Best film killer thrillers of all time revealed - is your scariest in the list?

They are edge-of-the-seat viewing. Nail-biting and
hair-raising. Suspense-laden thrillers have been a
favourite of films fans since the early days of cinema.
To mark a new season of the genre at the BFI this
autumn, we look at the best thrillers of all time...
Double Indemnity - 1944
A glorious tale of greed, lust and betrayal, this
fiendish film noir set the template for decades ahead.
PROMOTED STORIES
Directed by the legendary Billy Wilder, it was a box
office smash and nominated for seven Oscars.
Barbara Stanwyck, as the femme fatale, seduces Fred
MacMurray’s insurance salesman, pictured, into killing
her husband.
With Edward G Robinson, the three were paid a third
of the film’s £500,000 budget.
Notorious - 1946
A debonair British actor playing a spy, a gorgeous girl,
an exotic location and the deadly pursuit for a cache
of uranium...
Alfred Hitchcock ’s classic was a huge influence on
the James Bond series. A ticking clock of post-war
nuclear paranoia, spook Cary Grant seduces Ingrid
Bergman, above, to foil a Nazi plot.
The Asphalt Jungle - 1950
Directed by John Huston, this tale of backstabbing
thieves is a pulse-quickening look at moral corruption.
Marilyn Monroe , at 24, shimmies through a brief
appearance on her way to mega-stardom as the moll
to a lawyer who finances a jewellery store heist.
A big plus is the acting of Sterling Hayden.
Night of the Hunter - 1955
Loathed by critics, ignored by audiences and the Brit
director Charles Laughton never made another movie.
But in the years since, this southern gothic nightmare
has been re-evaluated and is now hailed as a
masterpiece.
An attack on religious hypocrisy, Robert Mitchum is an
evil, money obsessed preacher pursuing Shelley
Winters’ kids.
Point Blank - 1967
A counter-culture critique of the rat race where huge
financial re- wards are always one promotion away
and crime has gone corporate.
Angie Dickinson stars with Lee Marvin at his
hardboiled best as an ex-con chasing $93k from the
mob.
All the President's Men - 1979
The fall of President Nixon and the breakdown of
trust in the political system was the catalyst for
Hollywood to create a series of intelligent, gripping,
socially aware, critically lauded thrillers.
This is the third instalment of director Alan J Pakula’s
“paranoia trilogy”. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford
star as the Watergate journalists.
Body Heat - 1981
Kathleen Turner was thrust from TV soap star to
sultry big-screen siren in this erotic thriller, purring
the line: “You aren’t too smart, are you? I like that in
a man.”
In this update of Double Indemnity, Turner is the
trophy wife who seduces William Hurt into murdering
her husband.
Graphic tendencies also infected horror films, which
were given a big budget nip and tuck with this all-
consuming monster success.
Silence of the Lambs - 1991
Opposite FBI agent Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins
was catapulted into the big time for his portrayal of
cannibalistic serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter.
Fava beans and chianti will never taste the same any
more.
Basic Instinct - 1992
Over a decade of raunchy fare followed Body Heat –
with films such as Fatal Attraction – reaching a
crotch-flashing climax here.
Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, above, and
the appropriately named Jeanne Tripplehorn, it is
controversial due to its rape scene and exploitative
treatment of lesbian characters.
Get Out - 2017
This year’s mini- budget breakout hit is a sharp story
of a mixed race couple caught up in a missing
persons murder mystery.
Starring Brit Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams it
offers an honest and uncomfortable view of the world.
PROMOTED STORIES
Best film killer thrillers of
all time revealed - is your
scariest in the list?
Double Indemnity is a tale of greed, lust and betrayal
(Image: BFI)
LOADING
Remember 'The Human Barbie'?
Well, You Should See Her Now
IcePop
Seattle, Wash
Company Is D
Industry
EverQuote Ins
Notorious starring Cary Grant
LOADING
ADVERTISEMENT
The Asphalt Jungle is a tale of backstabbing
LOADING
Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters in scene from
film Night of the Hunter (Image: Mirrorpix)
LOADING
Angie Dickinson in the film Point Blank (Image: BBC)
LOADING
All the President's Men is about the fall of President
Nixon (Image: Getty)
LOADING
Body Heat catapulted Kathleen Turner into the
limelight (Image: Rex Features)
LOADING
Jodie Foster as an FBI agent in The Silence Of The
Lambs (Image: Rank)
LOADING
Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (Image: Rex Features)
Get Out will be released this year.
BFI Thriller, runs from Friday, October 20 to
Sunday, December 10 at BFI Southbank, online on
BFI Player, and at selected UK venues

Tweet