10 Films that Prove 1998 Was the ‘Year of the Thriller’
We go to see thriller films for one reason above all else: to get our heart rates up. A quality thriller is not just one that teases the brain with mystery and the constant hint of danger, but one that also affects us physically – a quickening pulse, a drying mouth, palms too sweaty to properly grip the seat in moments of extreme tension. It’s the same reason horror is such a consistent box office draw, just not as intense.
However, other genres like horror and sci-fi tend to get grouped or ranked regularly, with fans spotting trends and patterns they love to highlight. For thrillers, it’s far less common to find such deep analysis, but that’s where we come in. We’ve looked back at decades of cinema and found there was one year where we were blessed with so many thrillers that are now considered cult classics (if not classics), and that was the year 1998.
Don’t believe it? See how you feel after reviewing the 10 films below.
10. Following
Christopher Nolan is leaving audiences breathless with The Odyssey right now, but his filmmaking career began in 1998 with his independent thriller, Following. The film follows “The Young Man,” a struggling writer who starts following strangers around the London streets, hoping to find inspiration for his work. Instead, he finds a serial burglar named “Cobb” (sound familiar?) and quickly falls under his wing.
However, Nolan was Nolan from the very start, and the seemingly simple neo-Noir story quickly takes some major turns, as The Young Man finds out that the world of crime, lies, burglary, and deceit is far more treacherous than he ever imagined. Now that Nolan has become Nolan, Following is even more powerful as a snapshot of filmmaking potential, when he had few resources to prove it.
9. Run Lola Run
German filmmaker Tom Tykwer really got his big breakout with the 1998 thriller Run Lola Run. Starring Franka Potente in the titular role, the film took the Groundhog Day concept and married it to a ticking-clock thriller: Lola gets a call from her shady boyfriend saying he will be killed over a money delivery gone wrong, unless he can steal more money to replace it.
The movie runs through different scenarios of what happens when Lola tries to intervene, and the different outcomes it creates. Along the way, we learn more about Lola’s life, and the toxic men surrounding her. Back in 1998, this kind of nonlinear storytelling was revolutionary (especially for a thriller), as was the thumping “techno music” soundtrack that came with the film.
8. Pi
Pi is the film that started the career of Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Black Swan) and is a clear indicator of why his unique mix of high art and pulpy genre would make him one of the most acclaimed directors of his time.
The movie is the epitome of a “psychological thriller,” following a mentally unstable theoretical mathematician named Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) who discovers a number made up of 216 digits that begins to affect his mind. Max begins predicting the stock market through some kind of emerging clairvoyance, causing government agents to start pursuing him. Max begins connecting the number back to religious texts like the Torah, questioning if the advanced math isn’t a message from a higher being. That draws the attention of religious fanatics, and marks Max as one of the most hunted (and haunted) men in the world. Pi is simple indie filmmaking, but elicits a sense of panic and paranoia that few thrillers can. And it does it all using math. Go figure.
7. The Negotiator
The film sees Samuel L. Jackson playing Danny Roman, a renowned hostage negotiator for the Chicago P.D. When his partner turns up dead after implicating corruption in the department, Danny becomes the patsy for the crime. Instead of being taken in, Danny storms into Internal Affairs and takes hostages, demanding that he’ll only speak to one negotiator: Lt. Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey), a cop from a different department who Danny barely knows. Chris forms a tenuous truce with Danny, as the two negotiators try to step out of the trap.
F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Law Abiding Citizen) got his start in the thriller genre with the cult-classic femme fatale heist film, Set It Off; however, his 1998 film The Negotiator was the studio film that really put him on the map – same with screenwriter James DeMonaco, who would go on to create The Purge franchise. After Disney passed on the film, Warner Bros. tried to hand it to Sylvester Stallone, but he also passed, opening the door for Samuel L. Jackson to take his career to the next level. And, as the world now knows all too well, Samuel L. Jackson had the charisma to carry an action-thriller on his back. The Negotiator is one of the best single-setting thrillers you will find.
6. A Simple Plan
Sam Raimi may have gotten his breakout success in horror-comedy with The Evil Dead, but in 1998 he took a detour into the thriller genre with A Simple Plan. The film was adapted by Scott B. Smith, based on his own novel. It follows two Minnesota brothers, one a successful accountant named Hank (Bill Paxton), the other, a “simple-minded” brother named Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton). One day while visiting their parents’ graves, the brothers and a close friend come across a crashed plane in the woods, carrying over $4 million in cash. They decide to take the money and hold it in secret, until they can be sure they are in the clear. Instead, their act of theft sets off a series of disastrous events, as the men learn fisthand that there is no ‘easy way’ to walk away with that much money.
