::THRILLING TV MOVIES::
TV movies are usually sub-par in comparison to their feature film brethren, but every once in a while a TV production rises above its television constraints and spins a thrilling yarn that would rival any cinematic endeavor.
[LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER]
OTHER LISTS:
CAMMANDO (MEN-ON-A-MISSION) THRILLERS
CON THRILLERS
COURTROOM THRILLERS
CULT EUROPEAN SUPERHERO MOVIES
DARK COMEDIES WITH PESKY CORPSES, BOTCHED KIDNAPPINGS, MURDEROUS BLUNDERS & ACCIDENTAL DEATHS
DEALS WITH THE DEVIL
DINNER PARTIES FROM HELL
DON'T PERFORM THE AUTOPSY! I'M NOT DEAD!
GOTHIC HORROR
HEIST THRILLERS
HEROIC BLOODSHED + BULLET BALLET + GUN-FU
HOLLYWOOD GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
INNOCENT FUGITIVE ON-THE-RUN THRILLERS
ITALIAN GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES + IMPOSSIBLE CRIMES
LO-FI SCI-FI
ONE ROOM THRILLERS
PARALLEL UNIVERSES, ALTERNATE REALITIES, FEVERISH DREAMS
POLICE PROCEDURALS
PRISON ESCAPE THRILLERS
RURAL-COUNTRY THRILLERS
THEOLOGICAL FILMS
THRILLING SHORT FILMS
THRILLING TV EPISODES
THRILLING TV MOVIES
UNKNOWN + UNAVAILABLE THRILLERS
VANISHED PERSON THRILLERS
[LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER]
OTHER LISTS:
CAMMANDO (MEN-ON-A-MISSION) THRILLERS
CON THRILLERS
COURTROOM THRILLERS
CULT EUROPEAN SUPERHERO MOVIES
DARK COMEDIES WITH PESKY CORPSES, BOTCHED KIDNAPPINGS, MURDEROUS BLUNDERS & ACCIDENTAL DEATHS
DEALS WITH THE DEVIL
DINNER PARTIES FROM HELL
DON'T PERFORM THE AUTOPSY! I'M NOT DEAD!
GOTHIC HORROR
HEIST THRILLERS
HEROIC BLOODSHED + BULLET BALLET + GUN-FU
HOLLYWOOD GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
INNOCENT FUGITIVE ON-THE-RUN THRILLERS
ITALIAN GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS)
LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES + IMPOSSIBLE CRIMES
LO-FI SCI-FI
ONE ROOM THRILLERS
PARALLEL UNIVERSES, ALTERNATE REALITIES, FEVERISH DREAMS
POLICE PROCEDURALS
PRISON ESCAPE THRILLERS
RURAL-COUNTRY THRILLERS
THEOLOGICAL FILMS
THRILLING SHORT FILMS
THRILLING TV EPISODES
THRILLING TV MOVIES
UNKNOWN + UNAVAILABLE THRILLERS
VANISHED PERSON THRILLERS
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34 titles
- DirectorTom ToelleStarsJörg PlevaSuzanne RoquetteDieter Thomas HeckA candidate in a game show is hunted by three men. He will get a Million DMark, if he survives for a week; the hunters will get the money, if they can kill the candidate. The audience of the show is watching the transmissions of twenty camera teams filming the hunt. The showmaster appeals to the TV-viewers to help either the candidate or the hunters, whomever they want.MY TWO CENTS: Falls into the same, small, specialized sub-genre of thrillers where humans hunt other humans on a televised game show just as in THE RUNNING MAN, THE 10TH VICTIM, LE PRIX DU DANGER, and SERIES 7 (yes, *four* other times); happily, this one is the best of the bunch. Admittedly slightly dated in some aspects, the "cinéma vérité" documentary style lends an air of authenticity to the proceedings that gives it a raw, visceral punch. In addition, the faux commercials are wonderfully satirical.
MY RATING: 8 - DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsBarbara EdenLarry HagmanJohn RubinsteinA disillusioned homemaker on a vacation in the woods is disturbed by her husband continually trying to get her to come home--and, more ominously, a mysterious howling at night.MY TWO CENTS: A delightful mystery with many enigmatic elements, the chief being the titular howling in the woods. The answer which weaves together all the cryptic questions is satisfactory, though not the shocker we want; though I'll take a good-not-great revelation over an underwhelming one any day of the week.
