Best '90s thriller movies

By most accounts, the '90s were an excellent time for movies of all kinds鈥攂ut 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 ). And, in July 2025, Amazon MGM Studios' United Artists announced that of the 1992 erotic thriller "Basic Instinct" is now in the works.

In honor of the decade's many iconic releases, 爆料TV compiled a list of the best '90s thriller movies of all time based on our own 爆料TV score, a weighted index split evenly between user rating and . 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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1 / 50

#50. Cure (1997)

- Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- 爆料TV score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 111 minutes

2 / 50

#49. The Crying Game (1992)

- Director: Neil Jordan
- 爆料TV score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 112 minutes

3 / 50

#48. Following (1998)

- Director: Christopher Nolan
- 爆料TV score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 69 minutes

4 / 50

#47. The Devil's Advocate (1997)

- Director: Taylor Hackford
- 爆料TV score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 144 minutes

5 / 50

#46. Lost Highway (1997)

- Director: David Lynch
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 150 minutes

7 / 50

#44. Face/Off (1997)

- Director: John Woo
- 爆料TV score: 85.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 138 minutes

8 / 50

#43. The Boondock Saints (1999)

- Director: Troy Duffy
- 爆料TV score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 44
- Runtime: 108 minutes

9 / 50

#42. Jackie Brown (1997)

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- 爆料TV score: 86.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 154 minutes

10 / 50

#41. Heavenly Creatures (1994)

- Director: Peter Jackson
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 113 minutes

12 / 50

#39. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

- Director: Anthony Minghella
- 爆料TV score: 86.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 139 minutes

13 / 50

#38. Primal Fear (1996)

- Director: Gregory Hoblit
- 爆料TV score: 86.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 47
- Runtime: 129 minutes

14 / 50

#37. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 86.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 108 minutes

17 / 50

#34. A Perfect World (1993)

- Director: Clint Eastwood
- 爆料TV score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 138 minutes

18 / 50

#33. The Crow (1994)

- Director: Alex Proyas
- 爆料TV score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 102 minutes

19 / 50

#32. Sonatine (1993)

- Director: Takeshi Kitano
- 爆料TV score: 87.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 94 minutes

20 / 50

#31. Menace II Society (1993)

- Director: Albert Hughes
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 87.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 100 minutes

22 / 50

#29. Europa (1991)

- Director: Lars von Trier
- 爆料TV score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 112 minutes

23 / 50

#28. Barton Fink (1991)

- Director: Joel Coen
- 爆料TV score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 116 minutes

24 / 50

#27. Fresh (1994)

- Director: Boaz Yakin
- 爆料TV score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 114 minutes

25 / 50

#26. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

- Director: Jonathan Frakes
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 129 minutes

27 / 50

#24. A Simple Plan (1998)

- Director: Sam Raimi
- 爆料TV score: 88.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 121 minutes

28 / 50

#23. A Few Good Men (1992)

- Director: Rob Reiner
- 爆料TV score: 88.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 138 minutes

29 / 50

#22. The Player (1992)

- Director: Robert Altman
- 爆料TV score: 88.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 124 minutes

30 / 50

#21. Miller's Crossing (1990)

- Director: Joel Coen
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 89.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 106 minutes

32 / 50

#19. Run Lola Run (1998)

- Director: Tom Tykwer
- 爆料TV score: 89.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 80 minutes

33 / 50

#18. True Romance (1993)

- Director: Tony Scott
- 爆料TV score: 89.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 119 minutes

34 / 50

#17. Misery (1990)

- Director: Rob Reiner
- 爆料TV score: 90.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 107 minutes

35 / 50

#16. Carlito's Way (1993)

- Director: Brian De Palma
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 91.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 157 minutes

37 / 50

#14. Ghost in the Shell (1995)

- Director: Mamoru Oshii
- 爆料TV score: 91.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 83 minutes

38 / 50

#13. Perfect Blue (1997)

- Director: Satoshi Kon
- 爆料TV score: 91.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 81 minutes

39 / 50

#12. The Fugitive (1993)

- Director: Andrew Davis
- 爆料TV score: 91.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 130 minutes

40 / 50

#11. JFK (1991)

- Director: Oliver Stone
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 92.5
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 129 minutes

42 / 50

#9. The Sixth Sense (1999)

- Director: M. Night Shyamalan
- 爆料TV score: 93.5
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 107 minutes

43 / 50

#8. Jurassic Park (1993)

- Director: Steven Spielberg
- 爆料TV score: 94.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 127 minutes

44 / 50

#7. Fargo (1996)

- Director: Joel Coen
- 爆料TV score: 94.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 98 minutes

45 / 50

#6. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 96.3
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 138 minutes

47 / 50

#4. L茅on: The Professional (1994)

- Director: Luc Besson
- 爆料TV score: 96.7
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 110 minutes

48 / 50

#3. Se7en (1995)

- Director: David Fincher
- 爆料TV score: 97.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 127 minutes

49 / 50

#2. The Usual Suspects (1995)

- Director: Bryan Singer
- 爆料TV 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
- 爆料TV score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 118 minutes

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