Flickering Myth’s Casey Chong presents a curated selection of conspiracy thrillers ready for you to untangle…
Cinema has been drawn to the intrigue of the conspiracy thriller for decades, given its fascinating exploration of misplaced trust, power and paranoia. Conspiracy thrillers are commonly explored to expose something that is off in the political or corporate arena, typically revolving around the character(s) in pursuit of finding the truth while risking their own safety.
Earlier efforts, particularly the 1970s era like All the President’s Men, The Conversation and Marathon Man, were some of the key movies that dominated the subgenre and have stood the test of time, but instead of delving into some of the most iconic and popular entries, we’re taking a look at ten underrated conspiracy thriller movies that deserve some attention…
Arlington Road (1999)
Paranoia runs deep in Arlington Road, which follows Jeff Bridges’ Michael Faraday, a widowed history professor specializing in domestic terrorism, who befriends a pair of seemingly nice neighbors, played by Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack. However, the neighbors aren’t who they seem to be and their friendly facade begins to fade, especially after Faraday begins to suspect them.
Mark Pellington, who directed Ehren Kruger’s screenplay, favors a deliberate, slow-burn dread over action-oriented or fast-paced thrills. He layers every tension piece by piece, mirroring Faraday’s mounting suspicion against his new neighbors. The director also uses Faraday’s grief over his late FBI agent wife’s tragic death in the line of duty, making us wonder whether it was his overwhelming emotion that continuously clouded his judgment or the fact that his neighbors are actually up to no good. Then comes the payoff – a finale that is both shocking and downbeat, summarizing how one’s fear and anxiety upon pursuing the truth can be ill-advised.
Vantage Point (2008)
Pete Travis’ feature-length directorial debut Vantage Point saw the director taking a cue from Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon-style narrative structure, where the story unfolds in multiple perspectives. The setup: U.S. President Henry Ashton (William Hurt) is shot during his speech on the stage in Spain during an international summit, triggering a widespread panic before the following explosion kills many people.
The assassination attempt is then replayed from different characters’ points of view, namely Sigourney Weaver’s television producer Rex Brooks and Dennis Quaid’s Secret Service agent Thomas Barnes. Each perspective is presented with new bits and pieces of information reminiscent of putting together a large puzzle, which may come across as a gimmick, but Travis’ overall assured direction keeps things moving at a brisk pace. The cast is top-notch, while the movie boasts enough thrilling action set pieces along with intriguing twists and turns.
Body of Lies (2008)
The combined star power of Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, with Ridley Scott as the director, should have been a guaranteed hit. And yet, Body of Lies could only muster around $119 million on an estimated $70 million budget. It was one of those overlooked big-budget movies that deserved a second chance, especially given its intriguing yet topical subject matter of battling terrorism.
DiCaprio plays Roger Ferris, a CIA field operative based in the Middle East assigned to locate a wanted terrorist leader, while his handler Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is in charge of manipulating events behind the scenes through phone calls and surveillance drones. The movie was released just a few years after 9/11, and The Departed’s William Monahan’s screenplay draws palpable stakes not only from the kinetic action set pieces but also the inner workings of how intelligence is pulled, even if it’s deceptive and morally unethical for the sake of fulfilling the objective. DiCaprio and Crowe excel in their respective roles, while Mark Strong steals the show as the level-headed chief and director of Jordanian GID.
Chain Reaction (1996)
Between Keanu Reeves’ pivotal, career-defining roles in 1994’s Speed and 1999’s The Matrix, here lies a potential $50 million-budgeted blockbuster that failed to ignite a chain of positive box-office reaction during the dog days of summer. Coming from the same director who gave us The Fugitive, Davis’ direction may lack the former’s thrilling blend of tense character-driven prowess and propulsive action flair, but Chain Reaction isn’t as bad as the initial reputation perceived it.
The story, which follows a machinist Eddie Kasalivich (Keanu Reeves) and a physicist Lily Sinclair (Rachel Weisz) who become the target of corporate espionage related to the discovery of clean energy, echoes the feel and look of a 1970s paranoia thriller, except that Davis executes them through the contemporary lens, complete with some solid action sequences. Reeves and Weisz bring enough subtlety and charm to their on-screen chemistry, while the movie features solid supporting turns from Morgan Freeman and Brian Cox.
Murder at 1600 (1997)
1997 was a battle of two similarly themed high-level government conspiracies revolving around the murder of a woman. Clint Eastwood, who starred and directed Absolute Power, came out on top, while Murder at 1600, which was released two months later, stumbled at the box office. However, Dwight Little’s conspiracy thriller is competently directed with Wesley Snipes leading the movie as the charming, no-nonsense Detective Harlan Regis, who is assigned to investigate the murder of a young secretary (Mary Moore) in the White House’s restroom.
Little plays it straight with all the thrills, suspense and intrigue through a satisfying mix of procedural-style murder mystery, political tension and action-movie tropes. It helps that Snipes shares good on-screen chemistry with Diane Lane’s by-the-book Secret Service agent. The movie equally gets an extra boost from reliable supporting actors, including Dennis Miller as Regis’ partner, Detective Stengel, and Alan Alda as National Security Advisor Alvin Jordan.
