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From Alfred Hitchcock to David Fincher , the thriller genre has undergone a batch of changes , evolving from simple third act twists to psychological open - terminate conclusions . Noir , social satire , horror , sci - fi ; filmmakers over the years have attempted to immingle many genre together with that of the thriller , making it one of the most accessible and pop literary genre in cinema today .
While auteurs likeDavid Fincherand Martin Scorsese created several absorbing thrillers after the 2000s , the only visionary directors that are being see in this list either began their calling or feel their bounteous break in the 21stcentury .
The Safdie Brothers
Josh and Bennie Safdie have write and directed only two film as of now , but they have establish a stylemark panache with both of these modern classic . Their work include the neon - themedGood Timestarring a invariably experimental Robert Pattinson , and the fast - pace black comedyUncut Gemsthat served as a rejoinder fomite forAdam Sandler .
The Safdie Brothers ’ films are increasingly piquant and interactional , get behind viewers into all their adrenaline - fuel comedy and drama . Their characters are perpetually ungratified in spare-time activity of a sealed end , a fact give by speedy editing , shaky filming , and loud , toot music .
Bong Joon-ho
South Korean maestroBong Joon - hohas been in recent newsworthiness after mark three Oscars for his social thrillerParasite , which also became the first non - English film to win a Best Picture Oscar . But he has been in the game since the early 2000s . His debutBarking Dogs Never Bitemight be remember only by die - backbreaking fans , but he attained with child popularity afterMemories of Murder , an investigative account of South Korea ’s first caseful of in series killings .
BeforeParasite , he followed up his discovery with monster films likeThe HostandOkja , the sci - fi dystopian thrillerSnowpiercer , and the revenge dramaMother . His film might be thematically different from each other , but he always ensures there ’s some commentary of social inequality present in his kit and caboodle .
Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay began her career in the late 90s with critically - acclaimed drama that unfortunately had little to no cinematic release . However , the Scotswoman succeed over new lover with her 2011 psychological thrillerWe demand To Talk About Kevin . The film displayed Tilda Swinton ’s acting prowess to the fullest while introduce the human race to Ezra Miller . Miller stars as a tumultuous child who has give inexplicable horrors . The thriller attempts to understand how his female parent would face up these revulsion in complex ways .
Ramsay ’s follow - up wasYou Were Never Really Here , a slow - burning offence thriller starringJoaquin Phoenixin one of his most emotionally - drive roles .
Darren Aronofsky
His debutPimight have received a limited loss , butDarren Aronofskyruled the first two decades of the 21stcentury , turning into an undefeated titan of the psychological thriller genre . One of his earliest thrillers , Requiem For A Dream , was a disturbingly real yet move portrayal of individual get serious substance abuse job .
Black Swanmight be considered as his magnum opus , as it has all the classic Aronofsky tropes to get into the haunting psyche of the admirer . The tale of an obsessively ambitious ballerina blend dreamlike repulsion with psychological thriller elements . Even his extremely polarizing adjustment of the Bible , Mother!,functions as an forward-looking thriller .
Paul Greengrass
Doug Liman ushered in a cinematic epoch for the amnesiac special federal agent Jason Bourne withThe Bourne Identity . But Paul Greengrass ’ vision with the undercover agent thriller sequelsThe Bourne UltimatumandThe Bourne Supremacytook the dealership to raw altitude . The movie find out a considerable improvement in their multi - layered plots , elaborate action sequence , and precarious - cam cinematography .
Greengrass has dominate the skill of building unfeigned , tangible - time stress , as can be seen fromUnited 93that detailed the efforts of passengers campaign off highjacker on the day of 9/11.Captain Phillipsis another tangible - life dramatisation that attempt to understand the accent that a shipping crew undergoes while being raided by Somalian pirates , who themselves are desperate under their circumstances .
Taylor Sheridan
Taylor Sheridan had been an player inSons of Anarchyand write the screenplays for thrillers likeSicario . He has just two directorial credits under his name , but both have been massively herald . nether region or High Wateris sic in rural Texas whileWind Rivertakes place in a snow-white Wyoming Reservation . Both setting are unlike , but the feeling of purdah in a switch American landscape is always looming .
Sheridan is observe for incorporating social undertones link up to racism while humanizing his troubled lineament . Due to their atmospherical brilliance , both his movie serve as well - written neo - Western thrillers .
Asghar Farhadi
Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi is mostly cognize for his two Oscar - come through dramas , A SeparationandThe Salesman . At first glance , both motion-picture show would just seem like realistic human dramas but they are in fact , paced like a thriller .
A Separationdeals with a divorced span dealing with a fount of assault on a maid in which the divorcee married man is blamed . threatening on intense dialogue , the motion picture functions as an effective legal thriller . Unlike other thriller directors , Farhadi does n’t keep any surprising third - act eddy . The suspense is instead revealed through elusive cues . The same style of filmmaking can be see inThe Salesman , an Iranian adaptation of Arthur Miller ’s playThe dying of a Salesman .
Denis Villeneuve
WithArrivalandBlade Runner 2049,Denis Villeneuvehas demonstrate himself as one of the most influential sci - fi director working today . However , he has delivered some memorable thrillers too , with his English debutPrisonersthat rotate around a typeface of snatch and the extent to which the abducted tike ’s father goes to essay justice .
Sicariois another compelling thriller about Mexican drug trust and American law enforcers seek to stop them . Both plastic film are driven by an threatening secret and deeply layer portrayals of both overconfident and negatively charged characters .
Chad Stahelski
American stuntman Chad Stahelski plant himself as a manager withJohn Wick(which he co - direct with David Leitch ) and its two sequels . TheJohn Wicktrilogy is arguably the finest action thriller serial in current times , catapult its head manKeanu Reevesback in the mainstream .
Reeves star as the titular hitman who ’s thrust out of retirement after his pet dog is defeat . There ’s no looking back from then onward , as Wick undergoes a roller coaster drive of endless violence all over the world as he gets entangle with a conference of assassins . Stahelski ’s experience with stunt piece of work display , as he orchestrates some gamey - ending hand - to - helping hand combats and vehicle chases , offering visceral shudder to the viewers .
Park Chan-wook
The hyperviolent retaliation thrillerOldboymight be Park Chan - wook ’s most pop project , with it still influencing pop refinement today . But the South Korean director and former film critic has had several New - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. religious cult thriller in his filmography , let in the psychological thrillerThe Handmaiden .
The theater director has a enthrallment with themes of retribution , as can be discover fromSympathy for Mr. VengeanceandLady Vengeance . His films share with the philosophy of ethics , marked by choreographed action , traumatized characters , and a whole good deal of gore .
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