Action & Thriller Fan

Takes (906)

• Ayla: The Daughter of War

  Go in expecting a war movie and you may be surprised; Ayla is less a combat film than an emotional one. The war mostly stays in the… Read more →

• Pocket Hercules: Naim Süleymanoglu (Cep Herkülü: Naim Süleymanoğlu)

  As a sports film, the weightlifting scenes are genuinely exciting; you hold your breath on every lift. Naim's attempts to get out of… Read more →

• The Mountain II (Dağ 2)

  The Mountain II is one of the most solid Turkish action films around. Shooting with real weapons and armoured vehicles gives the set pieces… Read more →

• The Bandit (Eşkıya)

  Şener Şen's Baran fills the screen the moment he appears. Betrayal, an unfinished love and a search for an unknown address in Istanbul… Read more →

• Ezel

  A series that opens with a casino robbery grabs you from the first minute. In Ezel the tension barely lets up; who betrayed whom, who will… Read more →

• Alone (Issız Adam)

  Honestly, Issız Adam isn't my kind of film. The pace is very slow and it rests largely on two people's conversations and quiet moments.… Read more →

• Kardeşim Benim 1 (My Brother)

  To be upfront, there's not much here for action fans. The story is built around two brothers' feud and facing their past, so expect long… Read more →

• Money Trap (Organize İşler Sazan Sarmalı)

  The best thing about con stories is not being able to tell who is fooling whom until the very end. Sazan Sarmalı sets up that game in the… Read more →

• Recep İvedik 5

  The sports angle adds some movement: athletics, boxing, wrestling, and Recep is thrown into something in nearly every scene. Still, don't… Read more →

• The Girl with the Red Scarf (Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım)

  Honestly, slow dramas are not my thing, and this film is in no hurry at all. Love, abandonment, a return years later: the tension comes not… Read more →

• Dad's Money (Baba Parası)

  There is a giant safe, a code to crack and a crowd of siblings going at each other. Built like a proper race-against-the-clock film, this… Read more →

• Dance with the Jackals 4 (Çakallarla Dans 4)

  A treasure map, four friends hitting the road and an adventure heading for Edirne: on paper it has real road-movie energy. But this is not… Read more →

• Music and Dance, the Two of Us (Çalgı Çengi İkimiz)

  The setup has real movement: two cousins stuck with the mob have to kidnap a registrar at a wedding to get out. On paper, that is a tense… Read more →

• Staged Murder (Cinayet Süsü)

  Serial murders, a desperate homicide squad, mounting pressure: on paper, a great start for a thriller. But Cinayet Süsü is not a thriller… Read more →

• D.I.S.C.O.

  A secret agency, an unfinished operation, a criminal outfit staying at the same hotel: all the ingredients a spy-movie fan wants. Pairing… Read more →

• Delibal

  Honestly, this film is not my genre. Two young people in love, a marriage and a fairy tale that one day breaks; the pace is set entirely by… Read more →

• 61 Days (İftarlık Gazoz)

  Honestly, this film is too calm for my sense of pace. A summer holiday, a soda workshop and small-town life: no tension, no chases, no real… Read more →

• Husband Factor: Resurrection (Kocan Kadar Konuş: Diriliş)

  To be honest, I get bored fast with films like this. Wedding prep, family squabbles, relatives fussing: there is not much here for anyone… Read more →

• Cologne Republic (Kolonya Cumhuriyeti)

  An alien, a spaceship smashed to pieces and, in the end, America declaring war on a small town: as ideas go, it is crazy and fun. Büşra… Read more →

• Osman Marketing (Osman Pazarlama)

  Osman keeps running from one escapade to the next, so at least the film never stands still. But there are no real stakes or tension; the… Read more →

• My Travel Companion 2 (Yol Arkadaşım 2)

  A tour, the road, romance, adventure... On paper, a lively package. But this is not an action film; it is a light comedy built on two… Read more →

• A Hindu Father (Bir Baba Hindu)

  A mafia boss goes to India, and the idea alone is wild! Fadıl flies to Mumbai with Hulusi to find the yoga teacher he has fallen for, and… Read more →

• Wolf (Börü)

  This is the big-screen finale of a series, and its weight is on combat and survival. A special operations team tries to hold out through… Read more →

• Inferno (Cehennem)

  Langdon wakes up in a hospital with a blurred memory and a hitman on his tail; the opening tension is pretty good. The chase from Florence… Read more →

• Cingoz Recai (Cingöz Recai: Bir Efsanenin Dönüşü)

  Cingöz Recai is back, and this time he infiltrates a gang, which is a pretty bold idea. The heist plan, the disguises, the chase after the… Read more →

• 125 Years Memory

  Two stories, two big crises: first a ship hitting rocks in a storm, then an evacuation racing the clock out of Tehran. On paper that means… Read more →

• Red Istanbul (İstanbul Kırmızısı)

  A writer is summoned to Istanbul, and the next morning the director who called him vanishes. That set-up sparks curiosity, I admit. But… Read more →

• My Brother 2 (Kardeşim Benim 2)

  A journey that starts with a funeral and runs from the Aegean to the Black Sea; road films are lively by nature, so pace should not be a… Read more →

• Valley of the Wolves: Homeland (Kurtlar Vadisi Vatan)

  The fourth film of the Kurtlar Vadisi series, with Polat Alemdar and his team on stage again. The story begins with a map captured in… Read more →

• Precious Life (Nadide Hayat)

  Honestly, this one is not for me. For 115 minutes you watch an emotional journey; the subject is loss, school and the sea, so do not expect… Read more →

• Mortal World (Ölümlü Dünya)

  An ordinary restaurant, a secret organisation behind it and an eight-member family trying to protect the secret. The idea promises pace… Read more →

• Endless Love (Sonsuz Aşk)

  A romantic drama, so do not expect pace. The surgeon and the young woman's paths cross, love grows, obstacles appear; that is the formula.… Read more →

• Fork in the Road (Yol Ayrımı)

  Two and a half hours. The subject is heavy: a businessman, an accident, a crossroads. The conflict here is not fists or chases but… Read more →

• Heavy Romantic (Ağır Romantik)

  A gang of snatchers, a stolen bag, a gang-boss father: it sounds like a thriller, but this is a romantic comedy with the love story up… Read more →

• The Wild Pear Tree (Ahlat Ağacı)

  188 minutes, mostly talk: for anyone who wants pace, that is a serious test of patience. Sinan's hunt for money and his father's debts… Read more →

• Let's Hope the President Doesn't Hear About This (Aman Reis Duymasın)

  The mob bosses head off for a quiet holiday, but one mishap chases another in the resort town and they end up in the slammer. The idea is… Read more →

• The Man from Deliorman (Deliormanlı)

  A boxing film, a ring, a comeback story and a mafia-boss manager in the mix: all the material a fan of pace could want. The build-up to the… Read more →

• Burning Days (Kurak Günler)

  There is tension, but it simmers rather than explodes. The prosecutor's effort to stay neutral and the pressure of the coming election keep… Read more →

• About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne)

  A 197-minute drama asks for patience. If you want pace or quick tension, this film is not for you. The harassment accusation may move the… Read more →

• Malazgirt 1071

  A war film, two armies, a clash on a vast plain: on paper it is exactly the stuff of the genre. But the shared complaint of critics and… Read more →

• Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre

  A spy caper, a stolen weapon, a trip around the world, chases: the right address for anyone who likes pace. Jason Statham plays the agent… Read more →

• Siccin 3: The Crime Is Love (Siccin 3: Cürmü Aşk)

  The third film of the Siccîn series, a sequel to Siccîn 2. A car accident, a father whose son is left paralysed, a woman who cannot… Read more →

• Behzat Ç.: An Ankara Detective Story (Behzat Ç.: Bir Ankara Polisiyesi)

  There are no fireworks here: the Ankara murder cases are told in a hard, bleak, understated way. Behzat Ç. is a chief who ignores the rules… Read more →

• The Pit (Çukur)

  The Koçovalı family, neighbourhood fights, blood ties and the struggle for power: if you want pace, Çukur is a good address. Yamaç being… Read more →

• Diriliş: Ertuğrul

  Horses, swords, sieges: plenty of material for anyone who wants pace. The cast spent six months preparing, with riding lessons for the… Read more →

• Doctors (Doktorlar)

  The hospital setting brings some speed: young surgeons, cases, tests. But this is not an action show; it is a talky, emotion-heavy medical… Read more →

• Bandits Will Not Rule the World (Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz)

  A fresh showdown in every episode: good news for anyone who loves pace. The feuds, debts and fights spinning around the Çakırbeyli family… Read more →

• Karadayi

  A series that mixes action with political tension; the story, starting from a wrongful accusation, stirs curiosity. Mahir's fight to clear… Read more →

• Poplar Winds (Kavak Yelleri)

  The subject is not chases and fights but teenagers dealing with school, first love and family trouble. For anyone after action and tension… Read more →

• Valley of the Wolves: Ambush (Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu)

  Secret missions, the mafia, the deep state: if you want pace and tension, this is exactly Polat Alemdar's world. Necati Şaşmaz's Polat runs… Read more →

• As Time Goes By (Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman Ki)

  Episodes of about a hundred minutes, family drama and a slow-moving story: not something an action fan will sit through easily. At 120… Read more →

• Poyraz Karayel

  A disgraced former cop loses his job and custody of his son to a conspiracy, then goes undercover in Istanbul's biggest criminal… Read more →

• Inside (İçerde)

  Two brothers separated in childhood, one a cop and one the mafia's hidden eye: when they come face to face the tension rises by itself. The… Read more →

• Endless Love (Kara Sevda)

  Let me be honest: this is not my genre, with its love, sacrifice and secrets. For someone after pace and fights it may feel slow. Still… Read more →

• Kurt Seyit and Shura (Kurt Seyit ve Şura)

  The First World War, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian Civil War... the backdrop is very active, but the heart of the series is a love… Read more →

• Valley of the Wolves (Kurtlar Vadisi)

  An agent whose face and voice are changed so he can slip into the mafia is one of the strongest hooks the genre has. Polat Alemdar's… Read more →

• Kuruluş: Osman

  The Kayı tribe, Byzantine and Mongol pressure, clashes with neighbouring powers: there is plenty here for anyone who loves swords, horses… Read more →

• Promise (Söz)

  Special team, missions, threats: Söz is a full military action series. The story begins when Yavuz Karasu loses his fiancée in an attack… Read more →

• From Adana (Adanalı)

  Adanalı melts cop drama and comedy in one pot and rarely lets the pace drop. The core idea of blood brothers on opposite sides promises… Read more →

• Hunting Season (Av Mevsimi)

  A murder, a drug dealer and one of the richest businessmen in the country: Av Mevsimi's setup promises solid suspense, and three very… Read more →

• The Early Bird (Erkenci Kuş)

  Let me be straight: Erkenci Kuş is not my genre. No tension, no chases, no big stakes; the story is about a battle of wills at an… Read more →

• Conquest 1453 (Fetih 1453)

  Watch it for the siege. The build-up beneath the walls and the assault scenes make the big budget count, and Benjamin Wallfisch's score… Read more →

• Filinta

  An Ottoman-era police procedural? That is exactly what Filinta delivers. Mustafa, nicknamed Filinta and played by Onur Tuna, chases… Read more →

• Hercai

  Hercai opens with a solid tension trigger: Miran abandons Reyyan the morning after their wedding, all to carry out his grandmother Azize's… Read more →

• Robbery Alla Turca (Hırsız Var!)