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDennis WeaverJacqueline ScottEddie FirestoneA business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.MY TWO CENTS: The iconic TV movie which launched the career of Steven Spielberg. If you were to watch only one film on this list, let it be this one; it is the definition of a thriller.
MY RATING: 9 - DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsDarren McGavinCarol LynleySimon OaklandAn abrasive Las Vegas newspaper reporter investigates a series of murders committed by a vampire.MY TWO CENTS: Darren McGavin is delightful in this television film which ultimately led to a TV series with the same name and star. Followed by a sequel which, while good in its own right, mimics the first too closely and lacks the "bite" of this one.
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorPeter SasdyStarsMichael BryantJane AsherIain CuthbertsonA research team from an electronics company moves into an old Victorian house to start work on finding a new recording medium. When team member Jill Greeley witnesses a ghost, team director Peter Brock decides not only to analyse the apparition, which he believes is a psychic impression trapped in a stone wall (dubbed a "stone tape"), but also to exorcise it--with terrifying results.MY TWO CENTS: The sci-fi elements interspersed with the horror elements is somewhat wonky, but the ghost story is certainly unique and the atmosphere is chilling.
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorJerrold FreedmanStarsRobert CulpEli WallachMichael C. GwynneTwo scientists suspect that there is someone other than their research primates inhabiting their polar station.MY TWO CENTS: What a setting: two scientists snowbound in an outpost in the middle of the arctic wasteland; think THE THING and you won't be too far off with what atmosphere is created. A wonderful air of mystery and dread, though the revelation is not the shocker we want (as is often the case).
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorPhilip LeacockStarsCloris LeachmanRoss MartinNed BeattyStranded at a roadside diner in the desert, a woman searches for her husband who has mysteriously disappeared from property.MY TWO CENTS: Wonderful, tricky thriller that served as the inspiration for the feature film BREAKDOWN with Kurt Russel; endlessly surprising.
MY RATING: 8 - DirectorJohn NewlandStarsKim DarbyJim HuttonBarbara AndersonA young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.MY TWO CENTS: Much better than Guillermo del Toro's remake given it's restraint and the ambiguity of "is-it-in-her-head-or-is-it-real" the film walks. The effects are good (for a 70s television production) but the film lacks the scares it seems to be trying to conjure up. Regardless, this creature-feature is quite unique.
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorHeinz SchirkStarsArno AssmannDieter HallervordenHanna SeiffertMY RATING: NOT VIEWED
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsTuesday WeldJoan HackettSam WaterstonThe wife and mistress of the abusive headmaster of a boy's school plot and carry out his murder. They dump his body in the murky swimming pool at the school and await for it to surface. After several days, some unusual circumstances point to clues that he is not dead after all.MY RATING: NOT VIEWED
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsRobert BurtonJohn KarlenGeorge GaynesThree bizarre horror stories, all of which star Karen Black in four different roles playing four tormented women.MY TWO CENTS: Anthology horror film which is noteworthy for its final segment where a Zuni doll terrorizes a woman in her apartment. Though this tale is memorable, the other two tales are relatively banal in nature.
MY RATING: 6 - DirectorGlenn JordanStarsJack KlugmanElizabeth AshleyJames FranciscusDaniel Corban's wife Elizabeth disappeared after they had a fight. Then she shows up, yet he insists that the woman isn't actually his wife.MY TWO CENTS: Crackerjack suspense yarn form the writer of CHARADE that twist and turns constantly, confounding expectations right and left. This screenplay is a revelation... but if it wasn't for the horribly flat direction, this would have been a real winner! This one screams for a feature film remake!
MY RATING: 8.5 - DirectorDan CurtisStarsEd Begley Jr.E.J. AndréAnn DoranThree horror stories about a vintage car that transports its driver back to 1926, the mistress of an old Victorian mansion who is scared of a vampire and a mother tormented by her dead son who she has brought back to life.MY TWO CENTS: Another horror anthology film ala TRILOGY OF TERROR which suffers the same problem: the final segment is delightfully creepy, but its preceding two segments are once again relatively banal.
