| Gone Girl (2014) | 8.1 | |
| Fight Club (1999) | 8.8 | |
| Saving Private Ryan (1998) | 8.6 | |
| Generation War (2013) | 8.4 | |
| Shetland (2013) | 8.3 |
Tense movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant tense movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out suspense, tense, suspenseful, interesting, clever and serious films and TV shows about / with violence, storytelling, murder, twists and turns, dialogue, corruption, chase, death, justice and vengeance plots mostly in Thriller, Drama and Crime genres shot in USA, UK, France and other countries.
25919
TOP 10 movies tagged as tense: Phone Booth (2002), No Country for Old Men (2007), Enemy of the State (1998), Skyscraper (2018), Prison Break (2005), Captain Phillips (2013), I Saw the Devil (2010), Gone Girl (2014), Inside Man (2006), The Guest (2014).
Best films
New films
300K
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.
Style:
suspense, suspenseful, tense, psychological, clever ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
hostage, psychopath, sniper, dishonesty, mind game, trapped, cell phone, hopes, plot twist, secret relationship, lone hero, sin ...
Time:
2000s, 20th century, year 2002, 21st century
Place:
new york, usa, manhattan new york city
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the ...
Style:
neo noir, suspense, atmospheric, suspenseful, serious ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
hitman, psychopath, shooting, serial killer, peril, desert, human nature, brutality, death, sheriff, cruelty, bounty hunter ...
Time:
year 2007, 2000s, 20th century, year 1980, 80s
Place:
texas, el paso texas, mexico, america, austin texas ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
Hotshot Washington lawyer, Robert Dean becomes a victim of high-tech identity theft when a hacker slips an incriminating video into his pocket. Soon, a rogue National Security agent sets out to recover the tape – and destroy Dean.
Style:
suspense, clever, tense, political thriller, sexy ...
Audience:
boys' night, date night, manly, kids
Plot:
surveillance, conspiracy, cia, on the run, espionage, political conspiracy, intelligence, violence, murder, manhunt, fighting the system, uncover truth ...
Time:
year 1998, 20th century, 90s
Place:
washington d.c., baltimore, iraq, maryland, afghanistan ...
Is relevant?
144K
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Framed and on the run, a former FBI agent must save his family from a blazing fire in the world's tallest building.
Style:
tense, suspense, psychotronic, anamorphic, suspenseful ...
Audience:
chick flick, teens, family outing, kids
Plot:
skyscraper, heroism, penthouse, terrorism, protective parent, disaster, ex soldier, fire, panic, courage, terrorist, survival ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
hong kong, china, asia, minnesota
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
658K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story:
Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get himself sent to the same prison in order to break the both of them out, from the inside out.
Style:
exciting, tense, suspenseful, serious, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens
Plot:
prison, fugitives, escape, prison life, scheme, prison escape, conspiracy, determination, fbi, confined, siblings relations, brother ...
Time:
2010s, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
south america, chicago, texas, california, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Malta
Duration: 134 min.
Story:
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Style:
tense, suspense, realistic, captivating, factual ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
hostage, ship, survival, terrorism, rescue, kidnapping, escapades, ship captain, ocean, hostage situation, piracy, pirate ...
Time:
year 2013, 2010s, 2000s, year 2009, 21st century
Place:
somalia, africa, middle east, america, usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 144 min.
Story:
Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. He has committed infernal serial murders in diabolic ways that one cannot even imagine and his victims range from young women to even children. The police have chased him for a long time, ...
Style:
disturbing, bloody, dark, twist ending, psychological ...
Audience:
date night, manly, adult
Plot:
revenge, serial killer, vengeance, murder, violence, psychopath, violent, extreme violence, gory, mercilessness, murderer, brutality ...
Time:
year 2010, year 2000, 2000s, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
south korea, asia, korea, east asia
Is relevant?
1.2M
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 149 min.
Story:
With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.
Style:
psychological, suspense, surprise ending, twist ending, clever ...
Audience:
chick flick, girls' night, date night, teens, boys' night ...
Plot:
twists and turns, psychology, murder mystery, missing person, manipulation, infidelity, investigation, marriage, femme fatale, revenge, missing wife, adultery ...
Time:
year 2014, 2010s, 2000s, year 2012, 21st century
Place:
peru, america, usa, manhattan new york city, new york ...
Is relevant?
422K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Bank robber Dalton Russell enters a Manhattan bank, locks the doors and takes hostages, working methodically and without haste. Detective Frazier is assigned to negotiate, but his mind is occupied with the corruption charges he is facing. With an ...
