Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Bark louder, little dog.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

People are complicated. Love is not.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Infrastructure week. at last.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

This really is a full service blog.

You cannot shame the shameless.

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Reader Interactions

154Comments

  2. 2.

    Haydnseek

    Hi John – Try a film titled “Splice.” I caught it on HBO a year or so ago, and it still creeps me out.

  5. 5.

    zmullls

    “Pontypool” It was recommended to me and I really liked it. Gets a little silly in the middle act. Related to zombie genre but not specifically a zombie film. Intelligently written and well acted by the small cast. Almost entirely takes place in a tiny rural radio station (in Canada) during a blizzard. Very intense, and not overlong either (96 minutes)

  10. 10.

    gussie

    Oldboy.

    I want an action comedy. Or light sci-fi. I might have to watch Sixth Element again …

  11. 11.

    Sadie

    Try “The Bothersome Man” (I think it’s still streaming). It’s a Danish-language film, with subtitles, but it’s amazing.

  12. 12.

    Scotius

    “The Awakening”, a ghost / suspense movie set in an English boarding school just after World War I.

  14. 14.

    Haydnseek

    Maybe not what would be typically thought of as a thriller, “Once Upon a Time In Mexico” is intense, mind-bendy as hell, and frequently funny. The great cast doesn’t hurt.

  17. 17.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    The Yellow Sea A good South Korean thriller. For TV fans I am watching Killing Time very interesting Australian series. I have been watching Spiral the French version of Law and Order, season 2 has been the most intense.

  24. 24.

    michelle

    OT and Cole just delete this if it is too much of a downer. I’m gonna have my pup put down tomorrow. I just thought her 5 year companion dog might go with and see her one last time. I’m not sure it is the right thing to do. He might react badly since he hasn’t seen her in a week, but he might like to see her one more time. I’m torn. Poor boy acts as if he is the next to disappear.

  26. 26.

    protothad

    OK, not sure if campy super hero action flick qualifies as a ‘thriller’, but I am going to once again recommend “Black Lightning”. Yes, its in Russian with English subtitles, but don’t let that scare you away… this movie is pure eye candy and action packed fun.

  27. 27.

    Robert

    I was coming in here to say Pontypool but I see someone else beat me to it. Yes, Pontypool. A non-gory (though there are some oozing characters later on) zombie thriller about the power of media to influence behavior and the danger of group think.

    Mother is another good option. It’s a gritty crime thriller about an elderly mother trying to prove her developmentally delayed adult son didn’t commit a murder after he confessed to it. Excellent acting and a really clever screenplay. I don’t remember any overt gore.

    As for the genre question, you’re not alone. My area of expertise is horror. I get cravings for psycho-biddy, evil child, nunsploitation, surreal, etc. or even specific producers (Val Lewton), directors (Browning), or actors (Bette Davis, Angela Bettis).

  32. 32.

    JPL

    Watch the British version of the House of Cards, that’s chilling enough for a Friday night.

  33. 33.

    Patrick Thompson

    Headhunters – Norwegian, twisty, good empty calories. Plus Game of Thrones crossover casting.

  35. 35.

    AliceBlue

    Picnic at Hanging Rock.

    Might not be your cup of tea since the characters are students at a girls’ school in Australia, but it’s definitely mind-bendy.

  36. 36.

    Funky-tut

    Try “Exam”.

    It’s a British one-room, one-set thriller. People competing for a high stakes executive position.
    Very psychologically scary. Interesting characters, not always subtle, but plausible.

    I loved it.

  37. 37.

    Mike E

    I adore Super 8, an after school special on a large budget.

    In Bruges was a surprise.

    See The Grifters if you haven’t yet.

  39. 39.

    cmorenc

    I suggest “Looper” a fun, mind-bending Bruce Willis sci-fi flick, about people in the past (“loopers”) being hired assasins to kill people from 30 years in the future, except the people to be executed are sent back 30 years to a spot where a “looper” is waiting, and gold or silver bars are attached to the victim’s back as the method of compensating “loopers”. The fun begins when Bruce Willis (who turns out to have been a “looper” himself) gets captured and sent back in a time machine 30 years in the past, to be killed by a looper: who turns out to be the 30-years younger himself! The mind-bending fun doesn’t stop there….and yes, there’s some classic Bruce Willis action mixed in.