MY RATING: 6 - StarsBette DavisDavid AckroydRosanna ArquetteA young couple moves to a quiet New England village, only to soon find themselves mixed up in mysterious rituals.MY RATING: NOT VIEWED
- DirectorRobert DayStarsRichard AndersonKatharine RossHal HolbrookAllison, the unfaithful wife of a famous mentalist with a heart problem, wants her lover to try to kill her husband by scaring him to death, but the whole thing goes downhill.MY TWO CENTS: Crackerjack psychological thriller with a bevy of twists that constantly surprise. Richard Levinson and William Link were a wonderful writing partnership, creating COLUOMBO and MURDER SHE WROTE, but this is their crowning achievement.
MY RATING: 8.5 - DirectorPeter WeirStarsJudy MorrisIvar KantsRobert ColebyA young couple, living in a campus apartment complex, are repeatedly harassed by an eccentric plumber, who subjects them to a series of bizarre mind games while making unnecessary repairs to their bathroom.MY TWO CENTS: Peter Weir directs this Australian TV movie that is both a psychological thriller and a dark comedy, causing the viewer to feel uncomfortably tense and strangely bemused in equal measures. A rather wonderful picture which needs to be rediscovered.
MY RATING: 8 - StarsDavid SoulJames MasonLance KerwinA novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.MY TWO CENTS: Incredibly popular and I still haven't gotten around to watching it...
MY RATING: NOT VIEWED - DirectorFrank De FelittaStarsCharles DurningRobert F. LyonsClaude Earl JonesIn a small Southern town, four vigilantes wrongfully execute a mentally-challenged man, but after the court sets them free mysterious "accidents" begin to kill them off one by one.MY RATING: NOT VIEWED
- DirectorGeorge SchaeferStarsGeorge SegalTrevor HowardRobert MorleyRetired Lawyers amuse themselves by prosecuting, defending and judging a hapless traveler.MY TWO CENTS: A stage-bound thriller with undertones of humor, this delightfully tense standoff is filled with wonderful performances by all involved that keeps the viewer entranced from beginning to end. Another gem that is sadly buried in obscurity.
MY RATING: 8.5 - DirectorDavid GreeneStarsRobert PrestonLynn RedgravePatrick MacneeA year after his fiancée's death, a playwright schedules a rehearsal for his new play, which proves to be a trap for her killer.MY TWO CENTS: It's hard to surprise the viewer in a whodunit as we all know that the killer is the least likely suspect, but Richard Levinson and William Link have done the impossible - the revelation in the end is indeed a surprise! Mix in some terrific performances, namely from the great Robert Preston, and this is one of the better whodunits you'll see.
MY RATING: 7.5 - DirectorMick JacksonStarsKaren MeagherReece DinsdaleDavid BrierlyThe effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization.MY TWO CENTS: Whoa. Ranks just behind Peter Watkin's THE WAR GAME as the most harrowing depiction of the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. This is not light viewing.
MY RATING: 8.5 - DirectorArch NicholsonStarsSean GarlickRachel WardElaine CusickAfter being kidnapped for ransom by four criminals, a schoolteacher and her students flee into a cave and build fortifications in anticipation of a decisive battle with their captors.MY TWO CENTS: An Aussie TV thriller that is memorable for its rather barbaric conclusion that has echoes of THE LORD OF FLIES - the ending may lose some viewers, though others will take hold of it as a scathingly satirical critique of the human condition.
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorDavid GreeneStarsAnthony HopkinsBlythe DannerSwoosie KurtzWhile an unfaithful criminal lawyer considers killing his wife, his spouse develops some schemes of her own.MY TWO CENTS: Richard Levinson and William Link are back with another twisty tale about a man attempting to pull off the perfect murder. Wonderful from beginning to end, constantly surprising with a fantastic central performance from Anthony Hopkins, but one must admit that the ending is underwhelming as it ends rather abruptly on a bizarre note.
MY RATING: 7.5 - DirectorDavid GreeneStarsMike FarrellMargot KidderFred GwynneA man honeymooning with his new wife in the Rockies reports his wife's disappearance to the police. Hours later, a strange woman escorted by the local priest claims to be his missing wife, despite the man's inability to recognize her.MY TWO CENTS: A remake of ONE OF MY WIVES IS MISSING (or another adaptation of its source play) that surpasses the former with superior direction and performances, but the screenplay lacks the effectiveness of Peter Stone's writing (especially in the climax). Someday, someone will take the best from both films and make the definitive version of this truly terrific tale.
