The 1990s were a golden era for high quality thrillers, from the erotically charged likes of Basic Instinct and Disclosure, to exciting blockbusters like The Fugitive and The Juror. So many thrillers were made throughout the decade, though, that naturally many of them were destined to slip under the radar and became neglected as the years went on.
While many of the films in this list are available if you seek them out, they are unlikely to appear on streaming services any time soon. Thankfully, Hollywood’s rich and varied history is there to be discovered if you have the time. So here are ten stand out thrillers from the 1990s, many of which have become buried in time.
1. Narrow Margin (1990)
Gene Hackman was firmly in star mode for Narrow Margin (1990), a thriller directed by Peter Hyams and co-starring Anne Archer. Hackman plays Robert Caulfield, an LA deputy district attorney and Vietnam vet, who is taking Carol (Archer) back to America where she will hopefully testify against a mob boss. After the perpetrators of the murder she witnessed track them down, Robert and Carol board a train from Canada to America. But then the duo realise hitmen are on board, and they spend the next day going cross country trying to keep alive.
Genuinely gripping, Narrow Margin is a damn fine thriller, wonderfully shot and expertly played by all involved. Fans of Gene Hackman in intense mode will be pleased, and he definitely delivers the goods. Indeed, the character might just be one of his most memorable from this era. He has the Hackman cynicism, the cocky humour and thorough forthrightness, but a lot of the time he’s basically a slave to the film’s tension, which tightens as it goes on. Yet there is room for Hackman quirkiness and he has many stand out scenes. Within the confines of this slick genre piece, Hackman is more convincing an action hero, albeit one wearing a suit and tie, than any muscle bound herculean warrior.
Unfortunately the film was not greeted with too much enthusiasm, either by the critics or movie-goers, but thirty odd years on it remains a solid slice of intrigue. In fact, it’s arguably one of Hackman’s most enjoyable pictures.
2. True Crime (1999)
In Clint Eastwood’s underrated True Crime, based on Andrew Klavan’s hit novel, the big man himself plays a journalist who hopes to bring to light some evidence which will prove a man’s innocence who is destined to be executed on death row.
This measured and carefully paced picture, a ticking time bomb of a drama that mostly takes place in a 24 hour period leading to the execution, has aged very well. Eastwood, a master of his craft, takes a mature tone with the material as director and is great in his role as the recovering alcoholic ready to step up. But some of the best moments are filled out by the splendid supporting cast, which includes Denis Leary and James Woods as Alan Mann, Eastwood’s editor-in-chief.
Woods is pure vital energy in this small but important role, wired up at all times as he makes his way back and forth through the busy office. He’s fast talking, funny and full of quips, put downs and witticisms. He works against Eastwood’s more laid back style beautifully and they enjoy some genuinely fantastic moments together. Denis Leary plays against type here as the boss, a role rather unlike his more comedic, fast talking usual parts.
True Crime didn’t fare too well upon release and is almost totally forgotten these days. It’s an exciting story, superbly directed and acted flawlessly by a top notch cast. Seek it out and you will not be disappointed.
3. A Kiss Before Dying (1991)
Based on Ira Levin’s classic novel, director James Dearden’s early 90s update of A Kiss Before Dying (it also hit the big screen in 1956) is a tight, suspenseful, unsettling, and engaging thriller. Starring two of the era’s most underrated stars, Sean Young and Matt Dillon, it has a plot that may look far fetched on paper but is in fact cleverly woven and brought to the screen with a lot of surprises.
Dillon stars as the conniving Jonathan Corliss, a young man who murders his girlfriend Dorothy (Young) and stages it as a suicide. Soon after he begins to get close to her twin sister Ellen (also Young), using a fake identity, and moves in on her life. As Ellen begins to investigate the mysterious “suicide” of her twin, Jonathan, acting as Jay, charms Ellen’s rich father, Thor, his eyes very much on the family fortune. As the plot thickens and Carliss reveals himself capable of even more dastardly acts, the film moves towards its shocking climax.
Sadly, A Kiss Before Dying was not a hit upon release and received mixed reviews, though Dillon did attract praise for his creepy, villainous turn. He had played rogues and tear-aways brilliantly prior to the film’s release, but never before had he been so evil. He would return to the dark side in Lars Von Trier’s highly disturbing The House That Jack Built, but for some time this would remain Dillon’s darkest performance. Sean Young, who shone brightly for a brief period in the late 80s and early 90s, is exceptionally good here, and the whole thing is brilliantly written and directed. A twisted treat from start to finish, this lost gem deserves a rediscovery.
4. Wild Things (1998)
Wild Things (1998), directed by John McNaughton, is one of the best sleazy thrillers of the decade. Starring Matt Dillon as a teacher accused of improper behaviour with two students, the film is full of twists and turns from the word go, right until the very last frame – quite literally so, in fact.
Denise Richards and Neve Campbell are two scheming high school students who just might be in on the Dillon abuse case, while Kevin Bacon is a crooked cop who wants a piece of the action. As great as the picture is, for me it’s probably stolen by Bill Murray who is superb as Ken Bowden, a neck-brace wearing dodgy lawyer. From the moment he first appears, it’s immediately impossible to imagine anyone else but Bill playing him. At first it may seem odd seeing Murray in such a sweaty, sexy thriller, but he gives the film the light relief it needs. He even makes a surprise re-appearance at the end.
Full of over the top moments, steamy sexual tension, unexpected violence and a host of superb performances, Wild Things is a tightly structured, gripping, and very funny fable on greed and lust. Would they make it these days? In short, no.
5. Mad City (1997)
In the overlooked Mad City, Dustin Hoffman plays Max Brackett, a local TV journo looking for a big scoop – which he gets when he finds himself in the middle a siege involving fired security guard Sam Bailey (John Travolta), who is holding up a group of people – including kids on a school trip – hostage in a museum. Brackett, seeing he has access to a story that could restore his image as a hot reporter, begins to manipulate the situation, first making Bailey a working class hero, the little man fighting back against the system, then a villain, a bad guy created by the media through manipulation, misunderstandings and cynicism.
Mad City is an enthralling film, wonderfully directed by the French master Costa-Gavras and with a rich, full screenplay by Tom Matthews, and though it could easily have been cliché ridden and predictable, there are enough moralistic twists and shifts to surprise the viewer at every turn.
The acting, too, is sublime. Hoffman is very good as the corrupt, ruthlessly minded journalist, a man who will do anything for his chance at the big time but begins to develop a conscience when he sees what the media is really capable, a realisation that becomes brutally blunt at the film’s climax. The finest performance however, in my view at least, comes from John Travolta as the likeable, slightly slow and ultimately tragic Sam, a wide eyed innocent unaware of the seriousness of his actions and a helpless victim of a harsh, unforgiving, brainwashing media. The great Alan Alda delivers a fine effort too, but Hoffman and Travolta are the focus of the film and their interactions are the vital ingredient.
The reviews, however, were not so good, meaning that with bad notices and poor box office the film has gone down as a bomb, which seems unfair, given that all these years on it’s a perfectly well made and executed mainstream rollercoaster, just as good or even better than the best commercial thrillers that emerged in the 1990s.
Mad City is worthy of your time for a number of reasons; the satirical attacks on the media; the explosive ending including Hoffman’s moralistic awakening; the fine performances. Perhaps most important of all, though, is the fact it’s so enjoyable, just as all good popcorn movies should be.