Vampires (1998)
[3] I love John Carpenter. I'd even go so far as to say he's one of my favorite directors. But only up through 1988's They Live. For some reason, nothing Carpenter has done in the '90s or beyond connects with…
Next of Kin (1989)
[4] Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing, Ghost) stars as a hillbilly-turned-Chicago cop who holds his Kentucky relatives at bay after the youngest sibling (Bill Paxton) is killed by a mobster (Adam Baldwin). When one of the brothers (Liam Neeson) sets out…
Red Planet (2000)
[6] Val Kilmer headlines this serviceable sci-fi survival story of astronauts who become stranded on Mars. As their oxygen depletes and their damaged robot accidentally enters 'war mode' and hunts them down, their commander in orbit (The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss)…
Conspiracy Theory (1997)
[7] Superstars Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts co-star in this psychological thriller from director Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, Superman) and writer Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Mystic River). Gibson plays a deeply paranoid and broken New York taxi driver who peddles…
Westworld (1973)
[6] Before Jurassic Park, author Michael Crichton hit it big with another sci-fi thriller set in an amusement park -- 1973's Westworld, a film he also directed. Richard Benjamin and James Brolin star as wealthy guests at a Wild West-themed…
The Counselor (2013)
[9] Michael Fassbender (Shame, X-Men: First Class) stars as an El Paso lawyer who reaps the whirlwind when he tangles with Mexican drug lords in this Ridley Scott film penned by author Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy's screenplay will test the patience…
Fury (1936)
[8] In director Fritz Lang's first English-language film, Spencer Tracy stars as a man nearly lynched and presumed dead for a crime he didn't commit. His grieving fiancée, played by Sylvia Sidney, soon learns he's not only still alive, but…
Man Hunt (1941)
[5] Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M) directs Walter Pidgeon as a big game hunter pursued by Nazis after attempting to kill Hitler in the lead-up to World War II. Man Hunt is a beautifully shot film featuring a terrific roster of…
Dial M for Murder (1954)
[6] Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend) hires a man to murder Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. The film, based on a stage play by Frederick Knott, opens with Milland hiring an old college acquaintance (Anthony Dawson)…
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
[9] Here we have a horror film so well executed, it swept the Academy Awards. Anthony Hopkins (The Lion in Winter) and Jodie Foster (The Accused) each deliver career-defining performances as cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter and neophyte FBI agent…