Summary

• 2023 was a great year for thrillers, with films exploring various sub-genres and social issues. Thrillers have the power to draw attention to social inequalities.
• A great thriller keeps the audience on the edge of their seat, trying to predict what happens next.
• John Wick: Chapter 4 and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One provide fun action-adventure takes on the thriller.

2023 was a great year for the thriller and plenty of films capitalized on all that the genre has to offer. Many approaches to the traditional thriller were taken, including action-adventure, psychological, and class critique. In the past several years, films that comment on class inequality have become increasingly popular and this is reflected in the films of 2023. Additionally, thrillers are steadily becoming more aware of the power they have to draw attention to other social inequalities throughout society.

The thriller is known for having many sub-genres, but the core tenets of a thriller include high tension, suspense, anxiety, and deceit. This can take on many forms and provides a filmmaker with plenty of opportunities to incorporate high-stakes plot points that are immediately engaging to the audience. However, a thriller mustn’t rely too heavily on plot twists and red herrings to drive the story forward. There must be a strong narrative basis for the film that the viewer can be interested in, regardless of the thriller’s many tricks.

10 65 (2023)

Directed by: SCOTT BECK & BRYAN WOODS

A survival thriller with a sci-fi twist, 65 stars Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt as two space travelers who crash-land on Earth during the time of the dinosaurs. The main antagonist of the film is nature and the dinosaurs. It’s Driver up against powerful prehistoric forces that attack him and Greenblatt as his surrogate daughter at every turn.

While the premise is interesting and there are some fun effects, 65 doesn’t lean far enough into any tropes of the genres it encompasses. It isn’t serious enough to be an interpersonal drama, and it doesn’t use the fantastical elements of the ancient Earth to its advantage. The film is mostly mid-tier with some enjoyable elements to lighten it along the way.

9 Missing (2023)

Directed by: NICHOLAS D. JOHNSON & WILL MERRICK

The follow-up to Aneesh Chaganty’s 2018 Searching, Missing stars Storm Reid as a young girl desperately looking for her mother via the internet. After her mother fails to return home from a vacation, an elaborate plot of twists and turns emerges. Missing takes the clever storytelling technique of Searching by using phone and laptop cameras and screen recordings to further the plot.

This is an effective tool in the thriller-crime genre, where the use of phones and new technology can sometimes make physical crime-solving seem pointless. Missing also expands on the universe that Searching created, and opens it up to a younger and more dynamic lead in Reid. While Missing isn’t quite as tight as the original, it still has a lot to offer for the next generation.

8 Knock At The Cabin (2023)

Directed by: M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN

Director M. Night Shyamalan is known for weaving plots that are impossible to predict and leave the audience breathless. In Knock At The Cabin, two young fathers and their daughter are held hostage by a group of doomsday believers who force them to make a devastating decision to stave off the end of the world. The best part of the film is the stunning visuals of the idyllic wooded cabin that’s turned into a nightmare scenario.

Additionally, the frightening performance by Dave Bautista lends credibility to the outlandish claims of the group that’s crying apocalypse. Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge also add real emotional stakes to the story. Overall, the film doesn’t make the grand social statement it thinks it is, but it does deliver suspense and many twists in the ending of Knock At The Cabin.

7 Saltburn (2023)

Directed by: EMERALD FENNELL

Saltburn is visually stunning and tonally confusing, but ultimately an unforgettable addition to the films of 2023. Director Emerald Fennell is known for her shocking and subversive stories, and Saltburn is no different. Fennell can’t seem to decide if she’s on the side of the rich or not in this part class critique, part psychological thriller. Following on the tails of powerhouse films in this genre like The Talented Mr. Ripley and Parasite, Saltburn doesn’t quite fill those shoes, but it does capture the audience’s attention.

The performances by Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan fill every scene with palpable homoerotic tension and play off each other very well while concealing their true motivations. With the beautiful English countryside estate as the backdrop for parties that drip with wealth and opulence, it’s easy to become mesmerized by the glitter of Saltburn and forget how dark the film gets. Not without its problems, the film certainly will never be forgotten.