  One night, a gang planning a hotel heist, a gangster and the gossip press on their heels: on paper it's right up my street. The film builds… Read more →

• Black Money Love (Kara Para Aşk)

  A woman found dead in a car near a cliff top and a police commissioner chasing the truth: that opening is exactly my thing. Engin Akyürek's… Read more →

• Black Rose (Karagül)

  Karagül starts out like a drama, but there's suspense and action in it too: the secrets of a powerful-looking family, revenge and a fight… Read more →

• Rental Love (Kiralık Aşk)

  There are no chases in Kiralık Aşk, but there is a mission of sorts: Defne has six months to make Ömer fall for her. That deadline, and the… Read more →

• Rise of Empires: Ottoman

  There are two big chapters built around war, a siege and a campaign, and in the second season the rivalry with Vlad the Impaler turns up… Read more →

• Matter of Respect (Şeref Meselesi)

  Şeref Meselesi is a crime drama that runs on revenge fuel from start to finish. The mafia's scheme and Yiğit's hunt for a reckoning after… Read more →

• The Silent Ones (Suskunlar)

  Suskunlar builds tension from the first episodes: a successful lawyer faces childhood friends who threaten to drag a dark secret from his… Read more →

• Tatar Ramazan

  A blacksmith who won't bow to injustice, plus a murder accusation: the tension is built in from the start. Bülent İnal carries Ramazan's… Read more →

• A Long Story (Uzun Hikaye)

  125 minutes and a story spanning four decades: a real patience test if you want pace. Ali getting run out of town after town for the sake… Read more →

• 20 Minutes (20 Dakika)

  20 Dakika has a killer setup: a husband trying to get the wife he believes innocent out of prison, and an investigator gathering the… Read more →

• Alparslan: Great Seljuk (Alparslan: Büyük Selçuklu)

  Wars, sieges, big clashes: plenty here for fans of historical action. Barış Arduç carries the leader's charisma well. But long political… Read more →

• This City Will Follow You (Bu Şehir Arkandan Gelecek)

  A series that combines drama, romance and action, and ending in a single season of 20 episodes is a big plus for pace. Casting Gürkan Uygun… Read more →

• Bold and Beautiful (Cesur ve Güzel)

  A man back with a revenge plan, a father murdered thirty years ago, and falling for the daughter of the man he blames: plenty of fuel for a… Read more →

• For Love and Honor (Kabadayı)

  An underworld, a rivalry heating up between an ageing tough and an ambitious young man, a new war waiting at the door... Kabadayı's setup… Read more →

• Losers' Club (Kaybedenler Kulübü)

  Let me be upfront: Losers' Club is not my kind of film. It moves mostly through conversation: a radio studio, a bar in Kadıköy, long talks.… Read more →

• Unfaithful (Sadakatsiz)

  Don't expect action in the classic sense, but it works as a psychological thriller. Every move Asya makes after learning of the betrayal… Read more →

• I'll Tell You a Secret (Sana Bir Sır Vereceğim)

  Kids with superpowers, villains on their trail, a fight to survive and keep the secret: on paper it's prime thriller material. The… Read more →

• Sweet Little Liars (Tatlı Küçük Yalancılar)

  A missing friend, a mysterious "A" and pressure that ramps up with every message: that set-up is right up my street. The tense moments land… Read more →

• Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma beni İstanbul)

  Let's be straight: this film is not for anyone after tension or pace. There are seven separate stories of about fifteen minutes each, and… Read more →

• Awakening: The Great Seljuk Empire (Uyanış: Büyük Selçuklu)

  Byzantium, the Crusaders, rebellions at home... Awakening is hardly short on war, and the big cast keeps up the pace. Buğra Gülsoy gives… Read more →

• Hammer and Rose: A Behzat Ç. Story (Çekiç ve Gül: Bir Behzat Ç. Hikayesi)

  Behzat Ç. means a rule-breaking detective and a tough Ankara, and this series sticks to that line. The chain of murders that starts when… Read more →

• Fighter (Savaşçı)

  A series built around the missions of a Maroon Beret team goes straight for the target if you love action. The idea of the Sword Team being… Read more →

• The Big Brass Ring

  Blackmail photos, an approaching election, an old mentor returning after years away: on paper, a solid political-thriller setup. But… Read more →

• Damn Istanbul (Ulan İstanbul)

  The schemes move fast, and for me that's what counts. Each con has a little heist-movie feel, and since the targets are people who got rich… Read more →

• Wild Soccer Bunch (Die Wilden Kerle)

  Football plus a kids' adventure is not a bad mix if you want some pace, and at 94 minutes it does not drag. But let me be clear: the… Read more →

• Tell Me About Love (Bana Sevmeyi Anlat)

  When Haşmet's dark side comes out and Leyla has to run, the series suddenly turns into an escape thriller, and that is the stretch that… Read more →

• Collision (Çarpışma)

  A series that opens with a crash involving four cars: a strong, intriguing starting point. Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ's Chief Inspector Kadir carries… Read more →

• Full Moon (Dolunay)

  Let me be upfront: Dolunay is not my kind of show. Don't expect chases or big tension set pieces; everything rides on the romantic sparring… Read more →

• Night Queen (Gecenin Kraliçesi)

  A man raised by his father's killer, a forbidden love and revenge returning years later: the idea behind Gecenin Kraliçesi is pretty bold… Read more →

• The Conqueror (Mehmed: Bir Cihan Fatihi)

  City walls, a giant chain across the Golden Horn, a 53-day siege: the premise promises big action from the start, and a cast led by Kenan… Read more →

• Menekşe and Halil (Menekşe ile Halil)

  On paper, Menekşe ile Halil has everything for tension: a couple fleeing from Germany to Istanbul, with her family and the unwanted fiancé… Read more →

• Seddulbahir 32 Hours (Seddülbahir 32 Saat)

  Seddülbahir 32 Saat is short and intense: just four episodes, focused on the pitched battle at the front and the clash between Turkish… Read more →

• Fog and Night (Sis ve Gece)

  Secret service, infighting inside the organisation, a young woman who vanishes and the labyrinth of Istanbul: on paper it's a perfect… Read more →

• The End (Son)

  A plane crash, a vanished husband and a woman who finds out her life is a lie: the opening is pure thriller fuel. Aylin's search for her… Read more →

• The Edge of Heaven (Auf der anderen Seite)

  Honestly, this one does not move at my speed. Three separate chapters, six characters and lives that connect slowly; the tension never… Read more →

• 50m2

  A hitman, stolen secrets and a boss who has him do the dirty work: 50m2 is set up like a full-on thriller. But the show steers it towards… Read more →

• Love in Another Language (Başka Dilde Aşk)

  Honestly, this is not my kind of film. No tension, no chases, a calm pace from start to finish and silent moments that run long. Still, the… Read more →

• Behzat Ç.: Seni Kalbime Gömdüm

  A serial killer who calls himself 'Red Kit', pits dug all over Ankara, and Behzat Ç. and his team on his trail: what more do you need. The… Read more →

• The International (Beynelmilel)

  Don't expect shootouts or chases in The International; the tension comes from the atmosphere of a town under martial law. Revolutionary… Read more →

• Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da)

  Let me be honest: a murder, a suspect and an all-night hunt for a body sound like a thriller, but Once Upon a Time in Anatolia never plays… Read more →

• After the Revolution (Devrimden Sonra)

  A post-revolution Turkey sounds like an exciting idea, but Devrimden Sonra is a film of ideas, not a thriller. Twelve separate stories show… Read more →

• Eşref Rüya

  Eşref Rüya, with its mix of mafia world, love and betrayal, looks right up my street, and a budget of 23 million lira per episode raises… Read more →

• Heart Mountain (Gönül Dağı)

  Three cousins, an oddly winged aircraft and a dream taking shape in a small town: the premise hooked me. But the show soon spreads out into… Read more →

• Evidence (Kanıt)

  If you like crime shows, Kanıt has a solid formula: a body, a team, the evidence and a knot untied step by step. But if you want chases and… Read more →

• Mommy, I'm Scared (Korkuyorum Anne)

  If the title has you expecting a horror film, fair warning: there's no horror here and no pace either. Mommy, I'm Scared is a slow-moving… Read more →

• The Exam (Sınav)

  High schoolers plotting to steal exam questions is a great heist idea on paper: five kids, high stakes and a professional thief brought in.… Read more →

• Organization (Teşkilat)

  Teşkilat floors it from the first episode: an attack on the SİHA drone factory in Ankara, foreign intelligence services behind it, and a… Read more →

• Wolffs Revier

  Berlin, a homicide unit, a stubborn chief inspector: on paper, it's exactly my genre. But long-running German crime shows like this usually… Read more →

• Yakamoz S-245

  Post-apocalypse, a submarine, a conspiracy... on paper it is exactly my list. A fight for survival inside a sealed submarine creates… Read more →

• Judgment (Yargı)

  Do not picture dull courtrooms when you hear legal drama. Yargı mixes a murder investigation with crime and psychological thriller, and the… Read more →

• Hüsnü the Troublemaker (Yedi Bela Hüsnü)

  A hero with hitmen on his tail, one bit of trouble barely over before the next arrives: on paper, it's a pure chase story. Yedi Bela Hüsnü… Read more →

• The Gift (Atiye)

  Open Atiye expecting an action series and you may be let down. The mystery is strong, and the idea of a symbol found at Göbeklitepe hooks… Read more →

• Behzat Ç. Ankara Is Burning (Behzat Ç. Ankara Yanıyor)

  An assassination attempt on the Interior Minister, two murder files sitting on the desk and Behzat Ç. back on temporary duty. The setup is… Read more →

• Waiting for Heaven (Cenneti Beklerken)

  Honestly, this one isn't my speed. A journey, a rebel prince, a mission from the palace — you expect adventure, but Waiting for Heaven is… Read more →

• Wild Heart (Deli Yürek)

  Deli Yürek may have started in 1998, but it still shows how to build an action series. Yusuf Miroğlu stands alone in the middle of a… Read more →

• Turks in Space (Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam'ın Oğlu)

  A Turkish action comedy set in space sounds great on paper. Cüneyt Arkın returning as a light that guards the earth and rescuing an… Read more →

• The Protector (Hakan: Muhafız)

  A young guy with a shop in the Grand Bazaar discovers extraordinary powers and has to protect Istanbul from dark forces — the premise alone… Read more →

• Boundless Love (Hudutsuz Sevda)

  Blood feud, revenge and the Black Sea: there's plenty of fuel for tension here. Halil İbrahim returning home twenty years later as a strong… Read more →

• Koroglu

  Köroğlu is from 1968, so if you are used to today's speed, the pace can drag in places. But the story is a pure revenge movie: a young man… Read more →

• Labyrinth (Labirent)

  Labirent opens with a huge bomb, and from there the map just keeps growing: Istanbul, Mardin, Frankfurt, northern Iraq. Spy thrillers on… Read more →

• Mehmed: Sultan of Conquests (Mehmed: Fetihler Sultanı)

  Dozens of replica cannons were built for the siege scenes, and you can see that effort on screen; the battle moments feel big and showy.… Read more →

• Five Minarets in New York

  Two cops sent to collect a wanted leader, a job that looks simple, and a plot where nothing is what it seems: solid ground for an action… Read more →

• Until Death (Ölene Kadar)

  A doctor jailed for something he didn't do, crime elements, Sarp Levendoğlu on the other side: on paper it's perfect thriller material.… Read more →

• Mercy Hill (Şefkat Tepe)

  Military teams, a constant threat and mission after mission: Şefkat Tepe never lets go of its action streak. The Sungurlar team formed in… Read more →

• Price of Passion (Siyah Beyaz Aşk)

  The crime side gives the show solid tension. Ferhat is a cold-blooded type, and with the city's dark dealings, lust for power and dirty… Read more →

• Water and Fire (Su ve Ateş)

  A blood feud, two clans and a reckoning that hinges on one man: on paper, everything is set for tension. But the film first spends a long… Read more →

• Clair Obscur (Tereddüt)

  Let me be honest: this isn't my kind of film. The story is built almost entirely on inner lives and relationships, and the pace is very… Read more →

• Distant City (Uzak Şehir)

  Uzak Şehir's setup is pure thriller: a woman arriving with her husband's body, a family that does not let go easily, and a child who is not… Read more →

• Bitter Life (Acı Hayat)

  Let me be straight: romantic dramas rarely match my pace. The first stretch moves pretty slowly through the meeting, the romance and the… Read more →

• Times and Winds (Beş Vakit)

  I'll be honest: this film does not match my idea of pace at all. For 107 minutes it is the rhythm of the village, nature and the children's… Read more →

• Grain (Buğday)

  A post-apocalyptic world, the Dead Lands and a journey in search of seeds: on paper, this is exactly my genre. But Grain is not a survival… Read more →

• Fighting Killer

  The setup is as familiar as it gets, but it works: a Korean War veteran whose farm is burned and whose wife and child are killed, and the… Read more →

• G.O.R.A.

