Films should evoke some feelings inside of you. Whether it's amusement or fear, a movie's success has partly to do with whether or not the audience connected to it. Thrillers have been and always will be popular. Back during the days of Alfred Hitchcock, audiences couldn't get enough of movies that threw characters into nerve-wracking situations.

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That tradition has remained intact after all these years. Popular contemporary thrillers like Black SwanSe7en, and Gone Girl continue to seize viewers' attention today. If you're looking for some more low-key thrillers, though, then look no further.

Updated on February 10th, 2021 by Mark Birrell: What makes a movie underrated can vary depending on the circumstances, sometimes critics can be very appreciative of a smaller movie's accomplishments whilst wider audiences aren't and vice versa. There are so many great thriller movies that have emerged already in the 21st century that this list could never be continued to just 10 entries. We've added another 5 for movie fans who may have exhausted the best of the well-known thrillers from the past few decades so that no cinephile need go hungry for brilliantly crafted and nailbiting stories.

Grand Piano (2013)

Grand Piano movie Elijah Wood sitting at piano

Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle would go on to become well-known for his incorporation of music and creative perfectionism into his movies with La La Land and the intense drama Whiplash, but this earlier screenplay from him would explore these same themes in a much more underappreciated way.

Elijah Wood stars as a talented pianist who, during a pivotal performance in his career, finds himself forced to play in front of a packed audience and a psychotic sniper who's heavily invested in him perfectly executing a supposedly unplayable piece. Clearly drawing inspiration from classic thrillers from the likes of Brian De Palma, it's a fun and stylish slice of genre fun with an entertaining level of subtext attached to it.

Lemming (2005)

Lemming Charlotte Gainsbourg

An enterprising tech employee invites his boss and their wife over for dinner, accidentally placing him and his own spouse at the center of a long and bitter marital spat that becomes more and more obsessive and extreme as a series of inexplicable events plague his idyllic middle-class life.

Great performances from the whole cast elevate Lemming from being just an unusual thriller into something wholly unique, a psychological drama on fidelity and revenge that borders on the supernatural and can get under the skin of the audience in ways that they may never have experienced before or will do again.

Cold in July (2014)

Cold in July Sam Shepard, Michael C Hall and Don Johnson sitting in a truck

Director Jim Mickle co-wrote this violent crime thriller with his longtime collaborator Nick Damici and the pair provided their most satisfyingly pulpy experience yet with a story of accidental murder, mistaken identity, and dark family history.

Set in Texas in the 1980s, the plot follows Michael C. Hall's timid picture frame salesman who becomes embroiled in a shadowy police conspiracy after a home invasion puts him in the sights of a hardened criminal. Sam Shephard and Don Johnson provide fittingly stoic support in an intoxicating play on neo-noir and Western movie tropes.

To Live (2010)

Zhit Russian movie To live poster

As a man takes his dog out hunting, he gets far more than he bargained for when a stranger suddenly runs toward him being chased by armed assailants. Forced to flee across the wilderness together back to civilization, an uneasy alliance forms and teaches them both some incredibly hard lessons about toughness and survival.

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Writer and director Yuri Bykov began to catch the international movie community's attention with this ice-cold thriller and has been continually gathering notoriety since. Each of his stories examining the unforgiving mentality of criminals in modern Russia and the unpleasant truths of life that create it.

Night Moves (2013)

Jesse Eisenberg looks somber in Night Moves

The masterfully slow-burning and restrained filmmaker Kelly Reichardt delivered one of her most intense movies to date with this story of a small group of environmentalists in modern-day Oregon who decide to make a statement by blowing up a local dam.

Reichardt's keen eye for tiny details and methodology complements itself perfectly to the nuanced performances from the main cast, particularly Jesse Eisenberg's in the lead role as a young idealist with a simmering anger that threatens to boil over at all times and destroy his own life as well as the lives of those around him.

Burn (2019)

A socially awkward gas station attendant named Melinda struggles with her loneliness. She secretly photographs a cop who visits; she flirts with every man to no avail. But things change one night when a man robs the store. What should have been over in a couple of minutes has now prolonged into a hostage situation. But who exactly is the hostage?

Burn never leaves its confines, which reflects the protagonist's own innate sense of isolation. The story is indeed impaired by its own shortcomings (e.g., lack of focus). Yet, the performances and characterizations all atone for those flaws in the best way possible.

The Glass House (2001)

After losing their parents in a car accident, teenage Ruby and her young brother Rhett move in with their parents' friends. It's a time of transition for everyone, especially for Ruby. She eventually suspects her new guardians have ulterior motives for taking her and her brother in.

