Few genres are as versatile as the thriller. Able to lean into crime, drama, and even comedy, an excellent thriller is one that transports its viewers and shows them something they seldom see. Meanwhile, bad thrillers are a dime a dozen.
So, what’s a keen lover of the thriller genre to do when they run out of slick and tense American thrillers to get lost in? Venture overseas, of course. The possibilities and surprises are endless for those willing to venture across an ocean and immerse themselves in another country’s style, culture, and language.
Updated on August 28, 2023, by Hannah Saab:
Fans looking for thrillers to watch from outside of the usual Hollywood movies will be glad to know there’s no shortage of fantastic international thriller films to choose from.
12 ‘Goodnight Mommy’ (2014)
Twins Elias and Lukas (Elias and Lukas Schwarz) live with their mother (Susanne Wuest) in an idyllic, remote riverside home. When their mother returns home from extensive cosmetic surgery, her face is wrapped in bandages. Cold, distant, and barely recognizable, Elias and Lukas begin to suspect that this woman who came home to them may not be their mother.
Goodnight Mommy is a film that wants you to wriggle and squirm under its grip. Profoundly disturbing and deeply unsettling, the Austrian film explores the extremes of what children can get up to when they are ignored, neglected, and discarded. Reckoning with questions surrounding vanity, motherhood, and the contagious power of an idea, Goodnight Mommy is a thriller unlike anything else.
11 ‘The Dry’ (2020)
Now a federal police officer, Aaron (Eric Bana) has come a long way from the isolated Australian town he was born in. But when Aaron’s childhood friend dies violently, he must return home to his small community, whose secrets and bad blood have haunted him since his departure.
The Dry is a well-paced and engaging thriller that successfully juggles various characters, plot lines, and time periods with so much grace one might not notice just how much the film has going on. Although secrets spill out and skeletons of the past are dug up, The Dry avoids feeling soapy or melodramatic. Instead, the must-see Australian film thoughtfully wallows in the decay and devastation that humans can arrive to when living in isolation and under pressure.
10 ‘Animal Kingdom’ (2010)
Joshua (James Frecheville) is only seventeen when his mother dies from a drug overdose. Not quite a child but not yet an adult, Joshua is put in the care of his estranged grandmother Janine (Jacki Weaver), the head of the family and its criminal empire. Despite his young age, Joshua becomes entangled in the criminal undertakings of his uncles and hounded by the ever-present police.
No film better embodies the trends and styles that dominated 2010s Australian cinema quite like Animal Kingdom. David Michôd‘s film is quietly contemplative, slow-burning, and interested in exploring a slice of life (a very grim slice). Despite being quintessentially Australian in its vibe, Animal Kingdom found global success and secured Jacki Weaver a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
9 ‘Insomnia’ (1997)
During the summer months, the sun rarely sets in the northern reaches of Norway. The eternal daylight compounds the paranoia and pressure upon Detective Jonas (Stellan Skarsgård), who has traveled from Oslo to a small town that is reeling after the murder of a teenage girl.
Insomnia knows that the human mind is fragile and very much uses that notion as the foundation for its grim mystery. Unable to sleep in the never-ending daytime, Jonas begins to lose track of what is real and what isn’t. Despite the ever-present sunlight, he couldn’t be more in the dark. This contrast is striking and enthralling and is certainly part of why Christopher Nolan remade this film in 2002.
Watch on The Criterion Channel
8 ‘The Guilty’ (2018)
Asger (Jakob Cedergren) spends his evening working in an emergency call center. Despite the valuable work he’s doing, Asger is indignant. Normally a street cop, he has been temporarily demoted pending an internal investigation of his conduct. He believes the role is below him until a call from a woman in danger changes the course of his shift.
It’s astounding how much a talented filmmaker can fit into one room. The Guilty is claustrophobic by design and is all set in the emergency call center where Asger works. The audience remains trapped with Asger as panic overcomes him and the secrets of his past come undone. While it may be light on locations, The Guilty is no lightweight, as it masterfully weaves together a grueling and tense criminal mystery with the dark personal history of its protagonist.