Winter Kills (1979)
Adapted from Richard Condon’s 1974 novel of the same name, writer-director William Richert takes us on a whirlwind ride of how a deep-seated government conspiracy can make your head spin figuratively or perhaps, literally too. This is exactly what happens to Nick Kegan (Jeff Bridges, in a game performance), the younger brother of an assassinated U.S. President Timothy Kegan, who finds himself embroiled in all sorts of cover-ups. Richert is obviously taking a cue from the real-life Kennedy assassination and flips it inside out to satirize the movie about power, truth and corruption in an absurdist manner.
The movie’s varying tonal shifts can be jarring at first, but after a while, Richert’s overall deadpan approach of how a man like Nick Kegan gets caught in a web of intrigue while searching for answers can be such a colossal mess. His character’s frequent state of confusion reflects the paranoia-induced storytelling structure, complete with Richert’s multiple genre mash-up from throwing in a pitch-black comedy, political satire and mystery thriller, all gleefully overlapped one after another.
Coma (1978)
Writer-director Michael Crichton channels David Cronenberg’s clinical storytelling style in Coma, which he adapted from Robin Cook’s 1977 novel of the same name. Utilizing a slow-burn approach that some viewers might find too taxing to sit through, Coma is the kind of movie that enough patience to appreciate the story. It follows a surgeon (Genevieve Bujold’s Dr. Susan Wheeler), who finds her best friend has passed away from an unexpected coma-induced death during a routine medical procedure. Her growing suspicion leads her to investigate what’s going on in the hospital, especially after more patients died in an eerily similar pattern.
Crichton takes his time to establish the story with a slow, procedural-like build-up, but eventually picks up the pace during the second half. Coma’s lingering dread and overall disquieting tone are masterfully crafted, coupled with strong performances all around (both Bujold and Michael Douglas deserve equal mention). Not to mention the theme of a profit-centric medical conspiracy that serves as the movie’s core subject matter remains as relevant as ever.
The Vast of Night (2020)
Andrew Patterson’s debut feature showcases his flair for executing a high-concept setup in a lo-fi mode about a disc jockey (Jake Horowitz’s Everett Sloan) and a switchboard operator (Sierra McCormick’s Fay Crocker), both best friends who begin to notice something strange going on over a radio frequency. It’s worth noting that The Vast of Night takes place during the 1950s, allowing Patterson to tap into the good old-school fear of the unknown, paranoia and conspiracy theory.
Interestingly, the movie spends most of its time alternating between Everett’s radio station and Fay’s workplace managing the switchboard. The chamber piece works well in its favor, thanks to the deliberate use of dread-inducing atmosphere to generate tension and suspense over the standard, in-your-face terror. The special effects are even kept to a bare minimum, and it’s amazing how Patterson’s bold decision of relying on these two actors’ dialogue-heavy moments to keep things intriguing throughout the movie.
Nick of Time (1995)
The biggest selling point of John Badham’s thriller is that the story unfolds in real time. Ninety minutes, to be exact, as Nick of Time follows a bespectacled accountant (Johnny Depp’s Gene Watson) being forced into taking a job he can’t refuse: assassinate the governor within a specific timeframe, or risk having his daughter killed by the two mysterious kidnappers (Christopher Walken and Roma Maffia). The clock is ticking, and kudos go to Badham for thrusting his race-against-time narrative in a largely compelling manner.
The film stays grounded with real-life stakes, while avoiding the stylistic excess of a Hollywood movie commonly seen in this type of genre. It also helps that Depp’s unusually cast-against-type role of an ordinary man stuck in an unlikely, pressure-cooker situation manages to see him play his role straight with none of the actor’s usual eccentric charm. Then, there’s also Christopher Walken, whose icy-cold precision of a remorseless antagonist evokes a palpable sense of menace.
Relay (2025)
The most recent conspiracy thriller in our list goes to Relay, the new film from David Mackenzie, the director who gave us Starred Up and Hell or High Water. The movie seemingly came and went with little fanfare this year, despite garnering positive reviews. Evoking the look and feel of a 1970s thriller which taps into paranoia, Relay takes place in a contemporary New York City setting, where a scared Sarah Grant (Lily James) enlists the help of a corporate fixer (Riz Ahmed’s Ash) to broker a payoff. That payoff in question has to do with Grant’s planned exposé of her former biotech company’s controversial genetically-modified wheat.
The highlight of the movie lies in Mackenzie’s distinctly low-tech approach to generating tension and suspense through the old-school telecommunication Ameriphone device to relay an important message. With the exception of the action-packed third act, Relay mostly keeps things in a procedural-style thriller, demonstrating Mackenzie’s continuous flair for versatility in handling different genres.
SEE ALSO: The Essential Modern Conspiracy Thrillers
What are your favourite conspiracy thriller movies? Any other underrated gems worthy of a spot on our list? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
