Thriller

[6] There were a few dozen Godzilla movies released between the original in 1954 and this one, but The Return of Godzilla is a reboot of sorts. It takes a slightly more serious tone than its predecessors and acts as a direct sequel to the ’54 film. The lowdown: Japan doesn’t want to believe it, but Godzilla has been resurrected from the ocean depths and …

[7] Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) stars in this posh, claustrophobic horror flick that pits bourgeoise guests at an elite dining establishment against the head chef (Ralph Fiennes), whose multi-course menu is designed for a sinister purpose. The plates begin somewhat confusing but interesting, but soon escalate with exposed secrets, exhibitionist suicide, and a promise from Fiennes that everyone will, in fact, be dead by the …

[4] M. Night Shyamalan, the once celebrated big-budget thriller maker of films like The Sixth Sense and Signs, has been relegated to low-budget horror movies for several years. I keep hoping that his budgetary confines will result in a burst of innovation, but that hasn’t happened yet. Knock at the Cabin is a small ensemble, one-location, claustrophobic thriller with a promising premise based on a …

[6] Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women) stars as a 1950s happy housewife living in an experimental desert paradise where the women cook and clean by day, host parties by night, and have sex with their husbands in-between. But she has a hard time shaking certain dreams and memories, especially after witnessing one of her fellow happy housewives commit violent suicide. Much to the consternation of …

[8] Barbarian is about the worst Airbnb rental in the history of the universe. Writer/director Zach Cregger builds suspense from the get-go, with co-stars Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård giving convincing performances as strangers double-booked at a house in the middle of a highly sketchy Detroit neighborhood. They agree to share the house, but then strange things start happening. A secret door is discovered in …

[7] Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery headline this amped-up action thriller from reliable hit-makers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer (producers of Crimson Tide, Days of Thunder, and Top Gun). Cage plays an elite chemist who is paired with Connery’s ex-con escape artist to infiltrate the abandoned prison island of Alcatraz to stop a disgruntled marine general (Ed Harris) from releasing a deadly nerve gas into …

[6] Stephen King wrote this three-tale horror anthology centered around a cat who wanders in and out of high-stakes situations. In the first, James Woods stars as a man who joins a mysterious program called Quitters Inc that has an excellent reputation for helping people quit smoking. The secret to their success becomes ominously clear when Woods learns each and every one of his infractions …

[5] Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart star in this overly-talky stage play adaptation about disparate characters whose lives intersect when a notorious criminal on the lam (Bogart) takes them all hostage at a gas station diner in the middle of the desert. Director Archie Mayo conjures terrific ambience with the dust-blown stage set, especially during the climactic shoot-out when the only light source …

[6] Michael Douglas plays a secret service agent framed as a mole trying to assassinate the president. While the secret service, led by Kiefer Sutherland, chase him down, Douglas tries to prove his innocence by identifying the real mole before the president is assassinated. The Sentinel plays like a mash-up of The Fugitive and The Manchurian Candidate, but it moves briskly and confidently toward a …

[6] Hot off her Oscar win for Network, Faye Dunaway headlines this thriller about a controversial photographer whose focus on sex and violence makes her a sensation in New York’s advertising world. Dunaway’s title character begins having visions of murder — from the killer’s direct point-of-view. One by one, models and associates in her career begin dying, stabbed in the eyes by the mysterious killer. …

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