1995 Hit Film Was Just Ranked the 'Most Suspenseful Thriller Movie' of All Time
Most audiences agree that a thriller should have plenty of stressful, suspenseful moments.
The publication Collider recently shared a list of the most suspenseful thriller movies ever released. The ranking featured beloved classics like Rear Window from 1954, 1960's Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs from 1991, and 2007's Zodiac.
1995's Se7en secured the number one spot for the most suspenseful thriller movie of all time. The publication reported that the David Fincher-directed film deserved the title because it's extremely upsetting and has an infamously dark ending.
In a 2017 interview with BAFTA Guru, Fincher discussed directing Se7en, which was his second feature film. He said after he directed 1992's Alien 3, he was sent the Se7en script, written by Andrew Kevin Walker. The Zodiac director said he was immediately impressed with the story, especially the relatively early reveal of John Doe's (Kevin Spacey) identity and the grisly fate of David Mills' (Brad Pitt) wife, Tracy Mills (Gwyneth Paltrow).
"I got sent a script and it was Se7en and I got to John Doe walks into the police station and gives himself up. And I was holding the script, like, I knew how many pages were left. And I was going, 'You can't do this. Like this is against the rules.' Like so I read to the end and I thought, 'This is insane.' So I called my agent and I said, 'This head in the box ending is unbelievable," recalled Fincher.
Fincher then said his agent let him know he mistakenly sent the script's first draft. After his agent asked Fincher if he'd like to see the final draft, he said he wanted to make exactly what was sent to him.
"He said, 'Oh my God I sent you the wrong draft. That's the first draft.' I said, 'What?' He said, 'Yeah there's like 11 drafts. Do you want me to send it?' And I said, 'No, no, no. This is the one,'" said Fincher in the 2017 interview.
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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 2:43 PM.