Top ten list of suspense movies

With most suspense movies, we can figure out whodunit or where the plot is headed by the middle of the movie. Rare is the movie that can keep you perched on the edge of your seat and wondering what twists the plot will take until the very last second of the movie. The following ten suspense movies are these rare movies that had us talking for weeks after.

Se7en

Most people (women, especially) rushed out to see this movie merely because Brad Pitt was in it, but much to our delight it turned out to be a master in its genre. Brad Pitt stars alongside Morgan Freeman as two big city cops who are searching for a serial killer who kills people based on the biblical seven deadly sins. The film begins in an instant with the cops investigating the first of the series as a morbidly obese man is found dead after having been forced to eat himself to death (gluttony). The audience knows all of the seven deadly sins will be represented in some way, but nothing can prepare us for the climactic finale.

Silence of the Lambs
This is one of those movies that can cross many genres, including horror and drama, but it serves best as a suspense. Jodie Foster stars as a rookie FBI agent who is investigating a serial killer named Buffalo Bill who kills and skins women. She is being helped by a locked-up serial killer played perfectly and maniacally by Anthony Hopkins. By the end, we are rooting for both Jodie Foster and, oddly enough, Anthony Hopkins’ character.

The Usual Suspects
I doubt any other plot of a movie has been played so flawlessly as in The Usual Suspects. A crippled man played brilliantly by Kevin Spacey tells the story of a group of criminals who are all killed while performing a final job together. As the only survivor of this group, he speaks of what went down as well as the lethal man known only as Keyser Soze. The ending is probably one of the most unexpected plot twists in cinematic history. It has been said that after filming wrapped on this movie, even the actors in it did not know who the real Keyser Soze was.

Sixth Sense
This brilliant movie centers around a psychologist who is treating a young boy who feels he sees and hear the dead. As the young boy must come to terms in dealing with the dead people who endlessly follow him around, the psychologist must come to terms with his own failing marriage. The climax will make you want to watch the movie again to see how you could have missed the clues all along.

Psycho
The shower scene alone is enough to get Psycho on this list of suspenseful thrillers. This movie is about a young woman racing away from her old life to start a new one. On the way she makes a stop at a hotel run by a quiet young man who is a little too obsessed with his mother.

The Others
The Others is a movie about a young woman living in a lonely large house with her two children who are allergic to the sun. She is forced to close all of the drapes in the house and leave no door unlocked, lest the children die from exposure to the light. Noises are heard in the attic and the family starts to become convinced the house is haunted by menacing spirits. The audience will not be expecting the ending.

Rear Window
No top ten suspenseful movie list can be complete without Alfred Hitchcock making at least one appearance. This classic whodunit centers around a wheelchair-bound man who, in his boredom, takes up looking out his window and spying on his neighbors across the way. One night he convinces himself that his neighbor has committed murder and has a friend come help him investigate.

Primal Fear
This is a must-see simply for the brilliance of the script. A young and sympathetic altar boy, played by Edward Norton, has been accused of killing a priest. His lawyer must do his best to get him off the hook, but no one will be expecting the ending.

What Lies Beneath
Again, this is one of those movies that can be easily placed in the horror genre, but does better as a suspense movie as the audience will not be expecting the shocking conclusion. Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford star as a perfect couple, until Michelle Pfeiffer’s character begins to feel their home is haunted by a young woman who was recently killed. She begins a quest to find out who this woman was and why she is being haunted by her.

Fight Club
Yet another Brad Pitt movie finds its way to a top ten list. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton star as two friends who start a “fight club” where guys can get together and vent out their frustrations by fighting. The club starts to grow out of control as it takes the nation by storm and turns into something a bit more sinister.