  It isn't an action film, but with so much parody dressed up as a space adventure, the pace stays lively most of the way. The Matrix nods… Read more →

• To Better Days (Güzel Günler Göreceğiz)

  Honestly, this is not my genre. Five separate stories and a single day; with drama up front, the structure drags in places for anyone after… Read more →

• Life (Hayat)

  Let me be blunt: about 193 minutes is a serious test for anyone who wants pace. Don't expect chases or big set pieces in Hayat; the tension… Read more →

• In Darkness (Karanlıktakiler)

  Karanlıktakiler carries a thriller label, but it is no chase movie. The tension builds slowly inside the house where Egemen is stuck with… Read more →

• The Crossroads (Kavşak)

  A man comes home to find his house empty: the opening grabs you and starts like a thriller. But Kavşak is not a thriller, it is a… Read more →

• Hatred (Kin)

  Kin's setup is a solid tension engine: a sick man out of prison on two months' leave, and a revenge left unfinished. Superintendent Şükrü… Read more →

• Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu)

  Winter Sleep's awards speak for themselves, but for anyone after pace, 196 minutes is a serious test. This is a slow-moving drama; the… Read more →

• Saladin, the Conqueror of Jerusalem (Kudüs Fatihi Selahaddin Eyyubi)

  A commander fighting the Crusaders, the struggle for Jerusalem and 58 episodes over two seasons: on paper there is plenty to work with. In… Read more →

• Prisoner (Mahkum)

  A fight for innocence, fought alone, that starts inside a prison: it is hard to ask for a better thriller opening. Action, crime and drama… Read more →

• Melikshah

  A javelin contest, a raid on a village, a gold-laden caravan stopped on the road: on paper there is plenty of action material. In about 90… Read more →

• Breath (Nefes: Vatan Sağolsun)

  Nefes is less a fast action show than a film about waiting and tension. The confinement of forty soldiers keeping watch on Karabal Hill… Read more →

• Omer

  Let me be honest: this show is not my speed. The story moves almost entirely through glances, long conversations and family tension. The… Read more →

• Supermen

  A time machine, the mafia, superheroes and Cüneyt Arkın in one film: on paper it is exactly my thing. Events in Istanbul tie into each… Read more →

• My Name Is Farah (Adım Farah)

  The premise is solid: a cleaner living in the country illegally witnesses a murder by chance one night, and suddenly her life is on the… Read more →

• Voyage of the Scorpion (Akrebin Yolculuğu)

  A mysterious tower, strange events, a town where time stops making sense... On paper it promises suspense, but the film is interested in… Read more →

• Scorpion's Nest (Akrep Yuvası)

  With Cüneyt Arkın as a police chief declaring war on the mafia, the energy is high from the start. The sniper attempt and the stretch where… Read more →

• Barbarossa

  Master seafarers on the Mediterranean, naval campaigns, a fight against European powers: Barbaros is the right address if you want… Read more →

• Börü 2039

  The near future, a world on the brink of total war and technology out of control: on paper, exactly my kind of thing. Mixing action… Read more →

• Dance with the Jackals 3 (Çakallarla Dans 3: Sıfır Sıkıntı)

  It is billed as a comedy-crime film, but the action side stays in the shadow of the laughs. The crew's plotting for the operation money is… Read more →

• Cemil

  Cüneyt Arkın as a commissioner, up against a drug ring with links abroad: whatever you want from a seventies police thriller is here.… Read more →

• Clash of Civilization Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio (Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore a Piazza Vittorio)

  A bully found dead in an elevator and the investigation that follows: on paper it sounds like a crime thriller, but the film is built on… Read more →

• Blood Money (Kanlı Para)

  Seventy-four minutes, so no time wasted: a factory robbery, an arrest, release for lack of evidence, and then the old gang's schemes to… Read more →

• Kara Murat vs. Sheikh Gaffar (Kara Murat Şeyh Gaffar'a Karşı)

  A janissary spy, a besieged fortress, envoys in a dungeon and kung fu on top: a real adventure cocktail. Kara Murat sneaking into the… Read more →

• Valley of the Wolves: Iraq (Kurtlar Vadisi Irak)

  You can see the budget and scale in every scene: crowded set pieces, firefights in Iraq, Polat and his crew at their toughest. It mostly… Read more →

• The Founding: Orhan (Kuruluş: Orhan)

  Wars, political rivalries and the capture of a city: on paper, everything is set for action. A big goal like the conquest of Bursa drives… Read more →

• Money Heist (La Casa De Papel)

  If you love heist stories, don't miss it. There is a long-prepared plan, constantly rising stakes and the kind of tension that makes you… Read more →

• Le Beau Serge

  Let's be honest: this one is not for people who want pace. For 99 minutes everything moves through the tension between two friends, through… Read more →

• Let's Meet at Dawn (Şafakta Buluşalım)

  A classic, solid revenge template: Halil goes after the men of the gang that killed his father, one by one, one at a petrol station, one in… Read more →

• Singing Women (Şarkı Söyleyen Kadınlar)

  An evacuated island, fear of an earthquake, a lonely young woman wandering the forest with a bag: on paper, great material for a thriller.… Read more →

• Black and White (Siyah Beyaz)

  This film is built entirely on dialogue and atmosphere, so don't expect tension, chases or big events. The long conversations at the bar… Read more →

• Milk (Süt)

  I know Kaplanoğlu went on to win the Golden Bear in Berlin with Bal, the trilogy's last film, but Süt was a tough watch for me. The story… Read more →

• Inside (Yeraltı)

  Let's be honest: Yeraltı isn't my kind of film. No chases, no fights; all the tension comes from sniping across a dinner table and old… Read more →

• Family (Aile)

  Crime world, nightclub, a powerful underworld family: on paper it is right up my street. The power struggle inside the family is the… Read more →

• Five Hot Women

  On paper the idea is great: a gang of women printing counterfeit money, a journalist and an Interpol agent on their trail, and a nightclub… Read more →

• Shattered Soul (Beyza'nın Kadınları)

  Severed legs turning up across Istanbul and a city gripped by panic: you can't ask for a much better hook. Commissioner Fatih and… Read more →

• Ethos (Bir Başkadır)

  If the thriller tag got you excited, adjust your expectations: Bir Başkadır is a drama first and foremost. Eight episodes in total, each… Read more →

• Toll Booth (Gişe Memuru)

  Let me be honest: Toll Booth isn't my kind of film. It's a quiet, slow-flowing story about a toll attendant's monotonous life, his… Read more →

• Counterfeiter (Kalpazan)

  Two brothers taking on the law, and one police officer who could bring them down: that's a solid setup for tension. Kartal falling for… Read more →

• Law Enforcement (Kanun Gücü)

  Kanun Gücü gets straight to the point with the fight between police officer Ahmet and Sungur Çapan, who runs Istanbul's drugs, smuggling… Read more →

• The Encounter (Karşılaşma)

  A murder, an inquiry, a man with a dark past... On paper, good thriller material. But Karşılaşma handles it as a slow, introspective drama… Read more →

• Kızım Nerede?

  A girl who vanishes from a nightclub one night, the family of a well-known businessman and a pile of unanswered questions: Kızım Nerede… Read more →

• The Perfect Tenant (Kusursuz Kiracı)

  A string of fires across Istanbul, a journalist following them, and an apartment building where something feels off from day one: the… Read more →

• And the Rest Will Follow (O da Bir Şey mi)

  Honestly, this is not my genre. It is a quiet story of almost two hours where reality and imagination mix; no chases, no big danger. But… Read more →

• Clumsy Shakir (Sakar Şakir)

  This isn't an action film, but the chases with Gardrop Fuat run both along the Kayseri-İstanbul road and through the city, and they keep it… Read more →

• The Code of Sümela: Temel (Sümela'nın Şifresi: Temel)

  A treasure, a code, Sümela Monastery... On paper it is a full adventure-movie setup. But this is no treasure-hunt thriller, it is a comedy… Read more →

• Takva: A Man's Fear of God

  Let me be honest: Takva is not my genre. This is no chase or big-set-piece film; the tension lives entirely inside one man's conscience.… Read more →

• Two in the Wave (Deux de la Vague)

  Let's be honest: Two in the Wave is not a film for people who want pace. There isn't a single newly shot scene; everything is built from… Read more →

• Unfinished Loves, Season 1 (Yarım Kalan Aşklar, season 1)

  It starts fast: a man about to propose dies in a crash staged just for him, comes back in another body and hunts for whoever killed him.… Read more →

• Yozgat Blues

  To be upfront, Yozgat Blues is not for anyone chasing speed. A music teacher and his student trying to find their feet in a new city is… Read more →

• The Broken Landlord (Züğürt Ağa)

  For someone like me who wants pace, Züğürt Ağa is a calm film: no chases, no big tension, the story moves through characters and… Read more →

• A.B.I.

  A.B.İ. mixes action with drama, and the start is strong: an attempted murder on the wedding night, mounting threats and mysteries that will… Read more →

• A.R.O.G

  A.R.O.G fills its prehistoric world with dinosaurs, cavemen and a remote-controlled creature, and does it as one of the most expensive… Read more →

• My Friend Max (Arkadaşım Max)

  Arkadaşım Max does have an exciting rescue adventure, but keep your expectations in check. It is a children's film: the adventure may be… Read more →

• Offside (Dar Alanda Kısa Paslaşmalar)

  If football films mean fast match scenes to you, Offside asks for some patience. Its real interest is not the pace on the pitch but the… Read more →

• Epic (Destan)

  A warrior mountain girl whose father was killed, two young people chasing justice and revenge, and the Gök Khan standing against them… Read more →

• The Magician (Hokkabaz)

  If you go into Hokkabaz expecting a classic Cem Yılmaz comedy, you may be surprised. There are laughs, but it is mostly a father-and-son… Read more →

• On Yilda Bir: Insaat 2

  İnşaat 2 lights the fuse quickly with two bodies washing up on the shore, and that is a good start. Every step Ali and Sudi take to get out… Read more →

• Human Hunter (İnsan Avcısı)

  İnsan Avcısı is pure seventies Cüneyt Arkın: heroin smugglers, foreign agents, karate and plenty of fighting. At 87 minutes the story moves… Read more →

• Antidote (Panzehir)

  Panzehir is built on a six-hour countdown, which is an ideal engine for an action film. Poisoned Kadir going after the people Kara Cemal… Read more →

• Prison Break

  An escape plan, a new obstacle at every step and tension that hooks you into the next episode: that's exactly what Prison Break delivers.… Read more →

• Shahmaran (Şahmaran)

  For anyone after a fantasy thriller, Şahmaran has a great premise: a mysterious community, an ancient prophecy and a dangerous romance.… Read more →

• Taken 2

  Liam Neeson's Bryan Mills is back at work, and this time the stage is Istanbul. Kidnapping, pursuit, a father out for revenge: you know the… Read more →

• The Three Superboys Strike Again (Üç Kağıtçılar)

  Three buddies fresh out of prison, a mob boss's money and the chases that follow: on paper, exactly my kind of mix. Cüneyt Arkın is relaxed… Read more →

• Far (Uzak)

