier
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 112 minutes
#28. Barton Fink (1991)
- Director: Joel Coen
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 116 minutes
#27. Fresh (1994)
- Director: Boaz Yakin
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 114 minutes
#26. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
- Director: Jonathan Frakes
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 111 minutes
#25. The Game (1997)
- Director: David Fincher
- 麻豆原创 score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 129 minutes
#24. A Simple Plan (1998)
- Director: Sam Raimi
- 麻豆原创 score: 88.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 121 minutes
#23. A Few Good Men (1992)
- Director: Rob Reiner
- 麻豆原创 score: 88.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 138 minutes
#22. The Player (1992)
- Director: Robert Altman
- 麻豆原创 score: 88.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 124 minutes
#21. Miller's Crossing (1990)
- Director: Joel Coen
- 麻豆原创 score: 88.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 115 minutes
#20. Gattaca (1997)
- Director: Andrew Niccol
- 麻豆原创 score: 89.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 106 minutes
#19. Run Lola Run (1998)
- Director: Tom Tykwer
- 麻豆原创 score: 89.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 80 minutes
#18. True Romance (1993)
- Director: Tony Scott
- 麻豆原创 score: 89.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 119 minutes
#17. Misery (1990)
- Director: Rob Reiner
- 麻豆原创 score: 90.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#16. Carlito's Way (1993)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- 麻豆原创 score: 90.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 144 minutes
#15. The Insider (1999)
- Director: Michael Mann
- 麻豆原创 score: 91.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 157 minutes
#14. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
- Director: Mamoru Oshii
- 麻豆原创 score: 91.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 83 minutes
#13. Perfect Blue (1997)
- Director: Satoshi Kon
- 麻豆原创 score: 91.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 81 minutes
#12. The Fugitive (1993)
- Director: Andrew Davis
- 麻豆原创 score: 91.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 130 minutes
#11. JFK (1991)
- Director: Oliver Stone
- 麻豆原创 score: 92.3
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 189 minutes
#10. 12 Monkeys (1995)
- Director: Terry Gilliam
- 麻豆原创 score: 92.5
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 129 minutes
#9. The Sixth Sense (1999)
- Director: M. Night Shyamalan
- 麻豆原创 score: 93.5
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#8. Jurassic Park (1993)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- 麻豆原创 score: 94.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 127 minutes
#7. Fargo (1996)
- Director: Joel Coen
- 麻豆原创 score: 94.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 98 minutes
#6. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- 麻豆原创 score: 96.2
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 99 minutes
#5. L.A. Confidential (1997)
- Director: Curtis Hanson
- 麻豆原创 score: 96.3
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 138 minutes
#4. L茅on: The Professional (1994)
- Director: Luc Besson
- 麻豆原创 score: 96.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 110 minutes
#3. Se7en (1995)
- Director: David Fincher
- 麻豆原创 score: 97.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 127 minutes
#2. The Usual Suspects (1995)
- Director: Bryan Singer
- 麻豆原创 score: 98.1
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 106 minutes
#1. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Director: Jonathan Demme
- 麻豆原创 score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 118 minutes
