Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "tension"
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1. Oppenheimer (I) (2023)
R | 180 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.
Votes: 719,646 | Gross: $326.11M
2. The Creator (2023)
PG-13 | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Against the backdrop of a war between humans and robots with artificial intelligence, a former soldier finds the secret weapon, a robot in the form of a young child.
Director: Gareth Edwards | Stars: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney
Votes: 158,551
3. The Good Wife (2009–2016)
TV-14 | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Alicia Florrick has been a good wife to her husband, a former state's attorney. After a very humiliating sex and corruption scandal, he is behind bars. She must now provide for her family and returns to work as a litigator in a law firm.
Stars: Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Josh Charles, Matt Czuchry
Votes: 82,604
4. Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
When a group of rich 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, a party game turns deadly in this fresh and funny look at backstabbing, fake friends, and one party gone very, very wrong.
Director: Halina Reijn | Stars: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha'la, Rachel Sennott
Votes: 67,771
5. No Escape (I) (2015)
R | 103 min | Action, Thriller
In their new overseas home, an American family soon finds themselves caught in the middle of a coup, and they frantically look for a safe escape from an environment where foreigners are being immediately executed.
Director: John Erick Dowdle | Stars: Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson, Thanawut Ketsaro
Votes: 93,060 | Gross: $27.29M
6. The Hateful Eight (2015)
R | 168 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins
Votes: 658,840 | Gross: $54.12M
7. Jackie Brown (1997)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda
Votes: 374,504 | Gross: $39.67M
8. Dunkirk (2017)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Drama, History
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Votes: 739,136 | Gross: $188.37M
9. Apollo 13 (I) (1995)
PG | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, History
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise
Votes: 315,242 | Gross: $173.84M
10. Warrior (2011)
PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Drama, Sport
The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison
Votes: 497,504 | Gross: $13.66M
11. Cloverfield (2008)
PG-13 | 85 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack.
Director: Matt Reeves | Stars: Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller
Votes: 420,308 | Gross: $80.05M
12. The Perfect Storm (2000)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An unusually intense storm pattern catches some commercial fishermen unaware and puts them in mortal danger.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane
Votes: 177,767 | Gross: $182.62M
13. Retribution (I) (2023)
R | 91 min | Action, Thriller
A bank executive receives a bomb threat while driving his children to school that his car will explode if they stop and get out.
Director: Nimród Antal | Stars: Liam Neeson, Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion
Votes: 20,567
14. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
R | 83 min | Horror
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain
Votes: 183,328 | Gross: $30.86M
15. La haine (1995)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama
24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abdel Ahmed Ghili
Votes: 196,100 | Gross: $0.31M
16. Sorcerer (1977)
PG | 121 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Four unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou
Votes: 27,482 | Gross: $12.00M
17. Breakdown (I) (1997)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.
Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey
Votes: 61,595 | Gross: $50.13M
18. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
PG | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill
Votes: 214,531 | Gross: $122.01M
19. Serenity (2005)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The crew of the ship Serenity try to evade an assassin sent to recapture telepath River.
Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alan Tudyk
Votes: 305,508 | Gross: $25.51M
20. Green Room (2015)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.
Director: Jeremy Saulnier | Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart
Votes: 139,089 | Gross: $3.22M
21. Das Boot (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 264,107 | Gross: $11.49M
22. Papillon (1973)
R | 151 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon
Votes: 138,282 | Gross: $53.27M
23. Funny Games (2007)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet
Votes: 103,761 | Gross: $1.29M
24. WarGames (1983)
PG | 114 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman
Votes: 110,589 | Gross: $79.57M
25. Titane (2021)
R | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for ten years.
Director: Julia Ducournau | Stars: Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh
Votes: 55,995
26. Trigger Point (2022– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Drama series following Lana Washington, an experienced bomb disposal officer working for the Metropolitan Police.
Stars: Vicky McClure, Eric Shango, Nabil Elouahabi, Kerry Godliman
Votes: 8,249
27. Grindhouse (2007)
R | 191 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's homage to exploitation double features in the '60s and '70s with two back-to-back cult films that include previews of coming attractions between them.
Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright, Rob Zombie | Stars: Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Danny Trejo, Zoë Bell
Votes: 191,093 | Gross: $25.04M
28. Child's Play (1988)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
A struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.
Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Votes: 116,571 | Gross: $33.24M
29. Scream 4 (2011)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Lucy Hale
Votes: 171,024 | Gross: $38.18M
30. Goldfinger (1964)
PG | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
While investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton
Votes: 202,404 | Gross: $51.08M
31. Miami Vice (2006)
R | 132 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Based on the 1980s TV action/drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Gong Li, Naomie Harris
Votes: 123,641 | Gross: $63.45M
32. Inland Empire (2006)
R | 180 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
As an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Karolina Gruszka, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Grace Zabriskie, Laura Dern
Votes: 61,862 | Gross: $0.75M
33. The Bounty (1984)
PG | 132 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Fed up with their Captain's harsh discipline, a sailing ship's crew decides to take action.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox
Votes: 30,371 | Gross: $8.60M
34. Crawl (I) (2019)
R | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A young woman, while attempting to save her father during a category 5 hurricane, finds herself trapped in a flooding house and must fight for her life against alligators.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Morfydd Clark, Ross Anderson
Votes: 93,924 | Gross: $39.01M
35. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Black war hero is hired to find a mysterious woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal in 1948 Los Angeles.
Director: Carl Franklin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle
Votes: 24,125 | Gross: $16.03M
36. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
PG | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
With the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan
Votes: 129,132 | Gross: $78.91M
37. This Is England (2006)
Not Rated | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim
Votes: 128,658 | Gross: $0.33M
38. Battle Los Angeles (2011)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A squad of U.S. Marines becomes the last line of defense against a global invasion.
Director: Jonathan Liebesman | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ramón Rodríguez
Votes: 185,096 | Gross: $83.55M
39. Ordinary People (1980)
R | 124 min | Drama
The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
Votes: 56,630 | Gross: $54.80M
40. Cube (1997)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
Director: Vincenzo Natali | Stars: Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller
Votes: 247,453 | Gross: $0.50M
41. Eye in the Sky (2015)
R | 102 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Col. Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya, sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare.
Director: Gavin Hood | Stars: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi
Votes: 91,419 | Gross: $18.70M
42. Cabin Fever (2002)
R | 93 min | Horror
Five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals.
Director: Eli Roth | Stars: Jordan Ladd, Rider Strong, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent
Votes: 83,632 | Gross: $21.16M
43. Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022–2023)
TV-MA | 48 min | Drama
Toby Fleishman knew what to expect when he and his wife of almost 15 years separated: weekends and every other holiday with the kids, some residual bitterness, and the occasional moment of tension in their co-parenting negotiations.
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Brody
Votes: 16,554
44. The Gift (2000)
R | 111 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A fortune teller with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has mysteriously disappeared.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi
Votes: 74,719 | Gross: $12.01M
45. Money Monster (2016)
R | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes them and their crew as hostage.
Director: Jodie Foster | Stars: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell, Dominic West
Votes: 105,113 | Gross: $41.01M
46. The Good Son (1993)
R | 87 min | Drama, Thriller
A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and becomes friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse
Votes: 45,728 | Gross: $44.59M
47. Jigsaw (I) (2017)
R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for over 10 years.
Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig | Stars: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie, Hannah Emily Anderson
Votes: 92,121 | Gross: $38.05M
48. Marathon Man (1976)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane
Votes: 70,167 | Gross: $21.71M
49. Captive State (2019)
PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extraterrestrial force, 'Captive State' explores the lives on both sides of the conflict - the collaborators and dissidents.
Director: Rupert Wyatt | Stars: John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Vera Farmiga
Votes: 57,850 | Gross: $5.96M
50. High Noon (1952)
PG | 85 min | Drama, Thriller, Western
A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 110,091 | Gross: $9.45M