  Let me be honest: Uzak is not my kind of film. Barely anything happens, the dialogue is sparse and the pace is very slow. It makes you feel… Read more →

• Unfinished Loves (Yarım Kalan Aşklar)

  The setup opens with a strong hook: what looks like an accident is really a trap, and the hero wakes up in someone else's body. The revenge… Read more →

• Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha (Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa)

  Preveza, 122 ships against 600... On paper, an epic sea battle. But expecting naval set pieces on today's scale from a black-and-white film… Read more →

• The Spell (Büyü)

  When it comes to homegrown horror, Büyü is still one of the first attempts people mention. A deserted village, a seven-century curse, a… Read more →

• The Jackal (Çakal)

  A fast climb from a poor neighbourhood into the underworld: on paper, exactly my kind of film. A lead with nothing left to lose brings a… Read more →

• Brave Heart (Cesur Yürek)

  A tough-guy hero, street justice and a clash with the law: Cesur Yürek's ingredients are made for action fans. Ömer having nothing to rely… Read more →

• Majority (Çoğunluk)

  Honestly, Majority is not built for my pace. Long silences, drives around town, the same routine over and over. There is tension, but it… Read more →

• Dracula and Son (Dracula père et fils)

  Anyone expecting thrills because the title says Dracula is in for a letdown; this is not a horror film but a comedy that pokes fun at… Read more →

• Fantômas

  Call it France's answer to the James Bond craze and expectations go up, and Fantômas meets them with plenty of fun. Jean Marais playing… Read more →

• Shirin va Farhad

  Say epic and adventure and expectations climb: an attack by Byzantine soldiers, a king hiding who he is, an escape attempt, a dungeon. On… Read more →

• In Pursuit of a Trace (İz Peşinde)

  Detectives, police, smugglers and Istanbul's underworld: the right ingredients for a genre fan. Seeing Erol Taş as a chief inspector is… Read more →

• From Maraş (Maraşlı)

  A retired soldier, a quiet bookshop and danger that never lets up: Maraşlı's formula grabs action fans right away. Burak Deniz as the… Read more →

• Pandora's Box (Pandora'nın Kutusu)

  Straight up: Pandora'nın Kutusu is not a film for anyone chasing pace. A search for a missing mother sounds tense, but things move calmly… Read more →

• The Syrian Bride (La Fiancée syrienne)

  Let me be straight: if you want pace, this film takes patience. The tension does not come from a chase but from the red tape at a tightly… Read more →

• Un témoin dans la ville

  A killer, night-time Paris and an army of taxi drivers talking to each other by radio: it is hard to find a better setup for a chase. Lino… Read more →

• The Nameless Knight (Adsız Cengaver)

  A tyrant, a baby set adrift on a river who survives, and a hero who grows up and rises against him: a classic skeleton, but one that works.… Read more →

• Love Resembles You (Aşk Sana Benzer)

  Fine if you love romantic drama, hard going if you want pace. Saving the restaurant and Deniz's mysterious past look like a decent hook for… Read more →

• Mr. E (Bay E)

  A missing wife, a nightmare that starts at a petrol station and an adventure beyond belief: the opening gets you curious. But the film… Read more →

• The Mountain (Dağ)

  Two soldiers, two rifles, four magazines and a broken radio. It's hard to find a tighter set-up for survival tension. At 90 minutes, it's… Read more →

• Dialogue with the Carmelites (Le Dialogue des carmélites)

  The subject is real and deeply dramatic: nuns arrested during the Terror and waiting for trial. But the film builds that tension through… Read more →

• Diamonds (Diamanti)

  Honestly, Diamonds is not my kind of film. For about two hours and fifteen minutes it is fabric, colour and relationships in a workshop; do… Read more →

• Ruthless (Gaddar)

  A man who returns from military service and turns ruthless; a hard-edged story mixing action, drama and crime. Exactly the stuff this genre… Read more →

• Rhino Season (Gergedan Mevsimi)

  An arrest, years in prison, then a man coming to Istanbul to find his lost family… The premise offers plenty of material for a thriller… Read more →

• The Little Apocalypse (Küçük Kıyamet)

  Paranoia about the Istanbul earthquake, a small southern town to escape to, and strange things starting to happen there: a solid set-up for… Read more →

• Valley of the Wolves: Palestine (Kurtlar Vadisi Filistin)

  The budget shows on screen: explosions, firefights and effects work coordinated by a Hollywood name make this look more ambitious than the… Read more →

• Valley of the Wolves: Terror (Kurtlar Vadisi Terör)

  Polat Alemdar going undercover in terrorist networks as Ali Candan is perfect thriller material on paper. Fans of Kurtlar Vadisi's… Read more →

• Malkoçoğlu Cem Sultan

  Eighty-two minutes, Cüneyt Arkın in a double role, traps, a captured prince and the Devil's Castle: on paper, everything is set for pace.… Read more →

• The Miracle (Mucize)

  Let me be honest: Mucize does not move at my speed. For two hours and sixteen minutes it is village life, long conversations and emotional… Read more →

• Boss Wants a Happy Ending (Patron Mutlu Son İstiyor)

  Romantic comedy is not my first pick, but this setup has some bite: two old friends turned enemies, an engaged woman and a screenwriter… Read more →

• Shabanoglu Shaban (Şabanoğlu Şaban)

  Secret police work, a stolen diamond, disguises, a pistol… on paper it's a full adventure package. But remember it's a 1977 comedy: the… Read more →

• Last Summer (Son Yaz)

  A crime boss is ready to testify in the prosecutor's case, and his only condition is protection for his son. That setup alone is enough for… Read more →

• To Each His Own Cinema (Chacun son cinéma)

  Honestly, this is not my genre. Thirty-four three-minute shorts, all about the movie theatre. If you want story, tension or pace, there is… Read more →

• Zagor

  Four enemies, one gunslinger, payback one at a time: as a revenge story the setup is simple but clear. That kind of bare structure helps… Read more →

• In Between (Arada)

  One night, one ship, one ticket that has to be found: on paper it is a pure race against the clock. A couple combing Istanbul with punk… Read more →

• The Epic of Battal Gazi (Battal Gazi Destanı)

  This one is a straight revenge run: a young warrior whose father died in an ambush heads for Byzantium and hits obstacle after obstacle.… Read more →

• King of Trouble (Belanın Kralı)

  Brawls, clashes, a robbery and banditry: Belanın Kralı ticks every box on the action list. It runs seventy-six minutes, so there's little… Read more →

• Not Knowing (Bilmemek)

  It is not a thriller, let me say that up front. For a long stretch Bilmemek moves at the slow pace of a tired marriage and gossip spreading… Read more →

• Saturn in Opposition (Saturno contro)

  To be honest, this film is too talky for me. Bir Ömür Yetmez is a drama about a big group of long-time friends and the secrets and troubles… Read more →

• Our Grand Despair (Bizim Büyük Çaresizliğimiz)

  Honestly, this isn't my kind of film. Our Grand Despair is built almost entirely on conversations, silences and everyday moments, so don't… Read more →

• CSI: Miami

  CSI: Miami keeps its pace by handling one crime per episode, so you never have to sit through long drama arcs. Complex murders, ballistics… Read more →

• Eagle of the Mountains (Dağların Kartalı)

  A robbery, a vanished partner, prison and two men out for revenge: Dağların Kartalı's setup lays solid ground for tension. Cappadocia's… Read more →

• Everybody Go Home (Tutti a casa)

  If you put this on as a war film expecting battle scenes, you may be let down; it's really a satirical comedy-drama. The story is set in… Read more →

• Fatma

  An ordinary-looking woman stepping into a world of killings and outlaws is exactly my kind of thing. Six episodes, tight, very little… Read more →

• Ghoul (Gulyabani)

  Gulyabani has a good setup: a hunting lodge deep in the forest, four women, and a legendary creature that roams at night. Everything is in… Read more →

• Kara Murat: Fatih'in Fedaisi

  Kara Murat's first film is a full adventure package on paper: a secret mission to Bucharest, missing envoys, a military agreement to seize… Read more →

• La Scoumoune

  Belmondo, crime and prison all in one: on paper, exactly my kind of film. At around a hundred minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome… Read more →

• Mahmut & Meryem (Mahmut ile Meryem)

  The sixteenth century, the era of the Battle of Chaldiran, a beloved carried off and a lover who sets out after her: on paper, an epic… Read more →

• The Masked Gang (Maskeli Beşler İntikam Peşinde)

  It's billed as an action comedy, but the comedy does the real work here. Five clumsy friends trying to become the most feared bandits… Read more →

• The Blue Wave (Mavi Dalga)

  To be honest, this film is not my genre. A teenage girl's school year, her indecision over university, her inner world; there is no chase… Read more →

• Out 1 (Out 1 : Noli me tangere)

  Nearly thirteen hours. Just hearing that might wear you out. Out 1 has no thriller tension, no chases, no big plot engine; characters… Read more →

• Recep İvedik 2

  Recep's hunt for a job and a wife moves through a string of stops, from cashier work and a pharmacy to an agency and the yakuza. That… Read more →

• Three Thousand Years of Longing

  A Djinn, three wishes, thousands of years of backstory: it sounds like a huge adventure, but this film is something else. Most of the story… Read more →

• The Farmhand (Yanaşma)

  Cüneyt Arkın, guns, feuds, an abduction: on paper it looks like a tense film. But Yanaşma's centre of gravity is love and custom, not… Read more →

• Someone Completely Different (Bambaşka Biri)

  When Bambaşka Biri opened with a murder in a forest, my expectations went up. Pulling a prosecutor and a famous anchor into the same case… Read more →

• The Children Are Entrusted to You (Çocuklar Sana Emanet)

  It is billed as a drama-thriller, but the weight falls mostly on the drama. A traumatic accident, a town, strange events: the setup sparks… Read more →

• The Man Who Saved the World (Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam)

  Don't look for logic in Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam, look for energy. The fight scenes with Cüneyt Arkın and Aytekin Akkaya taking on creatures… Read more →

• Idiot Şaban (Gerzek Şaban)

  A film extra who looks exactly like a feared mob boss: a great set-up for an action comedy. The chaos between gangsters and police, the… Read more →

• Hitman: Agent 47

  Hitman: Agent 47 does one thing well: the action scenes are genuinely fun. Rupert Friend holds up as a cold-blooded assassin, and Zachary… Read more →

• Tigers Don't Cry (Kaplanlar Ağlamaz)

  Once Cüneyt Arkın's hitman Canpolat sets out to settle accounts with the people who got his brother hooked, the film lands right where I… Read more →

• Kareteci Kiz (Karateci Kız)

  Plenty of people know Karateci Kız from that famous death scene online, but the film itself is a straight revenge story. Zeynep, the flower… Read more →

• Short Sharp Shock (Kurz und schmerzlos)

  Hamburg streets, a neighbourhood gang, an Albanian gangster: Kısa ve Acısız gives crime-film fans solid ground. But the film focuses less… Read more →

• Simmer for 15 Minutes (Kısık Ateşte 15 Dakika)

  A director who straps dynamite to his body to force a fifteen-minute meeting with a famous woman: on paper, a superb thriller idea. Knowing… Read more →

• Kolpaçino: Bomba

  Kolpaçino: Bomba is a comedy, but it is built like a rescue-mission film: the gang tries to get their friend out of a blackmail mess, every… Read more →

• Cosmos (Kosmos)

  Let me be straight: Kosmos is not my kind of film. There is a thief and a run of robberies in town, but don't expect any tension from that.… Read more →

• The Honest Man (Namuslu)

  Namuslu isn't really my kind of film; there's no action, and the tension is limited to how people react after the robbery. But I'll admit… Read more →

• Death Mission (Ölüm Görevi)

  Cüneyt Arkın both behind and in front of the camera, and the whole thing runs just 74 minutes. Even the keywords attached to it, police… Read more →