This youth-aimed thriller is glossy and carefully drawn out. It's especially ideal for anyone who doesn't like to be squicked out by excessive violence. Sure, anyone can figure out the "twist" ahead of time. But be rest assured, taking a quick tour of The Glass House is a sound decision.

Loner (2008)

Orphaned teenager Su-na lives with her uncle and grandmother. After someone close to her dies, she refuses to leave her room. The uncle brings in a therapist to help Su-na, who has been diagnosed with hikikomori. Not only is she reclusive, Su-na thinks someone else — or something else — is living in her bedroom.

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There's a fine line between a movie being categorized as horror and thriller. A lot of times, the terms are interchangeable because the aforesaid line is easily blurred. The South Korean film Loner straddles the fence in the best way possible, though.

Hush (2008)

A bickering couple driving home at night on the M1 motorway in the UK spots a possible crime. The tailgate of a truck in front of them opens, revealing what looks to be a woman being held against her will. The police can't help so the couple follows the truck in the meantime.

Even when they're not top-tier, road-based thrillers can at least keep you on the edge of your car seats. And that is definitely what Hush does. It offers a wholly upsetting situation, but director Mark Tonderai expresses a shred of optimism, too. His film reminds us that for every evil, there's still good left in the world.

The Dirties (2013)

Two bullied teenagers named Matt and Owen make a student film about getting revenge on their tormentors at school. Their project is supposedly fictional, but Owen suspects Matt is looking to make a documentary.

In light of the current political discourse regarding the Second Amendment, a film like this might not fly today. It showcases revenge in the context of bullying. At the same time, it doesn't firmly state its stance on the topic of school shootings. The film instead probes the mind of a would-be assailant. No doubt, The Dirties is an uncomfortable found-footage thriller.

The Dead Girl (2006)

At the center of a set of interlinking stories is a dead runaway named Krista. Her body is found by Arden, an abused caregiver; Leah suspects Krista is her long-lost sister; Ruth stumbles upon evidence regarding Krista's death; Krista's mother Melora finally finds her daughter, but is too late.

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Karen Moncrieff's The Dead Girl is a somber omnibus of stories you're better off knowing in the long run. This series of connected tragedies and revelations will likely sting at first. Pushing aside the inevitable heartbreak, viewers will find profound storytelling and heartfelt characterizations.

The Bunker (2015)

Pit Bukowski, Daniel Fripan, Oona von Maydell and David Scheller in The Bunker

A student looking for a quiet place to study is misled by a couple advertising a lakeside home. The truth is, they live in a remote bunker with their "young" son. Regardless, he stays and even agrees to tutor the son. Immediately, though, the student realizes this family is wildly disturbed.

This warped German comedy is beguiling. Sharply sensational. Its innate perversion seizes your attention from start to finish. You might try to look away, but at long last, your curiosity convinces you otherwise. This is one movie that tugs you along up until the very end.

Confessions (2010)

On her last day of teaching, a single mother explains to her class that two of their peers murdered her young daughter. She leaves a wave of paranoia and panic in her wake. Is she going to take revenge on the assailants now, or will she leave that in the hands of the public?

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Tetsuya Nakashima captures maternal grief in the most stylish, arresting way in Confessions. The movie — shortlisted in 2011 for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards — is shot like an ultramodern music video, which ultimately helps convey the characters' anguish.

Tom at the Farm (2013)

When his romantic partner passes away, Tom travels to his family's farm for the funeral. It's during his prolonged stay that Tom then engages in twisted head games with the decedent's forceful yet alluring brother.

Xavier Dolan and his co-star Pierre-Yves Cardinal are nothing short of captivating in this French-Canadian thriller. The leads' scenes together are nail-biting; the film's impetus is, in fact, the pairing's sexually charged interactions. Like Tom and his handsome combatant, the audience has no idea of what's to come. Tom at the Farm waves that sense of uncertainty, however, in the most enticing way.

Hounds of Love (2016)

A sadistic couple abducts women off the streets and holds them captive. They do unspeakable things to their victims, who are left tied up when not being abused. After the couple picks up Vicki, the teenager drives a wedge between her captors until she can find a way to escape.

Fate is both cruel and merciful in this stellar Australian crime-drama. The actors' performances are all-around fantastic. So much so that you pause at that fact considering how loathsome the villains are. Then there's Ashleigh Cummings, who is, in short, spectacular. She perfectly runs the gamut of human emotions.

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