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The Ten Best Suspense Films

By Larry Ryan, Matilda Battersby and Jack Riley

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

A Touch of Evil

From hypnotic Sister-in-Laws, to the dangers of seeing dead people, to mark Sky's Hitchcock week, we present ten of the best suspense films.

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Suspense movies
[info]oryxncraic wrote:
Tuesday, 19 May 2009 at 07:17 am (UTC)
I reckon Play Misty for Me and The Night of the Hunter are both way better than the Kevin Bacon offering.
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one of the best
[info]brinksman wrote:
Tuesday, 19 May 2009 at 07:34 am (UTC)
This has to be right up there. Don't forget to watch the very last scene in the graveyard when the dead girl's face appears in the snow. Chilling.
www.millarcrime.com
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[info]brinksman wrote:
Tuesday, 19 May 2009 at 07:39 am (UTC)
What Lies Beneath has to be right up there with the best. Not just a simple thriller, but a modern day horror story. Don't forget to watch the very last scene in the graveyard when the dead girl's face appears in the snow. Chilling.
www.millarcrime.com
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Re: sixth sense
[info]clickety6 wrote:
Tuesday, 19 May 2009 at 09:38 am (UTC)

Normally it's considered bad etiquette to tell people about the film and then post the climatic surprise ending. OK, so most people will have seen it already, but even so...
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And soon the darkness (1970)
[info]dinsylwy wrote:
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 06:18 am (UTC)
Directed by Robert Fuest.
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Suspense Genre and you give away the twist to one of the films!?
[info]benedictbecker wrote:
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 09:14 am (UTC)
I agree with all your Hitchcock choices.

BUT

Why on earth have you given away the twist to The Sixth Sense!?

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13 tzameti
[info]ruedchances wrote:
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 09:17 am (UTC)
on the edge of your seat, body shaking intensity. unbelivable.
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Sez you
[info]jeanlucsmith wrote:
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 10:00 am (UTC)
'You've posted the Ten Best Shrimp Salads? Ok, how many DVD's you got?' This is a Google Suspense and Grab a Pin list. Shadow of Doubt over The Birds? Ok, so lean on Hitchcock, but he's only the Master of Suspense, not the author and final victim. Where's Chabrol and Clouzot, if only for Wages of Fear and Le Boucher.... Les Yeux Sans Visage? Any Melville? More recently The Orphanage? What Lies Beneath - WTF? (Well, you get the posters you deserve. Brinksman thanks. Don't forget to watch the final scene, in a suspense film? You sure..?). And I was in a such a good mood. Where's that kitchen knife?
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Sixth Sense
[info]jim_broad wrote:
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 10:51 am (UTC)
Both Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes have many common themes, and they were released at about the same time. While Sixth Sense got all the publicity and box office success, Stir of Echoes was much less successful, but it is a fantastic film and I feel that it is a shame that it less well known. I think that Sixth Sense was the pinacle of night Shyamalan's career, as that after this film everyone was looking for 'the twist' and if you are looking for them, you'll often spot them and ruin the suprise and in this case, it ruined the thing that made his films so unique.
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What makes a thriller?
[info]x9shakespeare wrote:
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 04:13 pm (UTC)
I believe somebody must have actually designed these stories-to-thrill?
Directors, as we all know, tell the cameraman where to put his camera, and tell the actors where to put their feet. But how come the directors are the only creative people credited in your article?
Shape up, Independent! Somebody actually thought out these thrills, and they should be mentioned before the "action/cut"-guys!
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why the hell is north by northwest not in this list?
[info]dicanio100 wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 02:16 pm (UTC)
North by Northwest is by far one of the greatest suspense movies ever. Im really shocked to find it not in this list. An absolutely cracking performance by Cary Grant. So many films have borrowed from this classic. This was Hitchcocks finest and im not surprised that many of his movies made it into this list. Stir of echoes was really a poor mans sixth sense and perhaps shouldnt have been in the list, i didnt rate it that highly.
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Oh, Please Spare me
[info]atdurham wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 02:48 pm (UTC)
No JAWS? I don't share this butt kissing idea that everything old is good. Unbelievably vapid article.
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Forgot a Classic
[info]tommyk81 wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 04:23 pm (UTC)
I cant believe you guys didn't put Spielberg's Duel on the list. Its one of the most suspenseful films ever in my opinion.
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Re: Forgot a Classic
[info]jonsummys wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 07:53 pm (UTC)
"I cant believe you guys didn't put Spielberg's Duel on the list. Its one of the most suspenseful films ever in my opinion."


DUEL was a TV movie.
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[info]whovillain wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 05:26 pm (UTC)
"What Lies Beneath" and "Stir of Echoes" aren't even in the same class with the other films on your list. Some offerings that you somehow managed to overlook: "Silence of the Lambs", "Blood Simple", "Alien", "Blue Velvet", "Dressed to Kill", "Rosemary's Baby".
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Dude...really?
[info]cyanidesmoker wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 05:59 pm (UTC)
Might as well have just done a 'Top 5' of Hitchcock movies. I understand (And agree) that Hitchcock is the king of Suspense, kind of a cop-out to just be putting Hitchcock movies everywhere on the list. And Stir of Echoes? What about 'Fraility' with Paxton? A brilliant movie that didnt even hit the 10?
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10 Best Suspense Films
[info]h8s2lose wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 07:59 pm (UTC)
What, no Silence of the Lambs? Surely you jest.
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