Image credit: Screen Gems, Warner Bros., Music Box Films, SPE, USA Films, Walt Disney Studios, Miramax, UK Film Council, Tartan, Picturehouse, Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate Films, Summit Entertainment, THINKFilm, Focus Features, First Look International, Twentieth Century Fox
The 2000s, a cinematic treasure trove often overshadowed by its flashier successors, quietly brimmed with some of the most gripping and skillfully crafted thrillers that, for one reason or another, slipped under the radar.
In this collection, we're dusting off the shelves of the early millennium to bring you the 30 most underrated thrillers of that era — a time when the genre was as experimental as it was evocative.
From the dark, gritty streets of psychological noir to the polished corridors of high-stakes corporate espionage, these films are the unsung masterpieces that deserve a second look.
30. Lakeview Terrace (2008) Rotten Tomatoes score: 44% A psychological thriller about a young interracial couple who move into a new home, only to be harassed by their racist LAPD officer neighbor, escalating into a dangerous confrontation.
29. The Mothman Prophecies (2002) Rotten Tomatoes score: 52% A journalist, haunted by his wife's mysterious death, finds himself in a small town where a series of strange occurrences seem to be linked to a cryptic figure known as the Mothman, leading to a harrowing bridge collapse.
28. Orphan (2009) Rotten Tomatoes score: 58% A couple adopts a 9-year-old girl after losing their baby, but they soon discover she has a mysterious and dangerous past that threatens their family.
27. Identity (2003) Rotten Tomatoes score: 63% Ten strangers stranded at a desolate motel find themselves killed off one by one, only to discover they are all parts of a multiple personality disorder patient's psyche, undergoing a radical treatment.
26. Session 9 (2001) Rotten Tomatoes score: 67% An eerie psychological horror film that unfolds in an abandoned mental hospital, where a cleaning crew experiences increasingly disturbing events and revelations, culminating in a chilling discovery about one of their own.
25. Hard Candy (2005) Rotten Tomatoes score: 67% A tense psychological drama where a teenage girl lures a suspected predator into a chilling game of cat and mouse, leading to a shocking twist and complex moral quandaries.
24. Phone Booth (2002) Rotten Tomatoes score: 72% A fast-paced thriller where a slick publicist is trapped in a phone booth by a sniper who demands he confess his sins, setting off a tense and public standoff with the police.
23. Frailty (2001) Rotten Tomatoes score: 75% A suspenseful thriller where two young boys' lives are turned upside down when their father, believing he has been commanded by God, embarks on a series of murders to rid the world of supposed 'demons'.
22. The Machinist (2004) Rotten Tomatoes score: 77% A psychological thriller about an industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year and becomes embroiled in a mystery involving his own sanity, leading to a shocking revelation about a guilt-ridden accident.
21. The Prestige (2006) Rotten Tomatoes score: 77% A tale of two rival magicians in Victorian London, whose fierce competition leads them down a dark path of obsession, deceit, and sacrifice, with a stunning final twist.
20. Triangle (2009) Rotten Tomatoes score: 79% A group of friends on a yachting trip encounter mysterious weather conditions, leading them to a seemingly deserted ship where they experience a series of disorienting and horrifying events.
19. Brick (2005) Rotten Tomatoes score: 80% A unique neo-noir mystery set in a high school, where a loner student delves into the underworld of teenage crime to investigate his ex-girlfriend's mysterious disappearance and death.
18. Layer Cake (2004) Rotten Tomatoes score: 81% A stylish British crime thriller where a successful cocaine dealer trying to retire from the business gets pulled into a treacherous world of double-crosses and deadly confrontations.
17. The Constant Gardener (2005) Rotten Tomatoes score: 83% A gripping political thriller where a mild-mannered diplomat uncovers a dangerous conspiracy involving pharmaceutical companies in Africa, following his wife's murder over her own investigation.
16. The Ghost Writer (2010) Rotten Tomatoes score: 84% A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.
15. The Orphanage (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 87% A woman returns to her childhood home, now an orphanage for disabled children, only to find her son soon communicating with an invisible new friend that leads to chilling revelations about the orphanage's past.
14. The Lookout (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 87% A brain-damaged former athlete becomes involved with a group of criminals planning a heist, leading to a confrontation where he must outwit them to protect himself and his friends.
13. Red Road (2006) Rotten Tomatoes score: 87% A gripping drama where a CCTV operator in Glasgow spots a man she thought was in prison, leading her down a path of revenge and redemption intertwined with her own tragic past.
12. Frozen River (2008) Rotten Tomatoes score: 88% Two women from different backgrounds form an unlikely partnership smuggling immigrants across the frozen St. Lawrence River, a dangerous endeavor that tests their limits and resolve.
11. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 89% A desperate crime gone wrong pits two financially strained brothers against each other, unraveling their family ties in a spiral of betrayal and revenge.
10. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) Rotten Tomatoes score: 89% A retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior — both of which still haunt him decades later.
9. Cache (Hidden) (2005) Rotten Tomatoes score: 89% A thought-provoking psychological thriller in which a couple's life unravels after they start receiving surveillance tapes and drawings, leading to a haunting exploration of guilt and memory.
8. Eastern Promises (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 89% A gritty and intense drama where a midwife gets entangled with the London Russian mafia, uncovering shocking secrets related to a diary of a teenage girl.
7. Michael Clayton (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 90% A legal thriller where a fixer at a prestigious law firm faces the biggest moral dilemma of his career when he uncovers a deadly conspiracy involving a major client.
6. Zodiac (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 90% A detailed account of the hunt for the Zodiac Killer in San Francisco, seen through the eyes of journalists and police, marked by obsession and frustration due to the elusive nature of the killer.
5. Transsiberian (2008) Rotten Tomatoes score: 91% A thrilling journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway turns dangerous for an American couple when they encounter a pair of mysterious travelers, leading to deception and murder.
4. The Lives of Others (2006) Rotten Tomatoes score: 92% Set in East Berlin, this film follows a Stasi officer who becomes increasingly absorbed in the lives of a playwright and his lover, leading to a transformation during the political upheaval of the period.
3. Tell No One (2006) Rotten Tomatoes score: 93% Eight years after his wife's murder, a pediatrician receives an anonymous message suggesting she may be alive, leading him on a dangerous quest to uncover the truth.
2. No Country for Old Men (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 93% A tense and violent tale of a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash, setting off a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a relentless hitman.
1. Gone Baby Gone (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 94% A gripping crime drama where two private investigators delve into the complex and morally ambiguous world of a child's kidnapping in Boston, leading to a challenging decision.
