Donnie Darko
As Jordan Peele ’s highly promise newfangled filmNopedebuts in theaters on the bounder of his acclaimed moviesGet OutandUs , it ’s deserving considering the indie - thriller subgenre in the macro to see which films have come out on top in the opinions of moviegoers .
One of the best places to look isRanker , a site where user can vote on lean to help grade their favourite entrance to the top . With well - eff hits as well as some less - talked - about enshroud gems among the lean ’s top 10 , these are Ranker fans ' preferred indie thriller of all prison term .
Drive
unfreeze in 2011,Drivestars Ryan Gosling as an unnamed Hollywood stunt number one wood who gets take with a heist that sound wrong and endangers the lives of the crew and their family . Although director Nicolas Winding Refn had directed several films before this , Drivewould establish his recipe for thriller .
Related : Ryan Gosling ’s 7 Most Badass Action Roles
Gosling received an Oscar nomination for the dramaHalf Nelsonall the way back in 2006 , butDriveshowcased his charisma as a potential action - star atomic number 82 . It ’s not a stretch to say his roles in films likeBlade Runner 2049and the upcomingThe Gray Man , among other post - Drivefilms of his , owe their existence to this purpose . It ’s well - acted , magnificently directed , and , most significantly , an piquant story .
Get Out
Jordan Peele has show himself in the realm of horror thanks toGet OutandUs , and with the level of prevision forNopeit ’s clear that he ’s changed the film genre . In fact , given his picky expertness with repugnance , Peele is even one of thosedirectors who could make an awesome television game .
It all embark on withGet Out , however . Genuinely thrill on its own merit , the 2017 film also boast magnificent commentary about slipstream and its continued centrality in American society , and while those issue have been around for centuries , Get Outstill seemed ahead of the bender for looker who were n’t as familiar with these issue . All of those component combined to makeGet Outan instant and long-suffering classic .
The Usual Suspects
Its own title inspired by theCasablancaquote " lash out up the common suspects " , the neo - noir criminal offence thrillerThe Usual Suspectshas plenty of memorable quotesthat have countenance the motion-picture show to remain an outstanding introduction in its genre .
The Usual Suspectshas a simple narrative on its aerofoil , with Verbal Kint tell the backstory of the action in an interrogation room . But not everything is what it seems , as the thriller take after the endeavour to track down Keyser Söze , a mysterious fig and criminal brainiac . The twists and turns it take keep viewers on their toes , and even on repeat viewing it ’s gratifying to notice small details that foreshadow the end .
Nightcrawler
dear films generally follow a protagonist who goes on a moral journey and grows in some mode from the experience , either have a downfall or a happy conclusion . ButNightcrawleris unlike . It control Jake Gyllenhaal as an up-and-coming but unscrupulous man who baffle into the creation of shooting crime and accident footage for a profits .
While Gyllenhaal ’s fibre ’s goal are admirable , his methods of accomplishing them are beyond base , and audience phallus are constantly conflicted when watching because of this discrepancy . What keeps everything together and looker hooked is Gyllenhaal ’s carrying out , snubbed of an Oscar nominating address . It ’s like the car wreck the chief reference film : it ’s unsettling , but resistless screening .
American Psycho
Two 10 before he diddle a god butcher inThor : Love and Thunder , Christian Bale played human butcher / Wall Street man of affairs Patrick Bateman in one of thebest 2000s nonparallel orca movies , American Psycho .
Just like withNightcrawler , the main character is morally despicable ( assuming what ’s depicted in the movie actually happen ) , yet viewers are made to comply legal action from his perspective , and the shiver come mostly from the tension of him maybe getting caught . American Psychois also a bright picture show , though , using its wildness as a commentary on covetousness , and Bateman on the yuppie mindset of the 1980s .
Prisoners
Prisonersis an underappreciated Denis Villeneuve film because of how muchArrival , Blade Runner 2049 , andDuneovershadowed it . Instead of sci - fi , Prisonersis a psychological thriller about the disappearance of two girls , and the subsequent James Henry Leigh Hunt for their abductor muscle that finds one of the girl ' father taking matters into his own workforce .
Related:5 Ways Dune Is Denis Villeneuve ’s Best Movie , And 5 alternative
Whenever children are involved in a thriller , specially in the case of an abduction , it always advance the stake because of the tie in " artlessness " that youngster have , which in turns add to the creepiness that exudes from the adult defendant in the movie . Its conclusion may not be the darkest possible , but the apprehensiveness throughout the film of what could bechance is just as effective .
Seven
With an ending that leave viewer speechless , Sevenis one of the most perturbing films of all time ; it ’s ending is simply the completion of events put in action by a sadistic serial killer who could make anyone question the time value of humanity . Its killer is sincerely depraved .
For some watcher , that grisly and grittiness is no doubt what makesSevenso appeal . Twist finish also make for memorable flick . But underneath that open there ’s a kind of hope in humanity embodied by Morgan Freeman ’s character , who by the death has actually lost the cynicism toward people that he exhibited at the start of the motion-picture show . From that perspective , it ’s about finding the trade good and fighting for it .
Jake Gyllenhaal has a bent for appearing in well - loved indie thrillers , considering he ’s a main star inNightcrawler , Prisoners , and this indie darling , Donnie Darko . This 2001 craze classic delf into a combination of sci - fi , fantasy , and even a sentiency of the supernatural to deport something truly alone .
tie in : The 10 full Directorial Debuts Of The 2000s , According To IMDb
Donnie Darko ’s depiction of an former 2000s suburban teen dealing with foreign experiences that could be either delusion or something very substantial but unaccountable makes the cinema esoteric and almost destined it to be an anti - blockbuster , but its different voice and weird story only adds to the charm . Director Richard Kelly ’s future films , especially 2009’sThe Box , show his auteurist vision was n’t a one - off .
Memento
Christopher Nolan ’s first big - budget pic , Mementowas the director ’s first foray into playing with time , sequence , and causality . Most cinema will say the write up straightforwardly , and some may employ flashback to tot some relish . ButMementotells parts of its narration forwards and others backward , with the movie ending at the middle .
Even today Nolan stand among few peer who are as modern as he is when it derive to filmmaking , and his own style really beam in this endeavor . WhileThe Dark Knight , Inception , Interstellar , orDunkirkare more likely to be labeled as Nolan ’s chef-d’oeuvre over this one , few moving picture diverge so much from received storytelling structure and break as much new film ground asMemento .
Fargo
Only one film among the top 10 gave direction to its own spinoff idiot box series , and the Coen Brothers’Fargois the one that gets to take that accolade . Released in 1996 and set in the titular town of Fargo , North Dakota , this black drollery crime film follows a sheriff ’s murder investigation of a serial of homicides carried out on the order of a automobile salesman by two felon he ’s lease .
Carrying all of the wackiness and comedy - drama interplay that the Coens made their name with , Fargotakes what would under more drama - centric work force become a pretty stock thriller and cater it with a ridiculous nature that defecate it a standout of the literary genre . Although the Coens adapt Cormac McCarthy ’s Word forNo Country for Old Men , there are hints of that future film ’s flair in this one .
NEXT : The 10 Most Rewatchable Coen Brothers Movies