MY RATING: 8 - DirectorHerbert WiseStarsAdrian RawlinsBernard HeptonDavid DakerA lawyer travels to a small seaside town to settle the estate of a recently deceased woman, but soon becomes ensnared in something much more sinister.MY TWO CENTS: A real chiller. Haunting, atmospheric, and wonderfully restrained making the shocks all the more effective.
MY RATING: 8 - DirectorIvan PasserStarsMark HarmonMimi RogersPaul GleasonGetting nowhere with LAPD, a wife hires a P.I. to find her missing husband. Does he want to be found? After the initial report, the P.I. continues, wanting to see more of the cute wife.MY RATING: NOT VIEWED
- DirectorLesley ManningStarsMichael ParkinsonSarah GreeneMike SmithIn a "live" broadcast on Halloween night, a BBC team investigate a reported poltergeist in an ordinary London home.MY TWO CENTS: Despite being slightly dated, this chiller is remains terrifying, with an ending that in some ways recall the horrifying finale of the Spanish film [REC]. This one is a shocker.
MY RATING: 8.5 - StarsMichael KitchenSean GallagherCaroline CatzThis the original British version of the 2000 American remake starring Bill Pullman.MY TWO CENTS: Michael Kitchen gives a great performance as the slimy attorney and the twists are often clever, though strain credibility. Direction is fairly flat, unfortunately, especially in comparison to the feature film remake by Anthony Waller, though characterizations are more complex in this version.
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorChris GerolmoStarsStephen ReaDonald SutherlandMax von SydowDuring the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.MY TWO CENTS: A fascinating topic that explores how a serial killer was tragically ignored for years due to the blindness of an oppressive government. Unfortunately, the direction is flat (as the case with most TV movies) and holds it back from exhibiting its full potential.
MY RATING: 7 - DirectorPaul SeedStarsMartin ClunesJames BolamGeorge PottsEdward fancies himself to be a cunning manipulator, but is so tragically self-deluded that he can't see he's being used by his wealthy friends as a sex-tool and a dupe. Banality ensues.MY TWO CENTS: Martin Clunes gives a gloriously slimy and devilish performance which is fortunately matched with clever twists and turns. It lacks a certain je ne sais quoi, I suppose, but it's a good one.
MY RATING: 7.5 - DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsKoji YakushoJun FubukiTsuyoshi KusanagiA psychic housewife and her husband become burdened with a kidnapped girl who escaped her assailant. Junko will not let her husband call the hospital or the police for purely selfish reasons. The girl dies while still in their house and her ghost begins to haunt not only Junko but also her husband, Sato (Koji Yakusho).MY TWO CENTS: A successful remake of SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON. While the direction may not be as sumptuous, the characters and performances capture the tragically somber nature of the original, with a little bit of added horror in the end.
MY RATING: 8 - DirectorSarah HardingStarsFay RipleyHelen McCroryRon CookRose and Antonia are two old friends who meet up again after the second world war. Unhappy in their relationships, they plan to 'accidentally' murder each others husbands.MY RATING: NOT VIEWED
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsHiroshi MikamiMayu TsurutaShirô SanoAfter a convenience store robbery, three unidentified men hold a group of people hostage in a hospital. Inspector Ishida and Captain Tohno handle the negotiations while one of their colleagues, Lt. Ando, tries to find out why the men decided to take the hospital hostage. Through flashbacks, relevant information is revealed to the audience. When the negotiations are finished, most things seem to be fine... until they lose track of the criminals. Then, the story unveils from a different perspective, its roots in feelings of love and vengeance.MY TWO CENTS: A twisty hostage-negotiation tale that is truly surprising, but I must admit that there may be one twist too many with all the constant reversals which seems to occur every few minutes.
MY RATING: 7.5 - DirectorChristian FaureStarsEric CantonaStéphane FreissHélène de FougerollesRichard, a lonely, alcoholic, down-on-his-luck, divorced screenwriter, invites Jack, a mysterious vagabond, to stay at his woodland home while a serial killer preys on young women in the area.MY RATING: NOT VIEWED