6 Sharper (2023)

Directed by: BENJAMIN CARON

Sharper opts for a collection of stories about each character that slowly uncovers the twisted web of lies and betrayals that connect them all. Julianne Moore is easily the most outstanding part of the movie, as Madeline, a woman whose loyalties change at the drop of a hat. Watching the film is akin to putting together a puzzle, and it’s extremely fun watching the pieces fall into place as the full story is revealed.

Sharper asks the audience if it’s possible to find true love and trust when there is a massive amount of wealth on the table. If anything, Sharper could have been more biting in its critique and allowed its characters to be more insidious. Despite this, it’s a thrilling watch and a compelling twist on the traditional con-movie formula.

5 The Creator (2023)

Directed by: GARETH EDWARDS

John David Washington anchors The Creator as Joshua, a man torn between humanity and the next phase of evolution. In a post-apocalyptic future, AI has become ultra-powerful and there is a constant battle going on between humans and the AI stimulants. Washington comes to question the nature of what being human means when he must protect the AI stimulant Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) who seems like a human child in many ways.

These are big questions, and sometimes The Creator doesn’t have all the necessary tools to answer them. AI is a hot-button issue in real life as well as in the movie, but the movie doesn’t give the audience a tangible solution to this growing problem. The effects are breathtaking, and the story is fairly strong, but the emotional depth of The Creator is somewhat lacking.

4 Fair Play (2023)

Directed by: CHLOE DOMONT

Netflix’s Fair Play is a psychological thriller about a couple who work at the same company and are torn apart by competition. Fair Play attempts to comment on the nature of advancement in the corporate world, and how women are viewed when they rise through the ranks of the workplace. The two lovers, Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are up for the same promotion, and their relationship quickly deteriorates after Emily gets it.

The film explores how quickly a person can become jealous and violent when they feel inferior to their partner. Parts of the movie achieve this goal, but it ultimately doesn’t do enough to elevate Phoebe out of the situation of violence and discrimination she faces both at home and in the workplace. The thriller elements, and drama all work effectively, but the message of the film could have been delivered more effectively.

3 John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Directed by: CHAD STAHELSKI

The John Wick franchise always provides excellent action sequences, and stellar performances from Keanu Reeves, and after four films, the hits keep coming. Though the film runs almost three hours in length, it’s paced extremely well and rarely drags. There are a few moments that could be cut down, but amid the action, it’s easy to forgive. Everything is turned up in this installment. The set pieces are grander, the locations are more sprawling, and the action sequences have never been tighter. The only reason John Wick 4 isn’t higher on the list is that there were so many films in 2023 that encapsulated the best parts of the genre.

2 Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Directed by: CHRISTOPHER MCQUARRIE

Simultaneously an action-adventure spy thriller and a vehicle for Tom Cruise to perform the best stunts of the year, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One pulls out all the stops for the latest installment of the franchise. Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is sent on his most spellbinding mission yet and faces a mysterious villain.

The film has him caught between plenty of sly and capable women and questioning the very technology he has relied on for so long. Although the film is only the first part, the narrative still reaches a satisfying conclusion that will only blossom in the second film. The only thing that will make the film better will be when it can be followed with a viewing of the sequel.

1 The Killer (2023)

Directed by: DAVID FINCHER

David Fincher can always be relied upon to create the best thriller of a given year. In his most recent film, The Killer, he expands and updates his equal parts brutal and methodical style. Michael Fassbender stars as the titular Killer, a hitman who’s slowly unraveling. The film follows him on several hits across the globe and takes on the unique perspective of what it’s like inside the mind of a cold-blooded killer. Fincher and the plot of The Killer are a perfect match. The detail-oriented and obsessive nature of a hitman constantly on the run is exactly what Fincher’s skills were made for.

The film warrants multiple viewings as there are plenty of hidden details to catch when rewatching The Killer. To Fincher’s credit, the film also interacts with life in the modern world. Even though the Killer might live on the fringes of society, he still listens to The Smiths and interacts with the monotony of the corporate world. Through all of this, there’s still plenty of violence, action, and suspense to make The Killer the best thriller of the year.