There is no stronger bond in this world than family, and a caring, loving parent will do just about anything to keep his or her loved ones safe. Dive into a lake to save a drowning child, or step in front of a train to rescue a toddler who’s fallen onto the tracks. Go up against a gang of human traffickers, escape from an abusive spouse, track down a band of ruthless kidnappers.
As a mystery and thriller writer I’ve always been drawn to stories in which an innocent person encounters some sort of evil entity or force that causes him or her to risk life and limb in order to rescue a daughter or son, husband or wife. In my new novel Beyond All Doubt, a grieving widower/single stumbles onto a secret that exposes a dark secret about the recent death of his wife and places him and his young daughter in the middle of a deadly criminal enterprise. While I’d like to believe the story emerged as whole cloth from my creative mind, I’d be foolish not to admit that countless family-oriented suspense novels and movies dripped elements of suspense, tension, plot, and character onto each printed page.
With that in mind, here are 12 thriller films—some better, some worse—that undoubtedly contributed to my love of this sub-sub-genre, and which I will never tire of watching.
Taken (2008): I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you. Every fan of the thriller genre knows this line by heart, appropriately snarled by Liam Neeson to uber-bad Albanian gangster Marko Hoxha [Arben Bajraktaraj] in the 2008 film Taken. The set-up: Devoted dad Bryan Mills [Neeson] is frantically searching for his daughter, Kim [Maggie Grace], and her friend after they’ve been abducted by sex traffickers shortly after arriving in Paris. He has just 96 hours to find them before she’s scheduled to be sold at auction, and the former government operative needs to reach deep into his bag of black ops tricks in order to come to the rescue.
Frantic (1988): While on a business trip attending a medical conference in Paris, Dr. Richard Walker [Harrison Ford] becomes understandably frantic when his wife, Sondra [Betty Buckley], is abducted from their hotel room after picking up the wrong suitcase at the airport. Limited by his thin knowledge of French language and culture, he stumbles through his interactions with the Parisian police and eventually encounters a streetwise drug smuggler named Michelle [Emmanuelle Seigner], who accidentally selected Sondra’s bag from the luggage conveyor. Self-exiled director Roman Polanski brings an intriguing mix of noire, mystery, darkness, and even a touch of comedy, causing viewers to [almost] forgive some of the glaring plot holes.
Panic Room (2002): Newly divorced mom Meg Altman [Jodie Foster] and her young daughter Sarah [Kristen Stewart] are forced to lock themselves in a concrete-and-steel panic room when three thieves break into their New York brownstone. Unbeknownst to mother and child, a fortune in bearer bonds is stashed under the floor of the impenetrable vault. [Note: these financial instruments make for a great plot device, but have been outlawed in the U.S. since the 1980s.] Foster is at the top of her game in this well-crafted women-in-jeopardy picture directed by David Fincher, whose focus on a deliberate single-setting premise delivers results in a gripping tale that builds tension one frame at a time.
Enough (2002): Based on the 1998 bestselling novel Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen, Enough stars Jennifer Lopez as Slim, an abused wife who decides to go on the run in an attempt to elude her increasing obsessive husband, Mitch [Billy Campbell], and his murderous henchmen. Desperate to get away she goes into hiding with her daughter, eventually taking self-defense classes in order to eventually exact bloody revenge. Initially panned by critics, the #MeToo movement helped to revive the movie as a statement that abused women—and their abused children—have had enough.
Last Seen Alive (2022): The plot of this film—originally known as Chase—is simple enough: When a man’s wife suddenly disappears at a gas station, his desperate search to locate her propels him down a sinister path and ultimately forces him to run from authorities and take the law into his own hands. Directed by Brian Goodman and written by Marc Frydman, it stars Gerard Butler as real estate agent Will Spann, who stops to fill up while his estranged wife Lisa [Jaimie Alexander] vanishes after she heads inside to purchase a bottle of water. It’s a good, if predictable, premise, but the story is hamstrung by trying to be both a psychological thriller and an action flick. Critics initially gave it mixed reviews but fans loved it, and when it was released on Netflix in late 2022 it instantly became the most-streamed film in the U.S.