• Prison Break: The Final Break

  Another escape plan after the series has ended? Yes, and The Final Break fills in the missing piece for fans. This time Michael draws up… Read more →

• The Genial Bandit (Sevimli Haydut)

  A black-and-white bandit adventure: raids, gang rivalry and a ruthless enemy in Hüseyin Baradan's Çulsuz. Osman having a score to settle… Read more →

• The Brain (Le Cerveau)

  On paper it is great: NATO money moving by train, rival gangs who don't know about each other, Belmondo, David Niven and Eli Wallach. But… Read more →

• Three Pennies (Üç Kuruş)

  A serial killer, a commissioner who ignores the rules and the neighbourhood's protector: the setup of Üç Kuruş is made for action. Kartal… Read more →

• Ruby-Eyed Cat (Yakut Gözlü Kedi)

  A party at a mansion, a scream from the garden, a pasha found hanging from a tree: Yakut Gözlü Kedi has great raw material. Cursed rubies… Read more →

• The Mystery of Beyoğlu (Beyoğlu Esrarı)

  An innocent cab driver, a body on the back seat, the police and a gang both on his tail: that set-up sends the tension through the roof… Read more →

• I am Jalaliddin (Bozkır Arslanı Celaleddin)

  A ruler holding out against Genghis Khan's Mongols, a victory like the Battle of Parwan, and a story full of war and action: on paper it's… Read more →

• Crazy Cram School 3 (Çılgın Dersane 3)

  A music contest final, a lead singer who falls ill at the last minute, a hotel worker who has to be trained to replace him and a rival… Read more →

• Manly (Erkekçe)

  Cüneyt Arkın, a one-week deadline, a mob boss's fortune and a killer to find: the setup is solid and the clock starts ticking right away.… Read more →

• Fantômas contre Scotland Yard

  A French-style answer to Bond sounds great, but this film is more comedy than action. Fantômas squeezing the world's richest people for… Read more →

• Fay Grim

  Say spy film and you think of chases, explosions and pursuits; Fay Grim is something quite different. There is a mystery turning more… Read more →

• Il disco volante

  There is a flying saucer in the title, but anyone hoping for space action will be let down. This is a sci-fi parody; the main event is… Read more →

• My Dark-Eyed One (Kara Gözlüm)

  Let me be straight: for anyone after pace, Kara Gözlüm is far too calm. The story moves slowly from song to song, and the only real tension… Read more →

• Fearless Coward (Korkusuz Korkak)

  One of Kemal Sunal's comedies that rarely lets up. Once Mülayim Sert wins the lottery and loses all fear, things snowball and the film… Read more →

• Yumurcak Küçük Kovboy

  Cüneyt Arkın as the gunman, Alan Steel's gang on the other side: a solid match-up on paper. A gang nobody in town dares to cross, a ransom… Read more →

• La Terrazza

  For about 124 minutes you watch a group of intellectual friends talk through their disappointments; for anyone after pace and tension, it… Read more →

• Murderous City (Öldüren Şehir)

  A fiancé who shoots a man in a coffeehouse, an arrest, a nightclub, jealousy: on paper there's plenty to build tension with. But this is a… Read more →

• The Bride Wore Black (La mariée était en noir)

  Say revenge story and I'm in, and The Bride Wore Black delivers cleanly: Julie, who lost her husband on her wedding day, sets out to settle… Read more →

• The Pursuit (Takip)

  A crash, an escape, a snowy forest and a retired commissioner on the trail: the setup is tailor-made for a chase film. Cüneyt Arkın is the… Read more →

• Testament of Orpheus (Le Testament d'Orphée)

  Straight talk: this film is not for anyone after pace or tension. A poet is shot, thrown into another age, and then dreams, mythological… Read more →

• The Sleeping Car Murders (Compartiment tueurs)

  Murders on a train followed by an investigation: an ideal setup for suspense. At 95 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome either. But… Read more →

• The Lame Man (Topal)

  The plot is one long chase: Müslüm and Zühre run, the agha's men stay on their trail, and just as they start a new life their tracks are… Read more →

• Three Monkeys (Üç Maymun)

  The opening accident and the deal to take the blame are a great spark for tension, and the family slowly edges toward another crime. On… Read more →

• Unforgettable (Unutulmayanlar)

  Seven long-haul drivers, a huge arms-smuggling operation they get dragged into against their will, the police on their tail and a dangerous… Read more →

• Americans in the Black Sea 2 (Amerikalılar Karadeniz'de 2)

  A missile launcher on the Black Sea floor, a smart missile fired by accident, American agents slipping into a village. On paper it is a… Read more →

• Five Rascals (Beş Hergele)

  Beş Hergele comes from Yeşilçam's action-adventure line, and the cast tells you so right away: İrfan Atasoy, Tamer Yiğit, Erol Taş, Behçet… Read more →

• Blood for a Silver Dollar (Un dollaro bucato)

  A soldier coming home with a pistol whose barrel has been cut off, so it can't shoot straight: what a setup. Gary realising too late that… Read more →

• Cirkus Columbia

  A film set on the brink of war made me expect tension, but Cirkus Columbia goes another way: a gently flowing drama-comedy about a town… Read more →

• Fantômas se déchaîne

  A series billed as France's answer to James Bond raises expectations, but here the real weapon is comedy. Juve and Fandor, chasing the… Read more →

• Fear Over the City (Peur sur la ville)

  Belmondo's self-performed stunts are reason enough to watch this film. The sequence on the roof of a metro train crossing the Bir-Hakeim… Read more →

• You Will Love People (İnsanları Seveceksin)

  The setup is strong: one brother a tough, the other a prosecutor, and fate puts them face to face. That clash is the film's main source of… Read more →

• Ironmaster (La guerra del ferro - Ironmaster)

  A Stone Age barbarian adventure with a whiff of Conan: the pitch alone is half the fun. Expect a 94-minute B-movie that leans on action… Read more →

• Istanbul Nights (İstanbul Geceleri)

  Honestly, this isn't my genre. Musical numbers sit at the centre of the film, so the pace keeps pausing for songs. Still, the setup has… Read more →

• The Conquest of Constantinople (İstanbul'un Fethi)

  Three warriors sent into enemy territory as spies is still a solid adventure hook today, and the crowd scenes are pretty ambitious for… Read more →

• Fearless Warrior (Korkusuz Cengaver)

  Byzantium, pirates, sorcery and a slandered hero: in Korkusuz Cengaver's 88 minutes, the adventure dose rarely runs low. Şahin Bey, who… Read more →

• La Reine Margot

  A religious war, palace intrigue and a huge massacre: on paper, a high-tension story. A marriage meant to bring peace turning to bloodshed… Read more →

• Malkoçoğlu Against the Kings (Malkoçoğlu Krallara Karşı)

  Sword fights, raids on horseback and a hero out for revenge: Malkoçoğlu Krallara Karşı is Yeşilçam adventure through and through. Ali Bey… Read more →

• Malkoçoğlu

  Swords, horses, fortresses and traitors: Malkoçoğlu has every ingredient of the Turkish adventure recipe. Cüneyt Arkın's energy fills the… Read more →

• Mandrin, bandit gentilhomme

  Sword duels, chases and a bandit who takes on the king's tax regime: the recipe is right for costume-adventure fans. Mandrin's clashes with… Read more →

• The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob)

  It's a comedy, but the pace is close to a chase movie. A crash, a kidnapped revolutionary leader, assassins and police on their tail, and… Read more →

• The Fourth State (Die vierte Macht)

  At first you are watching a journalist's party life in Moscow and wondering where it's headed. Then Katja dies in a bombing, Paul is… Read more →

• The Unfaithful Wife (La Femme infidèle)

  See the crime and neo-noir labels and it's easy to expect a fast-paced thriller, but this isn't that. Given that it's one of Chabrol's… Read more →

• For the Sake of Duty (Vazife Uğruna)

  The setup is clean: a drug gang, a revenge plot, and the chief inspector's daughter as the target. That keeps the stakes high from the… Read more →

• New Life (Yeni Hayat)

  A former soldier, a bodyguard job, a businessman with plenty of enemies: the setup is built for a thriller. But the real axis of the show… Read more →

• Etiquette (Adab-ı Muaşeret)

  I want pace from a high-school comedy, and turning two gangs' rivalry into a year-long running battle is not a bad idea. But after a while… Read more →

• Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre (Belphégor, le fantôme du Louvre)

  A spirit loose in a museum, a body taken over and a chain of strange events: a thriller set in the Louvre sounds great. At around 93… Read more →

• Bir Zamanlar Osmanlı: Kıyam

  Assassinations, conspiracies and a rebel out to avenge his brother: there is plenty of material on the action side. What I love most in… Read more →

• Classe tous risques

  If 'gangster film' means shootouts and chases to you, this one may keep you waiting. The run from Italy through Marseille to Paris is… Read more →

• Dear Caroline (Caroline chérie)

  Historical drama, costumes, sets... honestly, not my genre. At around 89 minutes it isn't long, which is a plus. But for someone after… Read more →

• Five Branded Women

  World War Two, partisans, Nazi occupation: on paper it's right up my street. Five women fighting to survive and joining the resistance… Read more →

• Five Years (5 Jahre Leben)

  Let me say it up front: this is not an action film. Don't expect chases or shoot-outs; the tension comes entirely from the interrogation… Read more →

• The Physician (Der Medicus)

  If you like a road story, this one flows nicely. Rob's journey, the juggling tricks, the route that stretches all the way to Persia: every… Read more →

• Le Pacha

  An inspector close to retirement, a murdered colleague and a ruthless killer: Le Pacha is a revenge cop thriller through and through. At 82… Read more →

• The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza)

  Straight talk: 142 minutes, plenty of parties and long reflective moments. Don't expect a plot in the classic sense. For someone like me… Read more →

• The Voice (Ses)

  I go into Turkish horror with caution, but Ses has a good idea: a voice that whispers to call-centre worker Derya and gradually takes over… Read more →

• The Final Word Is Mine (Son Söz Benim)

  Short and quick: kidnapped girls, an undercover policewoman in a nightclub and a race to reach a boat, all in 71 minutes. Feri Cansel's… Read more →

• Tehran Adventure (Tahran Macerası)

  A revenge story that opens with a bandit ambush and rolls on through a robbery and a prison break: on paper, exactly my thing. Trucks on… Read more →

• Beyond the Hill (Tepenin Ardı)

  A Western feel, gunshots and a family at odds with shepherds: on paper, it is exactly my kind of thing. The tension really does build bit… Read more →

• The Longest Hunt (Spara, Gringo, spara)

  Say Spaghetti Western and I know what I want: tension, showdowns, a hard rhythm. At 83 minutes the film is kept short, which is a good sign… Read more →

• The Stranger (Lo straniero)

  Hearing there is a murder, I expected a thriller, but this film is nothing of the sort. The real subject is Meursault's indifference and… Read more →

• Trivial (La Disparue de Deauville)

  A paranoid criminologist, a mysterious woman and a suspicious missing-person case: a good start for a thriller. But this looks more like a… Read more →

• Three Angry Warriors (Üç Kızgın Cengaver)

  Three warriors, three kidnapped princesses, a bandit demanding ransom: the setup is clear and the goal is obvious. The fights, the spear… Read more →

• Haul (Vurgun)

  Cüneyt Arkın on the poster, adventure listed as the genre: I went in expecting plenty of action. But Vurgun is really a romance and con… Read more →

• Body of Lies

  A Ridley Scott spy thriller sets the bar high, and this one mostly keeps its pace. DiCaprio's field agent is always caught in the… Read more →

• Yunus Emre: The Voice of Love (Yunus Emre: Aşkın Sesi)

  When it opened on an Anatolia gripped by war and violence, I expected some action, but this film is on a completely different road. What… Read more →

• Destiny (Alın Yazısı)

  A classic revenge setup: a sister's death, the eldest brother killed while trying to settle the score, then Cüneyt Arkın stepping in as… Read more →

• Homeland Hotel (Anayurt Oteli)

  Let me be honest: this isn't my kind of film. It is an inward-looking psychological drama about a hotel clerk waiting for a mysterious… Read more →

• Animal (L'Animal)

  Belmondo was a star who did his own dangerous scenes, and here he plays exactly that, a stuntman; I can't think of a better match. The… Read more →

• Austerlitz

  It's named after a battle, and the story climbs towards the victory at Austerlitz, so expecting big battle scenes is natural. But a good… Read more →

• Stolen Kisses (Baisers volés)

  Hear 'detective agency' and you expect some tailing and some tension; the film goes somewhere else entirely. The point here isn't a crime… Read more →

• Cartouche

  Swordplay, robbery, escapes and a romance in the middle: Cartouche puts on the table everything you would want from an adventure film.… Read more →

• These Are Very Movie-like Moves (Çok Filim Hareketler Bunlar)

  Honestly, this isn't really my genre, but the sketch format saves the pace. If one story doesn't grab you, a new one turns up a few minutes… Read more →

• Find a Place to Die (Joe... cercati un posto per morire!)