Style:
clever, detective, suspense, tense, surprise ending ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
heist, robbery, bank, bank robbery, hostage, twists and turns, perfect crime, master criminal, plot twist, deception, police detective, caper ...
Time:
2000s, year 2006, 21st century
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, usa
Is relevant?
113K
Genre: Action, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A soldier introduces himself to the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their son who died in action. After the young man is welcomed into their home, a series of accidental deaths seem to be connected to his presence.
Style:
suspenseful, tense, scary, atmospheric, sexy ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
halloween, twists and turns, danger, psychopath, murder, killing spree, grief, family in danger, ex soldier, home invasion, bullying, mysterious character ...
Time:
2010s, year 2014, 80s, 21st century
Place:
new mexico, usa
Is relevant?
1.5M
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Hong Kong
Duration: 151 min.
Story:
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises ...
Style:
twist ending, suspense, surprise ending, clever, tense ...
Audience:
boys' night, adult
Plot:
mafia, police, undercover cop, twists and turns, mole, organized crime, working undercover, mobster, espionage, plot twist, undercover, irish mob ...
Time:
year 2006, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
boston, massachusetts, america, persia, usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.
Style:
tense, suspenseful, stylized, intense, action thriller ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
train, hostage, caper, heist, outsmarting, hijacking, terrorist, terrorism, passenger, chase, police investigation, fbi ...
Time:
year 2009, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
new york, coney island brooklyn new york city, usa, manhattan new york city, brooklyn new york city ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
236K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Country: Argentina, Spain, France, UK
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
Six short stories that explore the extremities of human behavior involving people in distress.
Style:
suspense, dark comedy, psychological, tense, unusual plot structure ...
Plot:
multiple storylines, revenge, dark humor, twists and turns, sex scene, human nature, vengeance, violence, corruption, destiny, wedding party, comedy of errors ...
Time:
year 2014, 2010s, y2k, 21st century
Place:
argentina, south america, persia, latin america
Is relevant?
81K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town.
Style:
tense, suspense, suspenseful, stylized, intense ...
Plot:
heist, police corruption, betrayal, bank robbery, dirty cop, mafia, corruption, corrupt cop, masked man, police detective, strip club, violent ...
Time:
year 2015, year 2016, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
atlanta georgia, usa, tel aviv israel, boston, los angeles
Is relevant?
99K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A man confesses to an FBI agent his family's story of how his religious fanatic father's visions lead to a series of murders to destroy supposed "demons."
Style:
psychological, scary, suspenseful, tense, surprise ending ...
Plot:
serial killer, twists and turns, murder, insanity, plot twist, religious fanatic, psychopath, childhood, parents and children, punishment, father son relationship, child abuse ...
Time:
year 2001, 70s, year 1979, year 2000, 20th century
Place:
texas, usa
Is relevant?
2.0M
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. ...
Style:
suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, detective, bad ending ...
Audience:
chick flick, adult
Plot:
serial killer, investigation, twists and turns, psychopath, psychology, mind game, police investigation, police, police detective, sin, maniac, murder ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, year 1995
Place:
los angeles, usa, persia, iran, america ...
Is relevant?
665K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 157 min.
Story:
The true story of the investigation of the "Zodiac Killer", a serial killer who terrified the San Francisco Bay Area, taunting police with his ciphers and letters. The case becomes an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are ...
Style:
atmospheric, tense, suspense, neo noir, stylized ...
Audience:
chick flick, adult
Plot:
serial killer, investigation, murder, journalism, maniac, murder mystery, mind game, journalist, true crime, paranoia, killer, uncover truth ...
Time:
70s, year 2007, year 1971, year 1969, year 1979 ...
Place:
san francisco, california, bay area, usa, oakland california ...
Is relevant?
512K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
Style:
neo noir, tense, realistic, harsh, suspense ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night, adult
Plot:
police corruption, ghetto, gang, corrupt cop, drug dealer, african american, rookie, dirty cop, mentor, twists and turns, gunfight, gang member ...
Time:
year 2001, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
los angeles, california, south america, usa
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
1.4M
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Suffering short-term memory loss after a head injury, Leonard Shelby embarks on a grim quest to find the lowlife who murdered his wife in this gritty, complex thriller that packs more knots than a hangman's noose. To carry out his plan, Shelby ...
Style:
psychological, surprise ending, twist ending, neo noir, confusing ...
Audience:
teens, adult
Plot:
memory, vengeance, memory loss, plot twist, revenge, murder, amnesia, whodunit, twists and turns, paranoia, murder mystery, manipulation ...
Time:
year 2000, year 2001, future, 90s, 20th century ...