  40. 40.

    Haydnseek

    You might enjoy “Pacific Heights.” Very well written, stylish. Builds tension beautifully.

  44. 44.

    wonkie

    @michelle: That’s really sad, Michelle. I’ve been through the death of a pet a few times. I’m sorry you have to say goodby. I hope in a while you will be able to remember the love and thegood times.

  45. 45.

    Todd

    I’m watching Trailer Park Boys, which looks funny.

    Did Trek Wednesday, it was awesome.

    For Cole’s stated desire, count me as another vote for In Bruges.

  48. 48.

    Bettencourt

    PARALLAX VIEW is amazing — if you haven’t already seen it, rent it now.

    I don’t know if it fits your sub-genre, but I may be the only big fan of BAD COMPANY, a really dark mid-90s noir about industrial espionage, starring Ellen Barkin, Laurence Fishburne and Frank Langella, and, strangely enough, released by Disney subsidiary Touchstone (but don’t rent that other BAD COMPANY thriller, the one with Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins — feh!)

  50. 50.

    Bettencourt

    And if you want something non-gory but in the JAWS vein, I highly recommend the Australian thriller ROGUE, starring Michael Vartan and Radha Mitchell (with, in supporting roles, Sam Worthington and Mia Wasikowska).

    And while we’re on the subject of Radha Mitchell (but more in the horror vein), the remake of THE CRAZIES with her and Timothy Olyphant is first-rate.

  54. 54.

    Bettencourt

    Sorry to monopolize the thread, but I second the recommendations for MOTHER, THE AWAKENING and LOOPER.

    And THE HOST, a Korean film from the director of MOTHER, is also wonderful.

  56. 56.

    Mason

    Kill List was great. Very well acted and very intense. Starts like a small British crime flick, about two ex-soldiers working as hitmen who get hired for a three-contract job, but slowly becomes more and more ominous and crazy until finally you are completely on the other side of the looking glass.

  57. 57.

    Violet

    If you haven’t seen Sexy Beast with Ben Kingsley you are missing out. It might fit into what you want, although it’s not horror. Crime movie with violence, but Kingsley’s performance is mind-bendy for sure. He was nominated for an Oscar but lost to Jim Broadbent for his performance in “Iris”. Broadbent was amazing in that, but Kingsley is unforgettable. If you haven’t seen it, watch it.

  58. 58.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    Oh, and The Mothman Prophecies. It sounded ludicrous but gave me a serious case of the willies for years after. Literally the creepiest totally nonviolent movie I have ever seen. Intensely suspenseful and perfectly paced. Scared the crap out of me.

  62. 62.

    Tokyokie

    @Ultraviolet Thunder: I second Hodejegerne (Headhunters). Not sure it’s graphically intense or mind-bending, but the Australian noir Animal Kingdom is certainly the most upsetting thriller I’ve seen in the last several years.

  63. 63.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    Have a mini-Mitchum festival with Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear.

    ETA: Netflix doesn’t have either of them, for streaming, anyway.

  64. 64.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    Bored in a hotel room on Tuesday I watched the Green Lantern movie. I was left with only one impression: there will never be a sequel to this.

  68. 68.

    Bucky Reynolds

    Try “Lillies” it is a cross between a Hitchcock movie, time travel and Boys In The Band.

    The story starts off in a prison where they are putting on a play that takes place in a catholic boys school and the murders that took place at the school. All parts are played by men because it is a men’s prison.

  69. 69.

    mikefromArlington

    Brain Damage is an excellent flick. Or you could go hardcore and go for C.H.U.D

  70. 70.

    Chris

    @gian:
    @Bettencourt:

    Unfortunately, it’s not on Netflix. Having just read the Wikipedia and IMDb pages, though, it does look really good. Interestingly, someone in the IMDb comments suggests that the movie’s Parallax Corporation might’ve been based on the real life Permindex, a corporation that was popular in conspiracy theories around the JFK assassination and the OAS attempts on De Gaulle. Seems to fit with the times.

