Not Without My Daughter
1991 · TMDB 6.7/10 · 340 votes
An American woman, trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutish husband, must find a way to escape with her daughter as well. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Curated by SceneIt · United States
Tense Movies
This SceneIt list helps you quickly choose thrillers with sustained tension and strong audience response. Results are selected for the United States and balance audience response with practical watchability.
Updated 2026-08-04 · Ratings from TMDB
How we chose these titles
We rank eligible titles using TMDB audience ratings, vote confidence, relevance to the theme, and current popularity. Ratings can change as new votes are added.
In the Heat of the Night
1967 · TMDB 7.7/10 · 1,264 votes
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Enough
2002 · TMDB 6.6/10 · 1,254 votes
Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Woman in the Dunes
1964 · TMDB 8.2/10 · 526 votes
A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Mothers' Instinct
2024 · TMDB 6.8/10 · 687 votes
Housewives Alice and Celine are best friends and neighbours who seem to have it all. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Highwaymen
2019 · TMDB 6.8/10 · 2,262 votes
In 1934, Frank Hamer and Manny Gault, two former Texas Rangers, are commissioned to put an end to the wave of vicious crimes perpetrated by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, a notorious duo of infamous robbers and cold-blooded killers who nevertheless are worshiped by the public. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Don't Breathe 2
2021 · TMDB 7.0/10 · 2,871 votes
The Blind Man has been hiding out for several years in an isolated cabin and has taken in and raised a young girl orphaned from a devastating house fire. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Hanna
2011 · TMDB 6.6/10 · 3,723 votes
Raised by her father, an ex-CIA agent, in the wilds of Finland, Hanna's upbringing has been geared to making her the perfect assassin. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Boiler Room
2000 · TMDB 6.7/10 · 756 votes
A college dropout gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm and is on the fast track to success—but the job might not be as legitimate as it sounds. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Stillwater
2021 · TMDB 6.6/10 · 1,435 votes
Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
You Were Never Really Here
2017 · TMDB 6.5/10 · 3,085 votes
A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Yojimbo
1961 · TMDB 8.1/10 · 1,717 votes
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Menace II Society
1993 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 926 votes
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Buried
2010 · TMDB 6.6/10 · 3,088 votes
As an American civilian truck driver working in Iraq, Paul Conroy's convoy is attacked by a group of Iraqi insurgents. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Stir of Echoes
1999 · TMDB 6.7/10 · 1,374 votes
After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, Tom Witzky begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Andromeda Strain
1971 · TMDB 7.0/10 · 818 votes
When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Barton Fink
1991 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 1,911 votes
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
We Need to Talk About Kevin
2011 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 3,145 votes
After her son Kevin commits a horrific act, troubled mother Eva reflects on her complicated relationship with her disturbed son as he grew from a toddler into a teenager. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Girl in the Fog
2017 · TMDB 6.8/10 · 1,087 votes
A gripping and chilling thriller that brings us to a hazy mountain village where an enigmatic detective is investigating the sudden disappearance of fifteen-year-old girl. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Le Trou
1960 · TMDB 8.2/10 · 580 votes
Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.