The '90s were an interesting time for movies. Countless titles are still highly popular today. Halloween calls for binge-watching Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Halloweentown. It also birthed numerous classics such as Total Recall, Fight Club, and The Silence of the Lambs.
Everyone has a fond memory of a movie from the era. Not only did it create some of the best comedies, action, and horror movies, but some of the best thriller movies as well. Several of the best '90s thrillers are worth rewatching to get a good chilling scare.
Updated on April 29th, 2021 by Gabriela Silva: The '90s gave way to many recognizable movies that are still binge-worthy today. Amongst the memorable romance movies and teen drama, fans can recall more than a handful of thriller movies. Some were under the radar but in recent years have gained more traction and worth rewatching. Get ready for some chills, murder, and a mind-boggle with these movies that make up some of the best '90s thrillers.
Malice (1993) Available on HBO Max
Malice will take audiences on twists and turns to uncover the real story. Andy (Bill Pullman) and Tracy Safian (Nicole Kidman) are a newly married couple living in a Victorian home. Tight on money, they invite a surgeon, Jed (Alec Baldwin) to rent their third floor.
The story gets complex as Tracy goes into an operation to remove a ruptured ovarian cyst and is operated on by Jed. After malpractice in removing her healthy ovary, Andy and Tracy's marriage goes awry and the truth comes to light that no one expected.
A Time To Kill (1996) Available on HBO Max
A Time to Kill is a courtroom crime drama and thriller that will have audiences on edge. A young Black girl in Mississippi is brutally assaulted and left for dead by two white men but she survives and her assailants are arrested. The girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) believes that the men might go free and opens fire as they enter court, killing both.
Hailey's trial for revenge killing and his daughter's case gain media attention as Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) becomes his attorney, leading to an electrifying court battle from the story's original author, John Grisham.
Kiss The Girls (1997) Available on Showtime
Kiss the Girls stars Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd in the main roles. The movie did fairly well amongst audiences as a thriller and will have any viewer feeling chills. A forensic psychologist, Alex Cross (Freeman) learns his niece is missing.
His niece is the latest woman in a series of kidnappings and suspects it to be a serial killer. At the same time, Dr. Kate McTiernan (Judd) is kidnapped by the killer but escapes. She joined forces with Cross to track down this collector who kills women if they don't follow his rules.
The Pelican Brief (1993) Available on HBO Max
The Pelican Brief is a political thriller based on a 1992 novel by author John Grisham. When two supreme court justices are murdered, law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) theorizes why. Her legal brief on the murders explains why they were killed.
When her law professor is killed by a car bomb, her legal brief proves to be true. Darby goes into hiding and is soon aided by a reporter, Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington). Together they try to uncover the conspiracy around political figures.
Face/Off (1997) Available on AMC Plus
Nicolas Cage made many movies in the 90s and one of the most memorable is when he teamed up with iconic action director John Woo to fight John Travolta in Face/Off.
FBI Special Agent Sean Archer (Travolta) finally gets his revenge against the villainous Castor Troy (Cage) for killing his son. There's one problem, Troy and his brother planted a bomb in the city. To uncover its location, Archer gets his face replaced with Troy's to infiltrate his operation. Archer becomes the man he hates most and gets trapped as Troy awakens from his comatose state and takes Archer's identity.
Wild Things (1998) Available on Starz
The ensemble cast in this film is what made this storyline enthralling for audiences to watch. Wild Things starred Bill Murray, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Kevin Bacon, Denise Richards, and Theresa Russell. It's a twisted tale of deceit, lies, and murder.
One popular high school teenager and an outcast accuse their teacher of assault. During the trial, it's revealed that they made up the assault to get revenge for their teacher having an affair and refusing to bail one of them out of jail. It was all a ruse to get a settlement from one of the girl's wealthy family that soon gets twisted into a plot of murder.
The Game (1997) Available on Amazon Prime Video
One of the best '90s thrillers, The Game takes audiences on a rollercoaster of a story as an investment banker is given a bizarre gift from his brother. On his birthday, he receives a voucher for a game company.
He initially believes his trial to have been rejected, but he finds his world starts to collapse around him. The lines between the game and his real-life start to blur. The film is stylish and intense, keeping audiences–as well as the protagonist–doubting what's real and what isn't.