7 ‘Headhunters’ (2011)
Roger (Aksel Hennie) has a gorgeous house, a beautiful wife (Synnøve Macody Lund), and a flashy job as a corporate headhunter. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough for Roger, who boosts his income with a casual side hustle: stealing art from his wealthy clients. When Roger meets wealthy art lover Clas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), he assumes he’s found his next mark, but so does Clas.
Part thriller, part dark-comedy, Headhunters uses its dry yet playful Scandinavian outlook to its advantage. The hapless protagonist and endlessly unlucky series of events that land him in hot water will appeal to fans of the Coen brothers. In contrast, the sleek look, action set pieces, and heist mechanics will certainly appeal to everyone else.
6 ‘Funny Games’ (1997)
A family steals away to their lake house in the country for a little holiday. While relaxing in their gorgeous home, the family receives two visitors; Peter (Frank Giering) and Paul (Arno Frisch). Although they seem polite at first, the two men gradually start pushing the limits of good manners and start picking at the edges of the social contract. What starts as a strangeness the family cannot put their finger on ends up spiraling out of control into a terrifying home invasion.
A film so nice, director Michael Haneke made it twice. While Haneke’s original 1997 version of Funny Games garnered acclaim and left its mark on Austrian cinema, the Palm d’Or winning director wrote and directed a second English-language version of the film in 2007. Despite the star-studded remake, Haneke’s original film makes it clear that Haneke is an icon in the industry in any language.
5 ‘Victoria’ (2015)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Victoria (Laia Costa) is a young Spanish woman who has just moved to Berlin. After a night of partying, Victoria hits it off with a group of men she meets near a nightclub. In real-time, with no cuts, viewers are invited to watch an innocent evening spin wildly out of control with unpredictable consequences.
Where Victoria starts is so wildly different from where it ends that it is hard to believe the entire film was shot in real time over a single take. And yet, that is exactly the case in this German film that is as technically incredible as it is nail-bitingly tense.
4 ‘I Saw the Devil’ (2010)
National Intelligence Service agent Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun) begins a vicious tit-for-tat with a brutal serial killer after he learns that his wife is one of the killer’s victims. Despite his history in law enforcement, Soo-hyeon does more than blur the lines between right and wrong and arguably stoops to the level of his nemesis in the name of revenge.
Strikingly beautiful yet extremely macabre, I Saw the Devil is not for the faint of heart. The incredible performances, delicately considered cinematography, and stomach-turning content make this South Korean film from Jee-woon Kim unmissable for fans of the genre.
3 ‘The Hunt’ (2012)
Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) is a central part of his small town in Denmark. Known to everyone in the community, Lucas is beloved by his neighbors and the children he nurtures as a kindergarten teacher. This love and respect quickly falters after Lucas is accused of a crime. Without firm evidence, the small Danish town is torn apart by rumor, assumption, and gossip.
Before the pair collaborated on the Oscar-winning film Another Round, Mads Mikkelsen and Thomas Vinterberg partnered on The Hunt. The film is slight and broody and benefits greatly from being this way. By exploring reputation, accusation, and judgment in such a small way, The Hunt leaves its viewers with big questions and a lot of work to do once the credits roll.
2 ‘Oldboy’ (2003)
A disturbing South Korean thriller with an infamous twist, director Park Chan-wook‘s Oldboy is a notoriously unsettling must see for fans of the genre. It follows the unfortunate experiences of Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), a man who is mysteriously abducted and held in a hotel room for over a decade before he is just as randomly released. He eventually embarks on a quest for revenge against whoever is responsible for his capture, and finds himself unexpectedly falling in love with someone he meets along the way, Mi-do (Kang Hye-jung).
Wonderfully choreographed action scenes, a well-written and twisty plot, and fantastic performances from its protagonist and main antagonist are just a few things viewers can expect from the film. It’s best seen knowing as little as possible about its genuinely shocking revelation towards the end.
1 ‘Parasite’ (2019)
The South Korean film that turned director Bong Joon-ho into a household name, Parasite is a masterpiece that needs no introduction. It has a deceptively simple premise: it revolves around a poor family’s attempt at being employed by a wealthy family, whose members have no idea they’re all related. They soon discover something shocking in the wealthy family’s home.
The award-winning movie rightly became an international phenomenon when it first premiered, and was praised for its incisive critique of societal norms and commentary on equality. Those who still haven’t seen it and its infamous twist may want to delve into the instant classic as soon as possible.