A Simple Plan lives up to the delicious irony of its title, and the real “thrill” of the film is watching a close-knit group of family and friends slowly unravel as the money keeps forcing them do the unthinkable to keep it. It’s a modern (for the time) Hitchcokian thriller as only Raimi could do.
5. Enemy of the State
Director Tony Scott (Top Gun, True Romance) was at the top of his game in the 1990s, and in 1998 his fimmaking prowess met Will Smith’s star power (and Jerry Bruckheimer’s producing power) for the thriller Enemy of the State. In it, Smith plays labor lawyer Robert Clayton Dean, who one day runs into an old college buddy on the street. What Robert doesn’t know is that his buddy (a wildlife photographer) has accidentally gotten footage of a political assasination related to the NSA, and slipped the only copy of it into his shopping bag. It doesn’t take long for the NSA to start looking at Robert, and putting their resources toward taking him in – or worse. Robert’s only hope becomes “Brill” (Gene Hackman), his clandestine contact who is a survllieance expert. With Brill’s help, Robert tries to stay alive long enough to clear his name.
Enemy of the State now looks almost freakishly prophetic in its vision of espionage and government surrviellance, which would soon become a reality after 9/11. It’s only made the film more relatable over time, plus, seeing Will Smith and Tony Scott working in their prime now feels like a precious gem. Same with seeing Gene Hackman in one of his final best performances. The rest of the cast is also stacked, with Jon Voight, Regina King, Gabriel Byrne, Jake Busey, and others.
4. A Perfect Murder
Andrew Davis is one of the most successful action-thriller directors of the 1990s, with Chuck Norris (Code of Silence), Steven Seagal (Above the Law, Under Siege), and Harrison Ford (The Fugitive) all owing him for propelling their careers forward. However, in 1998, Davis scaled back for a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, entitled A Perfect Murder, and ended up striking box office gold.
The film follows a wealthy Wall Street trader (Michael Douglas), who discovers his younger wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) is having an affair with a local artist (Viggo Mortensen). The first twist comes when the wealthy husband approaches the side-guy and exposes him as a con man, who preys on wealthy wives. However, instead of busting the thief, the husband makes a different move: hiring him to kill his wife, get paid, and avoid prison. They plan the murder out precisely, but nothing goes to plan, and no one can be trusted. A Perfect Murder is as good as remakes get, and even Hitchock would’ve been proud.
3. Apt Pupil
Between the Oscar-winning success of The Ususal Suspect and the box office success of X-Men (2000), Bryan Singer released the dark thriller Apt Pupil, an adaptation of the 1980s Stephen King novella. The film had an indie budget ($14 million) and bombed at the box office ($8.9 million), but has since become a cult-hit, mainly due to an intense performance from Ian McKellen.
The film follows a high school kid named Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro), who begins to suspect that his elderly neighbor, Arthur Denker (McKellen) is actually a former Nazi, and one of the worst conceration camp commadants of the war. But rather than turn him in, Todd forces Arthur (aka “Kurt Dussander”) to tell him real stories from WWII (his personal obsession), and who the Nazis really were. At the time it wasn’t appreciated, but Singer’s thriller is darkly insightful in how it forces would-be facist fanboys to confront the true monstrosity of people who commit vile attrocities.
2. U.S. Marshals
The Fugitive was such a box office success that Warner Bros. took a swing at a spinoff film, following Tommy Lee Jones’ Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Getard, and his squad of Marshals. This time, the man they are sent to bring in is a former black-ops agent (Wesley Snipes) with a government target on his head. That makes the hunt all the more dangerous for the Marshals, as their prey is highly-skilled and dangerous, and the ones trying to kill him may be even more so.
U.S. Marshals isn’t just a good spinoff, it’s a top-notch thriller in its own right. Alongside Jones and Snipes, the film’s ensemble inlcludes Roberte Downey Jr., Joe Pantoliano, and many others. Director Stuar Baird didn’t director many films (this, Executive Decision, Star Trek: Nemesis) but his work seems to stand the test of time better than most.
1. Rounders
The Odyssey star Matt Damon partenered with Edward Norton for this crime thriler set in the world of underground poker. Damon played Mike, a brilliant player who got broken by a high-stakes game cone wrong. Mike is living a normal life with his lady Jo (Gretchen Mol), until his old buddy Lester “Worm” Murphy gets out of jail, and comes looking for his old partner in crime to start “rounding” again (i.e., hustling at various poker games). Before long, Mike finds himself right back in the hole, and this time, the consequences could be much higher than money.
Rounders has one of the tightest ensembles of any film, with John Malkovich, John Turturo, Famke Janssen, and Martin Landau all playing major supporting roles. It is a testatment to director John Dahl (Joy Ride, Evil) that he keeps you on the edge of your seat simply waiting for the flip of a card.
Any other 1998 thrillers you love? Talk to us about it on the ComicBook Forum!
