1 / 50
#50. Cure (1997)
- Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Stacker score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 111 minutes
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.
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2 / 50
#49. The Crying Game (1992)
- Director: Neil Jordan
- Stacker score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 112 minutes
3 / 50
#48. Following (1998)
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Stacker score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 69 minutes
4 / 50
#47. The Devil's Advocate (1997)
- Director: Taylor Hackford
- Stacker score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 144 minutes
5 / 50
#46. Lost Highway (1997)
- Director: David Lynch
- Stacker score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 52
- Runtime: 134 minutes
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6 / 50
#45. Contact (1997)
- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Stacker score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 150 minutes
7 / 50
#44. Face/Off (1997)
- Director: John Woo
- Stacker score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 138 minutes
8 / 50
#43. The Boondock Saints (1999)
- Director: Troy Duffy
- Stacker score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 44
- Runtime: 108 minutes
9 / 50
#42. Jackie Brown (1997)
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Stacker score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 154 minutes
10 / 50
#41. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
- Director: Peter Jackson
- Stacker score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 99 minutes
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11 / 50
#40. Falling Down (1993)
- Director: Joel Schumacher
- Stacker score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 113 minutes
12 / 50
#39. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
- Director: Anthony Minghella
- Stacker score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 139 minutes
13 / 50
#38. Primal Fear (1996)
- Director: Gregory Hoblit
- Stacker score: 86.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 47
- Runtime: 129 minutes
14 / 50
#37. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- Stacker score: 86.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 159 minutes
15 / 50
#36. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
- Director: John McTiernan
- Stacker score: 86.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 128 minutes
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16 / 50
#35. Funny Games (1997)
- Director: Michael Haneke
- Stacker score: 86.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 108 minutes
17 / 50
#34. A Perfect World (1993)
- Director: Clint Eastwood
- Stacker score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 138 minutes
18 / 50
#33. The Crow (1994)
- Director: Alex Proyas
- Stacker score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 102 minutes
19 / 50
#32. Sonatine (1993)
- Director: Takeshi Kitano
- Stacker score: 87.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 94 minutes
20 / 50
#31. Menace II Society (1993)
- Director: Albert Hughes
- Stacker score: 87.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 97 minutes
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21 / 50
#30. Dark City (1998)
- Director: Alex Proyas
- Stacker score: 87.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 100 minutes
22 / 50
#29. Europa (1991)
- Director: Lars von Trier
- Stacker score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 112 minutes
23 / 50
#28. Barton Fink (1991)
- Director: Joel Coen
- Stacker score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 116 minutes
24 / 50
#27. Fresh (1994)
- Director: Boaz Yakin
- Stacker score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 114 minutes
25 / 50
#26. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
- Director: Jonathan Frakes
- Stacker score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 111 minutes
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26 / 50
#25. The Game (1997)
- Director: David Fincher
- Stacker score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 129 minutes
27 / 50
#24. A Simple Plan (1998)
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Stacker score: 88.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 121 minutes
28 / 50
#23. A Few Good Men (1992)
- Director: Rob Reiner
- Stacker score: 88.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 138 minutes
29 / 50
#22. The Player (1992)
- Director: Robert Altman
- Stacker score: 88.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 124 minutes
30 / 50
#21. Miller's Crossing (1990)
- Director: Joel Coen
- Stacker score: 88.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 115 minutes
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31 / 50
#20. Gattaca (1997)
- Director: Andrew Niccol
- Stacker score: 89.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 106 minutes
32 / 50
#19. Run Lola Run (1998)
- Director: Tom Tykwer
- Stacker score: 89.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 80 minutes
33 / 50
#18. True Romance (1993)
- Director: Tony Scott
- Stacker score: 89.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 119 minutes
34 / 50
#17. Misery (1990)
- Director: Rob Reiner
- Stacker score: 90.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 107 minutes
35 / 50
#16. Carlito's Way (1993)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- Stacker score: 90.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 144 minutes
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36 / 50
#15. The Insider (1999)
- Director: Michael Mann
- Stacker score: 91.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 157 minutes
37 / 50
#14. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
- Director: Mamoru Oshii
- Stacker score: 91.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 83 minutes
38 / 50
#13. Perfect Blue (1997)
- Director: Satoshi Kon
- Stacker score: 91.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 81 minutes
39 / 50
#12. The Fugitive (1993)
- Director: Andrew Davis
- Stacker score: 91.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 130 minutes
40 / 50
#11. JFK (1991)
- Director: Oliver Stone
- Stacker score: 92.3
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 189 minutes
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41 / 50
#10. 12 Monkeys (1995)
- Director: Terry Gilliam
- Stacker score: 92.5
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 129 minutes
42 / 50
#9. The Sixth Sense (1999)
- Director: M. Night Shyamalan
- Stacker score: 93.5
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 107 minutes
43 / 50
#8. Jurassic Park (1993)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Stacker score: 94.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 127 minutes
44 / 50
#7. Fargo (1996)
- Director: Joel Coen
- Stacker score: 94.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 98 minutes
45 / 50
#6. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Stacker score: 96.2
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 99 minutes
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46 / 50
#5. L.A. Confidential (1997)
- Director: Curtis Hanson
- Stacker score: 96.3
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 138 minutes
47 / 50
#4. Léon: The Professional (1994)
- Director: Luc Besson
- Stacker score: 96.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 110 minutes
48 / 50
#3. Se7en (1995)
- Director: David Fincher
- Stacker score: 97.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 127 minutes
49 / 50
#2. The Usual Suspects (1995)
- Director: Bryan Singer
- Stacker score: 98.1
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 106 minutes
50 / 50
#1. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Director: Jonathan Demme
- Stacker score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 118 minutes
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