  71. 71.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    For drama and brilliant cinematography Children of Men still tops my list. Surprisingly artistic and distinctive for Sci Fi. By which I mean an exciting story told without falling back on worn out tropes.

  72. 72.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    @Bettencourt:

    “BAD COMPANY”

    That’s the one! I was trying to remember the name of that movie earlier this week. I saw it by accident when I wandered into the wrong theater auditorium. It was excellent.

  74. 74.

    Simon Habegger

    Read my book, The Cricket (Simon Habegger). It is available as an e-book or a print version from Lulu.com, it is better than all the books listed above, and by reading it you will join a select club, one that contains fewer people than the number of humans who have trod the moon’s surface.

  75. 75.

    pokeyblow

    No special effects to speak of in Tell No One, if memory serves, but a decent thriller.

  76. 76.

    Gromit

    “Let The Right One In” is on Netflix. Highly recommend it. There’s some gore (mostly blood) but it’s used sparingly by today’s standards. It really got under my skin, especially in the way it made me empathize with a character who is headed down a very dark path.

  77. 77.

    BarbCat

    @michelle: Michelle, my BFF stood by yesterday while they opened her anesthestized 8 year old cat only to find the tumor had tentacles that made it inoperable. So unexpected and my friend is the kind of sensitive soul with a 2 legged American pit bull, 2 diabetic cats and no job.

    I feel for you my BJ friend. “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
    ― Josh Billings

  78. 78.

    duquesne_pdx

    /delurk

    Try “The Interview” with Hugo Weaving (pre-Matrix/LOTR). Tight little thriller basically set in two rooms.

    /relurk

  81. 81.

    Shinobi

    You’ve seen Equilibrium right? Not quite horror technically, more mind bendy sci fi.

  83. 83.

    BradyB

    The Horseman – About a guy who hunts down and kills the men who made a sex tape with his daughter and then let her die of a drug overdose.

    Dead Man’s Shoes – A man returns from the military and gets revenge on the town hooligans who have been terrorizing his mentally-handicapped younger brother. Paddy Considine is awesome in this.

    Session 9 – Thriller about a team of guys cleaning up a former mental ward and they start to go missing. Very Shining-esque. Best thriller I’ve seen in years.

  86. 86.

    jebediah

    no, you are definitely not the only one.
    and I am commenting from my phone, from the couch, because I can’t be arsed to go to my computer, which is three steps away.

  88. 88.

    jebediah

    @michelle: so sorry.
    I would say bring the other dog. then they understand what has happened, rather than “my buddy went out the door and never came back.”
    again, so sorry. if it helps, focus on the good life you provided for him. I do that sometimes when I am missing one of my departed pets.

  94. 94.

    SIA

    @michelle: Oh, my heart ached when I read your comment. We have to have them in our lives, but when it’s time to let them go it hurts like hell. Many here support you in this, myself included.

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    Little-know older one is “Man Hunt” with Walter Pidgeon. Cracking good and taut (if dated) thriller.

    Also Hitchcock’s 1940 “Foreign Correspondent.”

    Not sure if I’d put “Witness for the Prosecution” under ‘thrillers,’ but might be liberally considered close enough to give a mention. Damn good cast.

  97. 97.

    Steeplejack

    This thread is reminding me that I need to get my stream on and get reconnected with Netflix. But it’s hard to escape the clutches of the never-ending DVR backlog.

    Had a good road trip to Baltimore today. My brother had the day off, so we drove up there, spent a few hours going through the Walters Art Museum and then had a late lunch at Amicci’s in Little Italy. Got in some gnarly pre-weekend traffic on the way back to D.C., but not an awful price to pay.

  100. 100.

    Elizabelle

    Michelle: you and pups are in my thoughts.

    Great movie suggestions. Chinatown ‘s on cable at 1:00 am but not sure am committing to that. My desert island flick.

  101. 101.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Heliopause: Haven’t seen it, but totally loved the ep of “Community” that drew on it (as well as “Pulp Fiction”).