  Say spaghetti western and you expect dusty trails, guns and hard men, and an 89-minute running time suits the pace. Being a remake of… Read more →

• Big Family: Stick It (Geniş Aile Yapıştır)

  A treasure map, half a clue and a race to Ayvalık: on paper, great material for an adventure. But the film uses it more as an excuse… Read more →

• Hibernatus

  Great idea: a man thawed out of the ice and a family company thrown into chaos. But this is no action film or thriller; it is a comedy… Read more →

• Two Angry Men

  The setup is bold from the start: a mafia boss on one side, a commissioner trying to bring the organisation down on the other, and a… Read more →

• Law Breakers (Les Assassins de l'ordre)

  Don't expect shootouts or chases; this is a courtroom drama. The tension is still high, though: policemen who beat a suspect to death… Read more →

• The Unconquerable (Mağlup Edilemeyenler)

  Say Cüneyt Arkın and you immediately picture fight scenes, but here the pen is at the centre of the story. A journalist chasing the truth… Read more →

• The Letter (Mektup)

  On paper there is a man searching like a detective and the streets of Istanbul, which is intriguing. But this is not a thriller; it is an… Read more →

• Şefer Sözü (Şeref Sözü)

  An amateur boxer for a big brother, a younger brother mixed up with shady company: on paper, good material for tension. But Şeref Sözü… Read more →

• Hot Skull (Sıcak Kafa)

  Madness that spreads through talk, an Istanbul in flames, and a fugitive with an institution on his tail: the set-up is really strong. The… Read more →

• The Sultan's Secret (Sultanın Sırrı)

  A mysterious chest, the forgotten underground passages of Topkapı Palace, intelligence agents in the picture: The Sultan's Secret puts the… Read more →

• Two Men in Town (Deux hommes dans la ville)

  See Delon, Gabin and a crime label and you expect a tough crime thriller; what you get is a slow-burning drama. The film is less about… Read more →

• That Night in Varennes (La Nuit de Varennes)

  A king on the run, a coach a few hours behind him: on paper, everything is set for tension. But this isn't a chase film, it's one long… Read more →

• Weekend at Dunkirk (Week-end à Zuydcoote)

  Soldiers trapped on a beach under bombardment: on paper, everything is set for tension. But the story is more about waiting than fighting… Read more →

• Blockade (Abluka)

  As someone who perks up at the words "political thriller", a warning: do not mistake this for an action film. The tension lives mostly… Read more →

• Al Sancak

  Al Sancak gets straight down to business: a special-operations team, an island abroad and an enemy far bigger than expected. The firefights… Read more →

• Any Number Can Win (Mélodie en sous-sol)

  Hear "casino heist" and you expect a fast pace, but this film is in no hurry at all. Most of its roughly 118 minutes go into the plan and… Read more →

• Beaumarchais (Beaumarchais, l'insolent)

  Spy, financier, playwright... On paper an exciting character, and the American War of Independence is in the mix too. But this is no action… Read more →

• Wolf (Börü)

  Crime, action and war in one package, and only six episodes: a good equation for anyone who wants pace. Enemies multiplying on the border… Read more →

• The Helpless (Çaresizler)

  Cüneyt Arkın in a double role, as both Murat and Kadir, is reason enough on its own. You get revenge, the underworld, protection money and… Read more →

• High Crime (La polizia incrimina, la legge assolve)

  A good entry point if you have never tried poliziottesco: an Italian police thriller directed by Enzo G. Castellari that helped put the… Read more →

• Hostage

  A hijacked bus, a grenade, a 500,000-euro ransom and a police cordon: on paper, it's a full-on thriller. But anyone expecting a… Read more →

• Lawless Street (Kanunsuz Sokak)

  Eighty minutes, black and white, a 1971 action film: on paper that is short and quick. Seen with today's eyes, though, the dubbed dialogue… Read more →

• Ant Trap (Karınca Kapanı)

  The setup of Karınca Kapanı is just right for a thriller: a husband who owns a holding company, a wife who wants out, and the mafia boss… Read more →

• Holy Water Bottle: Dracoola (Kutsal Damacana: Dracoola)

  Mixing comedy and horror sounds fun on paper, and Count Dracoola knocking at midnight is a decent setup. But the horror side generates… Read more →

• Lemonade (Limonata)

  Let me be straight: Limonata is not my kind of film. It is a road movie, but there are no chases, no thrills and no big set pieces… Read more →

• Munich

  Tracking targets across European cities, secret plans and operations that could go wrong at any second: the tension in Munich is genuinely… Read more →

• The Things You Kill

  A suspicious death, a revenge plan and a gardener pulled into it. On paper, exactly my kind of set-up. But this is a festival film out of… Read more →

• Consent (Rıza)

  Honestly, this film did not match my pace. A truck driver scrambling to save his broken-down truck is an interesting setup, but for a long… Read more →

• Last Raid (Son Akın)

  Cüneyt Arkın, frontier raiders and a castle under siege: on paper, a full-blown adventure film. The 85-minute running time keeps the pace… Read more →

• The New Barbarians (I nuovi barbari)

  A 2019 after nuclear catastrophe, starving survivors and two lone warriors guarding pilgrims from a vicious gang: every ingredient for… Read more →

• The Train

  Do not skip it just because it is black and white. Real trains, real stations and Burt Lancaster doing dangerous scenes without a double… Read more →

• Day for Night (La Nuit américaine)

  A film that looks at stunt doubles and a film set got me excited, but there's no action here; it's about the problems of shooting a… Read more →

• Once Upon a Time in the West

  This is an epic Western, so don't expect a quick-draw shoot-'em-up. Frank is a genuinely scary villain, and his old score with Harmonica… Read more →

• Berlin in Berlin

  A death, a brother full of rage and a guest under protection in the same house: a great set-up for tension. The film squeezes good pressure… Read more →

• Rogue Brothers (Bitirim Kardeşler)

  Mafia, drug money, two brothers in disguise: on paper it's a proper adventure. The chase that kicks off with a note found in a suitcase is… Read more →

• Female Enemy (Dişi Düşman)

  A buried treasure, a secret hidden in the arms of a seven-branched candelabrum, chases, spies and a pursuit stretching from Istanbul to… Read more →

• Le Gendarme en balade

  It's billed as a crime comedy, but to me the crime part is thin. The squad gets forced into early retirement and illegally puts the… Read more →

• Shadow (Gölge)

  Mysterious suicides, a woman quietly carrying out her plans, two close friends turning on each other... on paper, that's pure thriller… Read more →

• Bloodsport

  Bloodsport is a tournament movie through and through: the no-rules underground Kumite, rivals from every corner of the world and the… Read more →

• King David

  Facing Goliath, the road to the throne, a son's rebellion... on paper it's an epic action feast. But King David barely uses that potential… Read more →

• The Mine (Maden)

  Cüneyt Arkın and Tarık Akan in the same film, and the story is set in a mine: a good start for tension. The deadly danger in the pits and… Read more →

• Malkoçoğlu Black Pirate (Malkoçoğlu Kara Korsan)

  Pirates, knights, a dungeon and the Inquisition: you rarely get this much adventure in one film. Cüneyt Arkın's Malkoçoğlu is right at home… Read more →

• Medici: Masters of Florence

  Renaissance Florence, rival families, conspiracies, assassination attempts... On paper it's exactly my thing. For me the Pazzi plot against… Read more →

• Mississippi Mermaid (La Sirène du Mississipi)

  A mysterious woman, an obsessed man and a dangerous trail across the south of France: a good promise for crime fans. But this is not a… Read more →

• Nikita

  A story that goes from a pharmacy robbery to prison to the secret service's brutal training, and that setup is a killer. A woman declared… Read more →

• On Guard (Le Bossu)

  Duels, intrigue and a vow of revenge: a packed bundle for swashbuckler fans. Daniel Auteuil's Lagardère is a master fencer who poses as a… Read more →

• Haze (Pus)

  A mysterious stolen package, a man killed the same day... the setup promises suspense. But instead of turning that spark into a fast-moving… Read more →

• Stavisky

  A real fraud scandal, a mysterious death and Belmondo in the lead: on paper it sounds thrilling. But don't expect a tension-pumping crime… Read more →

• The Caiman (Il caimano)

  Honestly, this isn't my genre. The caiman in the title might make you expect a thriller, but this is political satire built on a producer's… Read more →

• Traffic Jam (L'ingorgo)

  It's called Traffic Jam, and sure enough, nothing moves. The idea is interesting: hundreds of cars, people stuck, night falling and no way… Read more →

• 1½ Knights – In Search of the Ravishing Princess Herzelinde (1½ Ritter – Auf der Suche nach der hinreißenden Herzelinde)

  Knights, a princess to rescue and the Black Knight in the way: that is the stuff a lively adventure comedy can be made of. On the road… Read more →

• Bad Man's River

  Lee Van Cleef, James Mason and Gina Lollobrigida in one Western: a great line-up on paper. But the film leans on comedy more than tension… Read more →

• Troublemakers (Belalılar)

  A con man out for revenge after Babalık is killed, and a big sting set up against a mafia boss: on paper, exactly my kind of story. But… Read more →

• A Sack of Money (Bir Çuval Para)

  A gambling table, a sack of money and characters nicknamed Yarasa, Filinta and Varil: the right ingredients for a western. At 75 minutes it… Read more →

• The Day of the Jackal (Chacal)

  The Day of the Jackal is not an action film in the classic sense: there is more preparation than explosions, more patience than chases.… Read more →

• Wounded Hearts (Gönülden Yaralılar)

  A robbery, a betrayal and a hero jailed for something he didn't do: all the ingredients of a good crime film are here. The safe-robbery… Read more →

• Happy Easter (Joyeuses Pâques)

  It is billed as a mix-up comedy with a solid dose of action, and with Belmondo around the energy never runs low. Every new lie on top of… Read more →

• Hawaii Five-0

  Hawaii Five-0 is a full action package: an elite task force with broad authority and no red tape, up against the islands' most dangerous… Read more →

• Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il ?)

