25 movie thrillers that are worth rediscovering

Don't get me wrong. Sharks are scary. But there's something extra scary about a truck with a life of its own. In Steven Spielberg's debut, he set the template for Jaws with a truck that terrorizes people on the road, a silly premise that works because of the man behind the wheel. 

One of Nolan's more underrated films, Insomnia is about a detective who suffers from insomnia. As he tries to track down a killer, his mind races with ideas and clues he can't latch onto. It's really just an appetizer for Memento--another movie about a detective with a fractured mind--, but there's still plenty to enjoy here.  

Just writing "Collin Farrell" would suffice, but I'll give you some backstory anyway. Martin McDonagh's movie is about a pair of hitmen who wait for orders in Bruges, where they argue like children, drink like Irishmen, and riff like comedians. It's one of the most enjoyable experiences you can have at the movies, period. 

Honorable mentions go out to Zodiac and Panic Room, but David Fincher's real gem came in 1997 with The Game. With this puzzle box of a movie, we see Michael Douglas try to put the pieces together on a case that was supposed to be a Clue-style birthday present but might be the real deal. 

Guess who's coming to dinner? A bunch of cult members! If you like your thrillers with a side of horror, this movie's for you. 

Underrated? Only cause most kids haven't even heard of Orson Welles unless of course they watched Citizen Kane in Film Class. Other than that, they aren't familiar with the thrills of post-war Europe, the twists of Carol Reed's script, or the turns that happen when a man fakes his death, leading to a chase in the streets of Vienna. 

This thriller about a man taking on a gang of rapists in the snowy mountains of Wyoming is a One Man Army movie. It's about a guy taking the law into his own hands, and if you've heard about Jeremy Renner's recent snow-plowing accident, you know these villains messed with the wrong guy.

Underrated compared to other Coen Brothers' classics (Fargo, The Big Lebowski), Blood Simple trades horror for tension and action for atmosphere. As a woman tries to kill her husband, you aren't sure whether to cower in fear or lean-in in anticipation. 

There's cool cinematography, incredible action, and a plot that sees a man get revenge on the people who put him in jail. Um, do we need to say more? Not really, but we will mention that this movie should only be seen by those with a stomach for violence. 

The O.G. heist movie. Rififi set the groundwork for every heist movie from Oceans 11 to Bottle Rocket. The 30-minute action sequence, in which our band of criminals breaks into a vault without saying a word, will have you sweating through your T-shirt. 

This movie will have you sweating through your T-shirt, your pants and your socks. George Clouzot's thriller should come with a warning label, so we know in advance to turn on a fan or an air conditioner. As our heroes drive explosives through the windy roads of France, you will be on the edge of your seat with sweaty palms and transfixed eyes. 

This list wouldn't be complete without a little bit of Hitchcock, who was one of the pioneers of the genre. If you haven't already seen The 39 Steps, it's not a spoiler to say that the constant chase is a non-stop delight. 

This movie is mostly just vibes, but it's also a series of tense moments. Directed by Louise Malle, Elevator takes you to the top floor of tension and lets you off with a series of romantic French New Wave vignettes. Anytime we get to watch Jeanne Moreau saunter through the streets of Paris--this time as the woman who tries to kill her husband--we will watch with open eyes. 

Most thrillers build to a reveal that makes you say, "Ohhhh, that's what happened," and end on a note of closure. Not Blow Up... Michelangelo Antonioni's thriller only builds to more questions, like a maze without an entrance or an exit. We are left wandering the tunnels of this glamorous, magnificently chic maze without a clue of where it leads or who committed the murder. 

Brian DePalma made his own version of Blow Up two decades later, except this time it's a sound technician capturing the murder instead of a photographer. It's a genius concept from a genius director, one that takes take the original plot and spins it into a politcal thriller. 

Is there anything more terrifying than a mom standing up for her son? I mean, John Mclane is pretty gnarly and the Terminator is pretty ruthless, but I'd take my mother over those two any day. Just take Hye-ja-Kim, a mother who does everything she can to clear he son's name, even if it means taking on bad guys. 

Was the title Psycho already taken? Actually, it wasn't... Alfred Hitchcock's classic and Michael Powell's thriller came out the same year, both seeing lonely men going insane. Powell's version is a little more playful, however, with the loner using his camera as a weapon to comment on the power of cinema to cut deep.

Okay, so this may not be a conventional thriller, but the entire movie is built around tension, so I'm going to include it anyways. Besides, how could we not take the chance to shout out Bernardo Bertolluci's masterpiece? The story of a secret agent who realizes he's on the wrong side of Fascism makes for a spellbinding ride.

Hard Boiled sees a hitman carry a baby while he disposes of bad guys with a pistol, explosions and carnage erupting all around him. If that sounds like the kind of thing you're looking for, then this movie is for you. 

The jury is out on what genre this belongs to, but I do know this--there has never been a movie that is this tense, dreamy, magical, watchable and horrific all at once. Its story of two kids on the run from a murderous "priest" is what childhood nightmares are made of. 

Colin Farrell has 40 days to find a mate or else he will be turned into a lobster, which means the tension in this movie comes from...speed dating? Yep, and it's one of the most tense movies of the past 10 years. 

Part thriller, part road movie, Vanishing Point sees a man trying to drive across multiple states and back in two days. Before long, he has every cop in America on his tail. It's the perfect metaphor for a hippie culture trying to find itself on the road, only to be met with roadblocks at every turn. 

If George Clooney as a "fixer" on the verge of going rogue is your thing--and how can it not be?--then Michael Clayton is for you. This is peak Clooney, the actor's every thought being visualized through his weary facial expressions. 

I've never done cocaine, acid, and Adderall and then ran a marathon, but this is how I'd imagine it would feel. As a woman races across town to save her boyfriend from the mob, the action explodes off the screen thanks to rapid editing and really cool music.