    I’m sure JGC’s chosen a flick by now, but I’d have suggested Nick Cage’s “8MM”. Not really graphic, and in parts campy as hell (Cage to a dealer about how hard-core he wants the movie he buys to be while posing as a consumer of “snuff” films, “Harder!”). But Joaquin Phoenix keeps the film from being about Cage’s scenery mastication in his role as a porn-store clerk with “connections.” Dark fun.

    @michelle: I’m sorry for your loss and quandry. I vote let them see each other. I wish you strength & the comfort of those close to you.

  102. 102.

    Alain

    Try Rare Exports. You’ll thank me, dark, funny, foreign film with much charm and some wonderful storytelling.

  109. 109.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Joel: “Game over, man! Game over!”

    But really, damn fine & twisty. Although when it comes to a dark Paxton flick, I might have to go with “Frailty.”

  110. 110.

    brendancalling

    “Anal Vixens 11: Limbaugh’s Revenge” is nowhere near as gory as you might think. Helluva thriller though. The Dominican Republic scenes are harrowing.

  112. 112.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @cay:

    Jacob’s Ladder. Always ask me first, not these morans.

    This.

    Not the movie, the advice. These people suck.

  113. 113.

    FlipYrWhig

    Haydnseek mentioned “Pacific Heights,” which I quite liked and thought I might be the only one who remembered it. I’m also partial to “Arlington Road.”

  114. 114.

    A Humble Lurker

    Blue Velvet

    *gags*
    Not that it’s a bad movie or suggestion or anything, but I had to watch that for a film class and…ugh. It was physically painful for me to watch. I get that that’s probably the point (I hope) but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed it.

    Dark City is good; definitely an interesting flick. I’ve heard some claim (erroneously or not) the Matrix was a ripoff of Dark City, if that helps give you an idea of its content. Children of Men was too stiff for me, but a lot of Sci-fi is in my experience. Plus there were other things I didn’t like about it…but that’s just me.

  115. 115.

    Allen

    “Sound of My Voice” fits your description perfectly John, though I’m completely unaware as to whether it’s available from Netflix.

    It’s another really good movie that Brit Marling is involved in. Not as shockingly good as “Another Earth”, but that one is a moody, dramatic, sci-fi piece (science fiction as art, I’ve described it as), whereas “Sound of My Voice” is an intelligent. occasionally graphic (depending on what you mean by graphic, but definitely not gory) thriller.

  116. 116.

    JasonF

    “Dead Again” or “Primal Fear.” Two of my favorite movies of the last 25 years. Or either version of Cape Fear.

  118. 118.

    mouse tolliver

    I don’t like to think too much on Friday’s and Saturday’s. So right now I’m sipping cheap, blended Scotch while watching a panned-and-scanned, standard-def edition of Basic Instinct on one of the Encore channels. Cheap booze is the perfect accompaniment for just about any Paul Verhoeven movie. If I’m still awake when this goes off I plan on watching Showgirls, because this Gawker piece on Showgirls: The Musical made me all nostalgic and shit.

  120. 120.

    Groucho48

    Taken, with Liam Neeson was a pretty good.

    Red, with Bruce Willis was a typical Willis thriller but with some great and funny bits from Helen Mirren and john Malkovitich.

  121. 121.

    Goblue72

    Insomnia.
    One Hour Photo.
    A History of Violence.
    Eastern Promises.
    Jar City.
    Transsiberian.

    And if you like Parker Posey: Fay Grim.

  125. 125.

    gwangung

    Hm…well the new Trek movie for me is an enjoyable movie as I saw, but sorta fell apart upon reflection (not necessarily plot wise). It may fall apart earlier for others….

  126. 126.

    TheOtherWa

    A 2006 Korean film called “The Host” is good and creepy. You also might like “Let The Right One In.” It’s a Swedish vampire movie. Yes, really.

  127. 127.

    Thoughtcrime

    “The Silent Partner” with Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York (and John Candy).

    I’m just going to give you a little time… to try to be reasonable. If you decide you’re not going to be reasonable, then one night when you come home, you’ll find me *inside*, waiting for you. And that will be the night you’ll wish you’d never been born.