  Whether a whole city will be destroyed is about as high as stakes get. Is Paris Burning? pairs that question with the time pressure of a… Read more →

• Mr. Kılıç (Kılıç Bey)

  Seventy-three minutes, a Yeşilçam adventure and Cüneyt Arkın: on paper, a fast package. The story sets up nicely too, with bosses crushing… Read more →

• Valley of the Wolves: Gladio (Kurtlar Vadisi Gladio)

  See the Kurtlar Vadisi name and you expect shootouts and operations, but in Gladio the showdown centres on a courtroom. The uproar that… Read more →

• Ladyhawke

  An escaped thief, a cursed knight and a jealous bishop: Ladyhawke's setup promises a solid adventure. The wolf-and-hawk curse is a… Read more →

• Le Gang

  Alain Delon, Paris in 1945 and a run of raids on banks and factories: on paper, the full crime-film package. Five guys who have never… Read more →

• Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis)

  Let me be honest: about three hours, two parts and plenty of dialogue make a real test for anyone who wants pace. This is not an action… Read more →

• Man Called Invincible (Lo chiamavano Tresette... giocava sempre col morto)

  A spaghetti western, but the kind that runs more on jokes than gunfire. At about 88 minutes the story wraps up before it drags, so pace is… Read more →

• Napoleon

  The name Napoleon suggests huge battles and a fast pace, but this film mostly works through the main stops of a life. The original cut is… Read more →

• Confidentially Yours (Vivement dimanche !)

  A murder, a suspect hiding in his office and a secretary investigating on her own: a good start for suspense. But do not think of it as a… Read more →

• Triple Cross

  On paper, a true double-agent story is right up my street: safecracker Eddie Chapman is taken by the Germans for their best spy in Britain… Read more →

• 180°

  Hear that an armed man bent on revenge bursts into a building and you expect a tight thriller, but 180° is not that kind of film. It spends… Read more →

• Alleluja & Sartana are Sons... Sons of God (Alleluja e Sartana figli di... Dio)

  Even the title is fun: in Germany it ran as "100 Fists and a Prayer", which tells you roughly what you're in for. This isn't a tense… Read more →

• Code Name: Tiger (Le Tigre aime la chair fraîche)

  A French answer to the sixties Bond craze, and it doesn't hide it. Roger Hanin's agent Louis Rapière, code name 'The Tiger', gets pulled… Read more →

• Cyrano de Bergerac

  A soldier who handles a sword and has no equal at a cutting remark: on paper, Cyrano is a born action hero. Depardieu carries that with… Read more →

• The Problem Is with Me (Dert Bende)

  I'll be honest: this isn't my kind of film. The story is built on letters, unspoken love and a wait that lasts for years; there's sorrow… Read more →

• Don't Take God's Children for Wild Geese (Faut pas prendre les enfants du bon Dieu pour des canards sauvages)

  It has the shape of a heist film, but laughs come first here, not tension. Being short is a big plus; it's done in about 80 minutes. The… Read more →

• El Ministerio del Tiempo

  Time doors, a secret ministry and a team that stops people from changing the past: on paper, it's exactly my kind of thing. Jumping to a… Read more →

• Jo

  A murder plot, a blackmailer, an inspector on his trail and a body that has to be moved: on paper, a full-on thriller setup. But here… Read more →

• Just Before Nightfall (Juste avant la nuit)

  It is billed as a crime drama, but do not expect chases or gunfire. All the tension spins inside one man's head: guilt, conscience, whether… Read more →

• Runaway (Kaçış)

  Billed as the first Turkish series on Disney+, Kaçış is, as the name says, all about survival and escape. A team slipping across the… Read more →

• Les Anges gardiens

  Hong Kong, the triads, 15 million dollars in treasury bonds and a smuggler's son... On paper it's a full-on action-crime setup. But the… Read more →

• Les Mystères de Paris

  A classic Jean Marais adventure: schemes, assassination attempts, murders and a fight to the death between two enemies. On paper, exactly… Read more →

• Malevil

  A nuclear catastrophe, a group of people who survive in a castle cellar and a world in ruins... On paper it's exactly my genre. But Malevil… Read more →

• Meeting with Pol Pot (Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot)

  The premise is tense: three journalists, an exclusive interview with Pol Pot and a country where everything is carefully staged. But to me… Read more →

• Shattered (Paramparça)

  A film that starts as a love triangle and turns into a chase, exactly the kind of shift I like. Seeing Tarık Akan and Cüneyt Arkın circling… Read more →

• Plot (L'Attentat)

  Secret services, an exiled opposition leader and an intellectual who becomes part of the plot without knowing it: it's hard to find better… Read more →

• Selahattin Eyyubi

  An enemy worn down by hit-and-run tactics, then a big pitched battle: Saladin delivers what it promises to fans of battle scenes. Cüneyt… Read more →

• It Was Cold and Drizzling (Soğuktu ve Yağmur Çiseliyordu)

  Let me be straight: this film doesn't move at my speed. It opens with a death and then runs almost entirely on memories and conversations… Read more →

• Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne)

  A cryptic e-mail hinting that his wife, murdered eight years ago, may be alive, two new bodies, a doctor turned prime suspect, and both the… Read more →

• The Musketeer

  The sword fights are the one real reason to watch this, and it isn't a small one. Xiong Xin-xin's choreography, drawing on Eastern martial… Read more →

• The Umbrella Coup (Le Coup du parapluie)

  Great premise: an actor who thinks he's making a film gets hired as a hitman by real gangsters, while the real killer, Moskovitz, is… Read more →

• Fire (Yangın)

  A deadly robbery, heroin smugglers, fights, ships and a kidnapping: on paper Yangın is a full thriller package. On one side a prosecutor… Read more →

• Island (Ada)

  Honestly, Ada isn't my genre. Two former spouses meeting years later to settle accounts means psychological drama, and that means plenty of… Read more →

• Adiós, Sabata (Indio Black, sai che ti dico: Sei un gran figlio di...)

  Seeing Yul Brynner in a Spaghetti Western is a treat on its own. The second Sabata film keeps the genre's gunslinger mood going for 106… Read more →

• Backfire (Échappement libre)

  Belmondo in a crime film with Jean Seberg at his side: that alone is enough to get my attention. Crime intrigue, suspense and adventure in… Read more →

• Bob le flambeur

  Heist movie, to me, means quick planning, tense moments and an exciting getaway. Bob le flambeur is in no hurry at all; it spends most of… Read more →

• Desert Eagle (Çöl Kartalı)

  Cüneyt Arkın, a rescue mission and the desert: on paper, a full-on adventure. Two captains sent into the desert to rescue the kidnapped… Read more →

• Earthquake (Deprem)

  A kidnapping, a blacksmith on the trail for revenge and a catastrophe waiting at the end of the road: on paper, a proper thriller setup. At… Read more →

• Frankenstein

  A serial killer, a detective on his trail in New Orleans and, helping her, one of the killer's own creations: on paper it is right up my… Read more →

• Passed by Censor (Görülmüştür)

  A prison, a troublesome inmate, a photo of his wife: on paper that's a tense setup. But Görülmüştür tells it as a quiet character drama… Read more →

• A Most Wanted Man

  If 'spy thriller' makes you expect chases and gunfire, fair warning: that's not what this is. A Most Wanted Man is almost all surveillance… Read more →

• Revenge Is Mine (İntikam Benim)

  A commissioner hunting his brother's killers, a hero climbing back up from the bottle, and everyone linked to his brother being killed one… Read more →

• İstanbul'un Kızları

  A weekend away, a party, jealousy and a murder: good material for a crime thriller. On paper, the clash between the young people and the… Read more →

• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

  This show builds tension with a microscope rather than a gun, and surprisingly it works. Strange murders, evidence surfacing piece by piece… Read more →

• Boatman (Kayıkçı)

  Swimming from Çeşme to Chios on an inner tube at night sounds like a terrific adventure on paper. But Kayıkçı doesn't turn it into a tense… Read more →

• L'emmerdeur

  A hitman, a hotel room and a target on the way: it starts out like a real thriller. But once the suicidal salesman next door gets involved… Read more →

• On the Path (Na putu)

  Honestly, this isn't my genre. Don't expect chases or big showdowns; the film is built from start to finish on a couple's relationship and… Read more →

• Wind (Rüzgâr)

  Davut's plan hooked me straight away: rather than killing his enemy quickly, he wants him to live every second in fear of death. Breaking… Read more →

• Diabolique (Les Diaboliques)

  Fair warning: the opening moves slowly by today's standards, and the scenes that set up the school and its people may test your patience.… Read more →

• Sign of the Lion (Le Signe du Lion)

  Let me be honest: this film is too slow for me. You watch a man who has run out of money drift through the streets of Paris alone; no… Read more →

• The Scalawag Bunch (L'arciere di Sherwood)

  Robin Hood, bows, swords, a castle: that combo always works for me. Giuliano Gemma is a familiar face from westerns and fits a swashbuckler… Read more →

• The Tenant (Le Locataire)

  If psychological thriller means fast pace to you, this may disappoint. The Tenant warms up slowly and builds tension through unease, not… Read more →

• Wild Blood (Vahşi Kan)

  Cüneyt Arkın in the forest with gendarmes and his enemies' men on his tail: that alone is reason enough to watch. The film feeds openly on… Read more →

• War Machine

  Brad Pitt, Afghanistan and a general: a surprise if you are expecting a war movie, because what you get is satire. Rather than front-line… Read more →

• A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (Un homme et une femme : Vingt ans déjà)

  Two former lovers meeting again after twenty years, and plenty of memories: this is pure emotional drama. Anyone looking for tension or… Read more →

• Justice (Adalet)

  Cüneyt Arkın as a cop, up against a hitman and the powerful businessman who shields him: exactly what you want from a seventies crime… Read more →

• The Hunt (Av)

  Cüneyt Arkın and Serdar Gökhan in the same film, plus a blood feud, flight and pursuit: on paper it's a proper genre picture. At about 90… Read more →

• Separation (Ayrılık)

  An escape, a card cheat, a club owner on the hunt, a death threat: on paper there is plenty to build tension with. But Ayrılık is a… Read more →

• Blueberry

  A marshal, a killer chasing gold, the 1870s frontier... on paper it's a full-on Western. But come for gunfights and you end up deep in a… Read more →

• Borsalino

  Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo on the same poster, two troublemakers bidding to run the Marseille underworld: the set-up is… Read more →

• Chiko

  A young man rising fast in the drug trade, a dealer who controls everything and a friend who upsets the balance: all the ingredients for… Read more →

• Chuck

  An ordinary computer whiz gets the country's biggest spy secrets uploaded into his brain, and the idea is fun from the start. Swinging… Read more →

• Coriolanus

  Don't expect a dull stage play just because it's Shakespeare. Ralph Fiennes moves the story to a modern Balkan state that recalls the… Read more →

• Don't Touch the White Woman! (Touche pas à la femme blanche !)

