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