Defining a Thrill

To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. To cause to quiver, tremble, or vibrate. To feel a sudden quiver of excitement or emotion. To quiver, tremble, or vibrate. A quivering or trembling caused by sudden excitement or emotion. A source or cause of excitement or emotion. A slight palpable vibration that often accompanies certain cardiac and circulatory abnormalities.

Sixth Sense Trailer, Synopsis and Why is it a Thriller?

He sees dead people - but can you see what's coming?

Months after a vicious assault, child psychologist Malcom Crowe (Bruce Willis) takes the unusual case of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a boy who claims he can see ghosts. But as the investigation progresses, it seems that Crowe and his wife (Olivia Williams) are becoming ever-more distant.

Extremely classy chiller-with-a-twist from M Night Shyamalan, who went on to reteam with Willis on the excellent Unbreakable, but has never returned to the heights of this.

Why is it a Thriller?

Serious Problem: Murder mystery 

Protagonist: Malcom Crowe

Developing Problem: Boy sees dead people, and his wife grows distant to him.

Antagonist: Murderer?

Protagonist in serious danger.

Widely regarded as Hitchcock’s greatest work, this hypnotic mystery stars James Stewart as ‘Scottie’ Ferguson, a height-fearing ex-cop who is asked by an old friend to follow his oddly-behaving wife (Kim Novak).

His curiosity leads to obsession, with devastating consequences. But that’s only half the story. A haunting, striking and utterly compelling masterclass of technique and storytelling, Vertigo is so good it’ll make your head spin.

The Hollywood remake of the BBC political thriller features Russell Crowe (who replaced Brad Pitt) as a slobbish, old school Washington DC hack who investigates a plot against his old student buddy-turned-congressman Ben Affleck.

The tightly-plotted, tortuous tale weaves through numerous sub-plots involving the apparent suicide of Affleck's mistress, to dirty tricks from a sinister private homeland security firm.

Lancastrian writer Paul Abbott's original script is beefed up by - among others - Bourne scribe Tony Gilroy while director Kevin McDonald effectively condenses the six hour-long episodes of the 2003 TV version.

Denzel Washington is the company commander whose suppressed memories of exactly what Shreiber did single him out as a target of dark political forces. Ambiguous and unsettling, this makes the Manchuria of the original (a region of China) became Manchurian Global, a huge Halliburton-style military service company and home to Shreiber's hawkish mother (Meryl Streep).

The Shining - Opening