Kidnap (2017): This film is like one of those energy shots you buy at the grocery store. At just 81 minutes long, the adrenaline surges within seconds as every parent’s worst nightmare comes true. Single working mom Karla Dyson [Halle Berry] brings her young son Frankie [Sage Correa] to a local carnival, but loses sight of him while speaking with her divorce attorney. When she spots him being dragged into a green Mustang she gives chase, first on foot and then in her own car. In a heart-thumping race against the clock, Karla pushes herself to the limit to save her son’s life.
Retribution (2023): Matt Turner [Liam Neeson again] is a man with a problem. Several, in fact. He’s in over his head at work, his kids seem to loathe him, and while he’s driving them to school one morning in Berlin, he learns from a mysterious caller that a bomb in his car will explode if they get out of the car. What typically would be a normal [albeit angst-filled] commute turns into a nerve shredding race of life vs. death, as Turner et al are sent all over the city in a twisted thrill ride of retribution while he tries to keep his kids alive.
Sleepless (2017): Set not in Seattle but Las Vegas, police officers Vincent Downs [Jamie Foxx] and his partner rob a shipment of cocaine belonging to a drug kingpin, who intended to sell it to the son of a powerful mob boss. The two cops volunteer to investigate the robbery in order to cover up their involvement, pitting them in a battle against internal affairs investigators and homicidal gangsters. Making matters worse, the gangsters kidnap Downs’ son, placing Downs in a frantic race against time to save him and bring the criminals to justice. Based on the 2011 French picture Sleepless Nights, the film is 95 minutes of kick-ass entertainment.
Peppermint (2018) The last thing Riley North [Jennifer Garner] remembers when she awakens from a coma is the brutal attack that wounded her and killed her husband and daughter. Bucking a system that’s shielding the killers from the law, the young widow transitions from an ordinary citizen to urban guerrilla. Patient and determined, she sharpens her mind, tones her spirit, and strengthens her body in order to take down those who robbed her of everything she loved. The film is both exceptionally violent and exceptionally dynamic, with little-to-none gratuitous blood or guts.
Double Jeopardy (1999): In this female-powered ‘90s action film, Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) is wrongly convicted of killing her abusive husband, Nick. While enduring the long years behind bars she dreams of just two things: reuniting with her son and solving the mystery that took Nick’s life. When she learns that he actually faked his own death, she goes after him with impunity, knowing that double jeopardy clause in the U.S. Constitution prohibits convicting someone for the same crime twice. That questionable legal argument aside, conflict arises in the person of Travis Lehman (Tommy Lee Jones), Libby’s parole officer who dogs her frame-by-frame as she pursues Nick and tracks down her son.
Nobody (2021): What happens when a nobody becomes a somebody? That’s the story of Hutch Mansel [Bob Odenkirk], an underestimated and overlooked family man who’s mostly ignored by his emotionally estranged wife Becca [Connie Nielsen] and two children. One night, when two thieves break into the house with a gun and steal his daughter’s favorite bracelet, his long-dormant temper is triggered, propelling him down a path of dark secrets, brutal skills, and explosive revenge. Suffused with the same DNA as John Wick [screenwriter Derek Kolstad penned both], Hutch takes it upon himself to save his family from a dangerous criminal organization—and make sure no one will ever again view him as a nobody.
The Call (2013): A veteran operator for an emergency 9-1-1 dispatch center, Jordan [Halle Berry] blames herself for failing to protect a young girl during a home invasion. Six months later she fields a call from a kidnapped teen [Abigail Breslin], and forces herself to take charge of the situation and help save her life. While lacking the blood-is-thicker-than-water premise, this film is both intelligent and gripping, with only a few moments—mostly toward the end—when the storyline begins to fray. Still, it’s an intense and nerve-shredding tale of quick thinking, improvisation, and the drive to never give up.
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