Fallen (1998) Available on DirecTV and Sling TV
Fallen takes a unique and twisted version of the celestial. This movie isn't about the typical fallen angel trying to find himself. Instead, it focuses on a fallen angel with malicious intentions. Starring Denzel Washington in the role of John Hobbes, a detective goes on a hunt for a killer who seems to be a copycat.
Things take a turn when the person he is after isn't exactly human. Through his investigation, Hobbes comes to discover his perp is a fallen angel named Azazel. Azazel has the ability to switch bodies by mere touch. He may have once been an angel but now he harbors the sins of a demon.
Se7en (1995) Available on HBO Max
Se7en is on the top of many horror fans' list of must-watch movies and is easily one of the best '90s thrillers. Starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey in the lead roles, the story centers around a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as the basis for their elaborate murders.
Detective William Somerset (Freeman) is on the verge of transferring when he partners with David Mills (Pitt) to catch this killer. The city is plagued with grizzly murders and the killer has one final victim in store for the detectives.
Misery (1990) Available on HBO Max
Misery was a movie that premiered at the very beginning of the 90s but still holds up today. An adaptation of Stephen King's popular book. Misery is a film where an obsessive fan of a famous novelist goes too far and becomes dangerous.
Paul Sheldon (James Caan) takes a trip upstate after finishing a new manuscript but crashes his car and is left gravely injured. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) comes to his aid and nurses him back to health. She reveals herself to be a huge fan but becomes enraged when she discovers Sheldon's new direction for his books. She holds him hostage and forces him to rewrite his work in an unforgettably disturbing ordeal.
Basic Instinct (1992) Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video
A neo-noir erotic thriller movie, Basic Instinct is still a highly talked-about event from the 90s. It starred Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in the lead roles and developed controversy before its release due to its hypersexualization and its use of violence.
The plot centers around a detective on the case of a murdered rock star. His prime suspect was his girlfriend who is a famous crime novelist and the crime mimics one of her stories. Along the way, he becomes entangled in her web and pursues his attraction to her whilst not knowing if she can be trusted.
The Devil's Advocate (1997) Available on HBO Max
Keanu Reeves stars in this supernatural horror movie that can also be described as a thriller. Reeves plays Kevin Lomax, a defense attorney in Florida who's given the opportunity of a lifetime when he and his wife venture to New York to take the position at a prestigious law firm run by John Milton (Al Pacino).
While he basks in the glory of his new high-profile career, his wife starts to encounter mysterious and supernatural occurrences that no one believes. As his cases become higher in risk, he soon learns the real motive for his employment and his boss' ties to Devil worshippers.
The Bone Collector (1999) Available on Amazon Prime Video
The Bone Collector stars Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie in the lead roles. Lincoln Rhyme (Washington) was once an acclaimed forensic criminologist but was involved in an accident that left him as a quadriplegic.
He comes to join forces with a police officer named Amelia (Jolie) after she expertly secures a crime scene on her own. They are on the hunt for a serial killer who leaves behind a piece of bone and clues to his next victim. Something about the murders seems oddly familiar and they both become locked in a race against time to save the next victim.
Fear (1996) Available on HBO Max
Fear is a psychological thriller that didn't get the credit it deserved back in the 90s but is worth a watch for its chilling and obsessive main antagonist. The film stars Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon at the beginning of their careers on screen. Wahlberg broke the mold of his rapper/artist career at the time to become an actor and played the sinister role of David McCall.
Nicole Walker (Witherspoon) meets David, an attractive and charming 23-year-old, at a nightclub. They fall in love but David starts to show his true colors and becomes possessive. Her father is wary of David and comes to realize the guy his daughter fell for is a sociopath.
Jacob's Ladder (1990) Available on HBO Max
Die-hard fans of the best '90s thrillers might have heard of the movie Jacob's Ladder. It centers around a war veteran returning from Vietnam and struggling to acclimate to normal life.
However, hellish visions cause him to spiral deep into a horrifying world as those closest to him grasp at straws trying to find an answer. Critics lauded Jacob's Ladder an engrossing experience, filled with turmoil and despair, that tackles the deeper questions surrounding death.