    -Plummer in “The Silent Partner”

  130. 130.

    Aimai

    Wait Until Dark. Terrifying but quiet thriller cat and mouse between a blind woman (Audrey Hepburn) and two sadistic killer drug dealers (Alan Arkin and some other guy.) Arkin is youn and terrifying.

  131. 131.

    E Stamm

    Looper was awesome, and I’ll second or third that. Pan’s Labyrinth is fantastic and mind bending too. Mulholland DRIVE is one of my all time faves. Check out Continuum on streaming if you can. Pretty good sci fi.

  132. 132.

    Robert

    Sound of My Voice is pretty amazing would fit the prompt perfectly if it was streaming; it’s not. Excellent cerebral thriller about a documentary duo invading a cult in LA run by an alleged time traveler.

    For anyone trying to figure out if a film is streaming, you should use Can I Stream It?. It’s a database that lets you search for films and TV shows and see if they’re streaming on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon VOD, etc. or if you have to buy it in iTunes or rent the disc at Netflix.

  135. 135.

    Console

    Don’t know if it’s still on netflix but Frailty is probably the most fitting movie I can think of, given the criteria.

  136. 136.

    Tommybones

    Is Stoker available on netflix yet? It’s fantastic. Creepy and beautiful. Chan-Wook Park’s English language debut.

  139. 139.

    Gravie

    I’ll second (or third) Dead Again and Wait Until Dark. Both excellent and relatively non-violent. Looper, although compelling and well-crafted, is violent as hell and I found it to be anything but fun.

  141. 141.

    cmm

    I can’t believe it took so long for Cabin in the Woods to be mentioned! First one I thought of given the parameters. A little more gory than requested but so gloriously twisty! Saw it in the theater when it came out and planning a streaming rewatch soon.

  144. 144.

    nastybrutishntall

    Timecrimes, Lunopolis, or Primer – 3 timetravel headfuckers streaming on Netflix.

  145. 145.

    dww44

    @Pat: Both those are my sort of thrillers since the Sci-FI stuff is not my thing at all. For those who may not know, “Tell No One’ is based on a Harlen Coben novel whose location is in the U.S. and the French writer/director changed the locale to France but pretty much followed the story line. Great ending.

    My first viewing of “Wait until Dark” from the 60’s provided one my most memorable movie experiences. My date, whose name I don’t even remember ,shot straight up from his seat when Arkin , the villain , grabbed the ankle of Hepburn, the heroine.

    All this definitely shows my age, including my preference for “heroine” and not “hero” to describe Hepburn’s character.

  146. 146.

    Mary Brown

    @Ultraviolet Thunder: On a motorcycle trip last year, my husband and I stopped for lunch in the town that Mothman originated. We were not familiar with the story so we visited the museum, talked with some town folk, rode around the area and are still not unconvinced that it might really be true. Makes the movie that much more delicious.

  147. 147.

    delosgatos

    Have you seen “The Others”? Not exactly a match to your request, but you should watch it.

  148. 148.

    Comrade Jake

    It’s funny because I just assumed Cole was looking for something on Netflix streaming, and so many suggestions here definitely aren’t on there.

  150. 150.

    Jim

    “Marathon Man” if you haven’t seen it. I second “Dead Calm,” “The Silent Partner.”. Also Retreat.

  151. 151.

    Tehanu

    Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, or Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels if that’s not available. You haven’t lived till you’ve seen Brad Pitt channeling incomprehensible Irish gypsies.

  154. 154.

    centerfielddj

    @Ultraviolet Thunder:

    Yep, Children of Men was a good one, but here’s two that are more unusual and more spectacular in their great goodness:

    – “Bug”. Disturbing and fine performances by Michael Shannon and, particularly, Ashley Judd. She’s a good actress, but who knew she had such a great, vanity-free performance in her?

    – “Dead Ringers”. My Lord, Cronenberg can make you lose sleep after his flicks. The deterioration of Jeremy Irons’ twin characters is unpredictable, awful and thrilling.

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