Place:
los angeles, california, iran, america, usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.
Style:
twist ending, suspense, psychological, surprise ending, tense ...
Audience:
manly, adult
Plot:
vengeance, vigilantism, justice, prison, vigilante, revenge, master criminal, lawyer, retribution, fighting the system, twists and turns, murder ...
Time:
year 2009, 21st century
Place:
philadelphia, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.
Style:
neo noir, anthology, atmospheric, gloomy, serious ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
serial killer, police investigation, murder, murder mystery, investigation, police detective, murder investigation, murderer, drinking problem, partners against crime, female nudity, troubled ...
Time:
2010s, year 2014, 2000s, 20th century, 80s ...
Place:
louisiana, usa, california
Is relevant?
792K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 170 min.
Story:
Obsessive master thief, Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective, Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the ...
Style:
neo noir, suspense, tense, bleak, clever ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night, adult
Plot:
robbery, heist, gunfight, bank robbery, police, cop, police detective, master criminal, thief, bank, chase, obsession ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, year 1995
Place:
los angeles, california, usa, southern california
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
FBI trainee, Clarice Starling ventures into a maximum-security asylum to pick the diseased brain of Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist turned homicidal cannibal. Starling needs clues to help her capture a serial killer. But her Faustian relationship ...
Style:
psychological, suspenseful, suspense, scary, psychological thriller ...
Audience:
chick flick, date night, adult
Plot:
serial killer, psychopath, investigation, murder, psychology, cannibalism, kidnapping, maniac, murder investigation, mind game, fbi, cannibal ...
Time:
year 1991, 20th century, 90s
Place:
pittsburgh, baltimore, persia, usa, memphis ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
1.6M
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
Style:
surprise ending, twist ending, clever, atmospheric, psychological ...
Audience:
family friendly, teens, chick flick
Plot:
twists and turns, obsession, plot twist, secret, magic, magician, rivalry, illusionist, stage magic, uninhibited rivalry, deception, secrets ...
Time:
victorian era, 19th century, future, edwardian era, turn of the century ...
Place:
london, peru, colorado, los angeles, britain ...
Is relevant?
2.6M
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 139 min.
Story:
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the ...
Style:
psychological, twist ending, surprise ending, cerebral, thought provoking ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night, chick flick, girls' night, adult
Plot:
twists and turns, self destructing, psychology, split personality, plot twist, nihilism, insanity, obsession, dissociative identity disorder, insomnia, identity crisis, mental illness ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, year 1999, year 2013
Place:
delaware, seattle, iran, america, los angeles ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Luxembourg, Canada
Duration: 131 min.
Story:
Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.
Style:
tense, realistic, emotional, serious, rough ...
Audience:
boys' night, manly, adult
Plot:
iraq war, terrorism, military, sniper, soldier, war, bomb squad, violence, army, shootout, marines, bomb ...
Time:
year 2008, 2000s, year 2004, 21st century
Place:
middle east, iraq, baghdad iraq, america, afghanistan ...
Is relevant?
259K
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.
Style:
tense, scary, suspenseful, brutal, futuristic ...
Audience:
boys' night, adult
Plot:
home invasion, survival, survival horror, self defense, danger, violence spree, security system, dystopia, family in danger, society, killing spree, distopia ...
Time:
future, year 2013, near future, 2010s, year 2000 ...
Place:
california, usa
Is relevant?
2.8M
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 148 min.
Story:
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another ...
Style:
psychological, mind bending, cerebral, clever, twist ending ...
Audience:
date night, teens, adult
Plot:
dream, virtual reality, memory, alternate reality, teamwork, imagination, subconscious, philosophy, twists and turns, fictional reality, existentialism, lucid dream ...
Time:
year 2010, future, 2000s, 2010s, near future
Place:
japan, paris france, los angeles, iran, tokyo ...
Is relevant?
128K
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's turned into one huge lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a river-rafting trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.
Style:
disturbing, tense, suspenseful, atmospheric, gothic ...
Plot:
wilderness, rape, survival, friendship, canoe, rape and revenge, nature, forest, river, nightmare, camping, revenge ...
Time:
70s, year 1972, 20th century
Place:
georgia, southern usa, usa, appalachia
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 157 min.
Story:
Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he ...
Style:
tense, realistic, clever, serious, suspense ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night, adult
Plot:
mafia, organized crime, gangster, drug lord, mob boss, drug traffic, heroin, violence, smuggling, crime boss, ghetto, police ...
Time:
60s, 70s, year 1968, year 1970, year 2007 ...
Place:
new jersey, new york, vietnam, brooklyn new york city, cuba ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
