10 Best Foreign Language Thrillers, Ranked

The trailer for the new film Knock At The Cabin, which M. Night Shyamalan will direct, has already sparked intrigue among those who have seen it. The horrible situation and tense atmosphere in the trailer show that the movie has great potential, which is good news for both Shyamalan fans and fans of the thriller genre.

Thrillers are among the most popular movie genres, and it continues to garner more and more fans through great storytelling and atmosphere. While plenty of great thrillers come out of Hollywood, thrillers made abroad don't get enough attention from the same audience. There are many that are worthy of attention, but those looking to dive into thrillers from countries other than America should start here.

The Body / El Cuerpo (2012)

Crime stories are some of the most common in the thriller genre. These movies can provide many twists and turns, and the mystery behind the crime piques the viewers' interest, which is why the Spanish film, The Body, got such good ratings.

The Body tells the story of the discovery of a woman killed by her husband so that he could be with his mistress. However, it's not that simple, as the body goes missing from the morgue, and the two detectives, Detective Peña and Alex, are put on the case. What makes this movie stand out to viewers is not only the memorable twist ending, which also makes the thriller so rewatchable, but also how it keeps audience members so engrossed in the mystery and story.

The Silence / Das Letzte Schweigen (2010)

Thriller crime stories can put viewers on the edge of their seats and make them feel uneasy. This tends to happen more often than not when the crime involves children.

The German film, The Silence, involves the disappearance of a young girl whose bicycle is found in the same place where a girl was killed 23 years ago. What had happened to the girl was heinous, and the detective on the first case wanted to be involved since he was unable to solve the first crime. Many viewers found this tragic and dark thriller to be an emotional and disturbingly good story that had many sucked in from the get-go with its tense atmosphere and chilling moments.

The Yellow Sea / Hwanghae (2010)

Aside from popular crime/mystery thrillers, action thrillers are also fan favorites in the genre. In the case of the movie The Yellow Sea, the film provides both action and crime in an exciting and intense thriller.

The South Korean film is fast-paced and revolves around the attempted murder of a professor that goes wrong. The failed attempt at taking the professor's life triggers a series of violent events that force a taxi driver to run for his life. The film has a great storyline and engaging character interactions and provides plenty of action-packed sequences with some great twists to keep viewers entertained.

The Page Turner / La Tourneuse De Pages (2006)

Not being able to get a job or get into a good school can disappoint many people. But not many people experience this disappointment and want to take revenge on the person or establishment that denied them.

The Page Turner doesn't just depict heartbreak, but presents how one event from childhood left the protagonist, Mélanie Prouvos, bitter and wanting to destroy the life of the character Ariane Fourchécourt. This fantastic film brings together a story of defeat and revenge that leads to a family being destroyed by the manipulation of one person who inserts themselves into their lives and uses their charm to get to Ariane. It's a story that delivers drama and intense moments to viewers, leading it to receive some great reviews.

A Hijacking / Kapringen (2012)

There are moments in films that can be gut-wrenching and put the audience on end. The film A Hijacking not only provides many of these situations for viewers but is considered one of the best indie thriller movies.

A Hijacking presents audience members with a look into the situations some have faced with pirates. The main character, Mikkel Hartmann, faces off against Somali pirates alongside his fellow crew members and endures the abuse so he can return to his family. The tense environment that viewers witness is made worse by the interactions between the pirates and negotiators as they try to reach an agreement and save the crew in a race against time.

TimeCrimes / Los Cronocrímenes (2007)

One of the best traits of a thriller is the twists and turns and how they affect the characters in the story. The film Timecrimes not only brings in these twists and turns but also adds time travel to the mix.

Timecrimes introduces Héctor, who sees a woman undressing through his binoculars, and it all leads to him trying to find a way to piece his life back together from the mishap of being sent back in time and having to deal with not one of his past selves but two. This film illustrates the butterfly effect and shows how desperate someone can be to make things right, despite how it may affect others, all while adding a horror-like twist to the mix that many viewers enjoyed.

The Counterfeiters / Die Fälscher (2007)

Scene from the movie The Counterfeiters.

Memoirs have inspired a lot of films and one such film is The Counterfeiters. The movie is based on the memoirs of the Jewish typographer and Holocaust survivor, Adolf Burger, who passed away at 99.

The film follows Salomon Sorowitsch, who is made to forge banknotes and ends up walking a thin line between helping others capture the Nazis and trying to hinder them, all while trying to avoid a horrible demise if caught. It is a wonderful film that presents viewers with a tense, dramatic thriller based on true events.

I Saw The Devil / Ang-Ma-Reul Bo-At-Da (2010)

For those looking for something intense and gory and one that gets straight to the action, I Saw The Devil, known for being one of the best thriller films of the 2010s, is a film that deserves attention.

I Saw the Devil is an intense and dark film focusing on finding a killer and getting revenge. When his pregnant fiancé is brutally murdered, Kim Soo-Hyeon begins to interrogate and torture two suspects, working to find the person who did it. While there is justice, the tragedy, the race to find the killer, and the weight of it all, are continuously present, never letting audience members forget the motive and the drive that keeps Kim Soo-Hyeon going for even a second.

Lady Vengeance / Chinjeolhan Geumjassi (2005)

Tragedy and revenge have led to the creation of some great movies, including the fantastic flick, Lady Vengeance. Lady Vengeance is the finale of Park Chan-Wook’s Vengeance trilogy and has been dubbed one of the best thrillers of the 2000s.

It sets the tone and depicts the emotional turmoil Christian Lee Geum-ja experiences, how the horrible things that have happened to her made her want revenge, and how her false imprisonment took so much away from her. The movie has a massive number of fans due to the storyline that is complimented by the tense atmosphere, disturbing content, violence, and exciting moments that viewers love seeing.

Confessions / Kokuhaku (2010)

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially when it comes to those who have hurt their children. Confessions is an emotional and dark thriller based on the book of the same name by author Kanae Minato.

The story follows three individuals: the victim's mother and the teacher of the class, Yuko Moriguchi, and the two students who killed her daughter, whom she calls Students A and B. The head games and events that follow Yuko's plan throw viewers for a loop and give them an entertaining experience in a fantastic example of a psychological thriller.

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