  On paper it is a Western: cowboy costumes, General Custer, the Battle of the Little Bighorn. But anyone expecting action will be let down.… Read more →

• Top Scorer (Gol Kralı)

  Put it on expecting a football movie and what you get is mostly a Kemal Sunal comedy. Don't count on real sporting thrills or tactical… Read more →

• Revenge of the Flame (İntikam Alevi)

  A trap, a murder, twenty years in prison, a jailbreak and an escape with the roads sealed off: for 1956 the plot moves a lot. Ekrem's push… Read more →

• Joan Lui (Joan Lui - Ma un giorno nel paese arrivo io di lunedì)

  With Rémy Julienne running the stunts you expect some lively set pieces, but Joan Lui is basically a musical. The songs carry the story and… Read more →

• Monsieur Gangster (Les Tontons flingueurs)

  A warning to anyone who hears "gangster film" and expects gunfire and chases: in Monsieur Gangster, the real bullets are the lines. The… Read more →

• Teacher Kemal (Öğretmen Kemal)

  If you think Cüneyt Arkın means action, you're not wrong, but you'll need a bit of patience. The film first builds the tension in the… Read more →

• Operation Corned Beef (L'Opération Corned-Beef)

  A secret operation, a colonel turned arms trafficker and two agents on his trail: on paper, pure action material. Jean Reno's Philippe… Read more →

• Pleins feux sur Stanislas

  A retired agent is writing his memoirs when a suspicious death and a new assignment drag him back into the game: the set-up is pure spy… Read more →

• The Black Angel (Siyah Melek)

  A masked horseman, a secret arms network, an officer on his trail and warning notes smashing through windows: the plot is pure adventure.… Read more →

• Teheran 43

  The 1943 Tehran Conference, a plot to kill Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt, a Soviet agent on the case... the premise promises thrills from… Read more →

• The Family (La famiglia)

  To be honest, 127 minutes in a single apartment, full of conversation and family business, is not my speed. Don't expect chases, fights or… Read more →

• Web of Passion (À double tour)

  It's billed as a psychological thriller, but don't expect a chase movie; to me it's the kind where the tension builds slowly. 94 minutes… Read more →

• Fallow Deer (Ala Geyik)

  Mountains, a hunt, a ruthless bey and a hero who stands up to him to win back his fiancée: on paper, this is exactly my kind of film.… Read more →

• The Gap (Ara)

  Let me be honest: this is not my kind of film. The whole story takes place in one flat, so most of it inevitably moves forward through… Read more →

• Barabbas

  Yes, 132 minutes is long, but there are some genuinely big scenes in here. The gladiator fight in the Colosseum replica built at Cinecittà… Read more →

• Football (Futboliye)

  If you put it on expecting a sports movie you might be surprised; to me it's more a mistaken-identity comedy than a match-day thriller. The… Read more →

• Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Highway Police (Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei)

  Seeing action like this on German TV is a surprisingly good time. The motorway chases, explosions and fights are carefully staged; no… Read more →

• Lines of Wellington (Linhas de Wellington)

  It is a war film, but do not expect a classic combat movie. It opens with the French defeat at Buçaco, then branches out into small stories… Read more →

• Masculin Féminin

  Honestly, this one did not match my pace at all. There is barely a plot; long conversations, interview-like scenes and intertitles keep… Read more →

• Death Sentence

  Cowboy Bill rides into town to avenge his father: a classic western setup with few surprises. The upside is that the Turkish version runs… Read more →

• Back to Back (Peşpeşe)

  Peşpeşe is too slow for me. Two lives crossing without either person knowing is a neat idea, but the film tells it through inner worlds and… Read more →

• Vagabond Lover (Serseri Aşık)

  Let's be honest: this is pure melodrama, and the pace matches. A singer who loses her voice, an unspoken love, a neighbourhood passing the… Read more →

• My Dear Son (Sevgili Oğlum)

  Cüneyt Arkın both directs and stars, which signals that the reckoning will hit hard. But the film opens as a family drama, so you have to… Read more →

• The Dead Don't Die

  If a zombie movie means tension and chases to you, this one will throw you. The town's police are stuck in a fight that's lost from the… Read more →

• The Stone Council (Le Concile de pierre)

  A child having nightmares, a strange mark appearing on his chest, an eagle smashing into the windscreen and a string of mysterious… Read more →

• A Self Made Hero (Un héros très discret)

  There is a hero in the title, but do not expect action. The film is built like a documentary, moving between an old man's account and… Read more →

• Yumurcak, the Kid from Under the Bridge (Yumurcak Köprüaltı Çocuğu)

  It starts out like a neighbourhood comedy, then suddenly the mood shifts: jealousy at a bar, a murder and a body planted in the trunk of an… Read more →

• Zweiohrküken

  Romantic comedy is not my territory, especially at 124 minutes. In this genre the pace usually hangs on a relationship's ups and downs, and… Read more →

• Fatherly (Babacan)

  Cüneyt Arkın as a cop, the mafia on the other side and a jailed drug smuggler plotting his revenge: on paper it's a textbook action setup.… Read more →

• On the Fertile Lands (Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde)

  Honestly, this is a tough watch if you want pace. It is a social-realist drama, so don't expect chases or big action set pieces. The… Read more →

• The Trial (Dava)

  Honestly, this is not an easy watch for thriller fans. A man is put on trial without knowing the charge and gets lost inside the system… Read more →

• Faccia a faccia (Cara a cara)

  A great surprise for Western fans: a wanted outlaw, the professor who nurses him back to health, and a relationship that slowly flips. Gian… Read more →

• Kiss of Life (Hayat Öpücüğü)

  Honestly, not my genre, but credit where it's due: the clash between Metin's obsessions and Hayat's energy keeps the film going. The… Read more →

• Hep Yek

  A kidnapped model inside a package, a mob boss's son on the hunt and 48 hours on the clock: the setup promises a proper road-movie chase.… Read more →

• The Organizer (I compagni)

  Strike, hunger, repression: on paper there is plenty of tension, but the film builds it slowly. It runs about 130 minutes, and for anyone… Read more →

• Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

  Let me be honest: 201 minutes, a static camera, long takes and everyday housework add up to an endurance test for me. The film is… Read more →

• Kung Fu on the Bosporus (Karateciler İstanbul'da)

  Cüneyt Arkın sharing the screen with Hong Kong fighters, and in Istanbul at that: the idea alone sells it. A villain who fights without… Read more →

• Le Bossu

  For a 1959 swashbuckler, the setup is surprisingly fun: revenge, disguise and a hidden heir. The hero sneaking up on his enemy disguised as… Read more →

• Murat and Nazlı (Murat İle Nazlı)

  If the name Cüneyt Arkın has you expecting chases and fistfights, fair warning: this is a love drama. The blood feud promises tension, but… Read more →

• The Last Step Towards Death (Ölüme Son Adım)

  A kidnapped professor, a drug gang, and a small team of two men and a woman setting out to rescue him: one danger chases the next. For… Read more →

• Quo Vadis, Aida?

  Don't put this on as a war film expecting combat scenes; it is not an action movie. But the tension is sky-high: Aida trying to do her job… Read more →

• Snow and the Bear

  A missing man, bears said to have woken early from hibernation, a town buried in snow: on paper it is exactly my kind of thriller. The… Read more →

• Alone (Tek Başına)

  An ordinary man, a huge drug ring on his tail, and everyone who testified before him already dead: the stakes are sky-high from the start.… Read more →

• The Great Spy Chase (Les Barbouzes)

  Anyone who puts this on expecting a spy thriller full of chases will be wrong-footed: it's a comedy that both imitates and sends up the… Read more →

• The Miracle

  A statue weeping blood, found in a police raid... On paper it is pure thriller. But instead of speeding up from there, the series slows… Read more →

• Trans-Europ-Express

  Cocaine smuggling, a train ride from Paris to Antwerp... It sounds like a great thriller, but it is not one. The film keeps stopping to cut… Read more →

• Wanted

  For a spaghetti western fan, Giuliano Gemma's name is enough. Leading the way as Gary, Gemma brings the energy that carries the film, and… Read more →

• Love, Spells and All That (Aşk, Büyü vs.)

  Let me be straight: this film doesn't match my idea of pace. Almost everything happens in the two women's conversations, glances and… Read more →

• Trouble Maker (Baş Belası)

  Protection money, casinos, the mob and a fraudster who is into gliders: good material for an adventure. The Baba trying every trick and… Read more →

• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg)

  Honestly, a film where every single line is sung from start to finish is not my kind of thing. No action, no suspense, and the pace follows… Read more →

• Germany 09 (Deutschland 09)

  Let's be honest: a 152-minute anthology is a tough test for anyone who wants pace. Thirteen short films follow one another, each building… Read more →

• Hook (Kanca)

  Cüneyt Arkın and Aytekin Akkaya side by side, chasing down a revenge trail: exactly what you want from an eighties adventure. The shared… Read more →

• Black Executioner (Kara Cellat)

  A fearless tough guy who comes from Adana to Istanbul and takes on the city's mafia: a set-up made for action fans. A man the gang… Read more →

• The Lion Man (Kılıç Aslan)

  Cüneyt Arkın playing both father and son in the same film is reason enough to be curious. Seljuk-Byzantine war, knights, a trap and… Read more →

• Les Visiteurs

  Les Visiteurs is not an adventure film, but its pace is spot on. The wizard botches the job, the pair are hurled centuries ahead, and from… Read more →

• Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso)

  A serial killer who leaves a silver crescent in each victim's hand, and a victim believed dead who goes after him on her own: that idea… Read more →

• Sevkat Yerimdar 2: Bizde Sakat Çok

  It is billed as a comedy-adventure, and the adventure part is not bad. Şevkat plans to sell the house and head straight home, but… Read more →

• Autumn (Sonbahar)

  Honestly, this one is tough going if you want pace. The subject is strong: a young man out of a hunger strike with little time left to… Read more →

• To Kill a Cop (Pour la peau d'un flic)

  Alain Delon both behind and in front of the camera, in a crime thriller: on paper, a package you can't skip. The private-eye story works to… Read more →

• Three Colours: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge)

  Honestly, Red isn't my kind of film. For 99 minutes it's mostly conversations, looks and silence, so if you want tension it's pretty slow.… Read more →

• The Third Page (Üçüncü Sayfa)

  On paper the premise is pure thriller: mafia money, a one-day deadline, a pistol that falls into his hands and a gun that goes off by… Read more →

• The Hopeless Ones (Umutsuzlar)

  Tough-guy turf, a rival lying in wait, a fight over position: on paper there is plenty of material for tension. Tahta Bacak eyeing Fırat's… Read more →

• Unfair World

  A cop kills a man to save an innocent person, and the only witness is a cleaner: that is a great starting point for a thriller. But this is… Read more →

• Up to His Ears (Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine)

  Belmondo, adventure and comedy, plus stunt work handled by Gil Delamare: on paper that mix promises a fast, fun ride. Having Ursula Andress… Read more →

• Wounded Wolf (Yaralı Kurt)

  A contract killer realises he has been paid in counterfeit money and goes after the people who cheated him: you can't get a cleaner revenge… Read more →

• Yavuz Sultan Selim Is Crying (Yavuz Sultan Selim Ağlıyor)

  Chaldiran, Marj Dabiq, Ridaniya: on paper, a story packed with big battles. But the 134-minute running time, the palace intrigue and the… Read more →

• Zaytoun

  A downed pilot, a refugee camp and a boy who guards him, then an escape: Zaytoun has a strong set-up. Two enemies hitting the road together… Read more →

• Colonel Redl (Oberst Redl)

  An intelligence unit, political intrigue, pre-war tension… On paper it looks like a spy film, but it isn't one. This is a slow-moving… Read more →

• Battal Gazi's Son (Battal Gazi'nin Oğlu)

  Battle, swords and revenge from start to finish. The fights against Byzantium form the film's backbone, and at about 88 minutes there is… Read more →

• Challenge of the Tiger

  Bruce Le, Bolo Yeung and Hwang Jang-lee in one film: fight fans will sit up straight away. Two CIA agents, a stolen formula, a trail from… Read more →

• The Crazy Ones (Çılgınlar)

  A gang of robbers, a very rich businessman, a plan in place: it opens like a proper crime film. But Çılgınlar drifts more and more into an… Read more →

• D@bbe (Dabbe)

  Dabbe builds its dread by creeping up on you rather than shouting. E-mails that keep arriving after someone's death is still a properly… Read more →

• Dragged Across Concrete

  Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn, two suspended cops and a planned robbery: on paper it's exactly my kind of recipe. The tension is real, and… Read more →

• Ridicule

  Let me say it up front: this one is not my territory. No fights, no chases; the whole war is fought with words. The palace salons and long… Read more →

• Hercules

  Lou Ferrigno as Hercules, up against King Minos and his bid to rule the world, plus giant stop-motion robots. On paper, a wild package. The… Read more →

• Emperor (İmparator)

  An ambush, an attempt on his life, rivals who won't let go: on paper it's right up my street. Kadir İnanır is convincing as the hard man… Read more →

• The Law Is the Law (Kanun Kanundur)

  A cop nearing retirement, a ruthless gang of bandits, smuggling: on paper it's classic Cüneyt Arkın adventure. At roughly 90 minutes it has… Read more →

• Le Doulos

  A man fresh out of prison, a new robbery in the works and the suspicion of an informer hanging over everything: what more do you need for… Read more →

• Legends of Tomorrow

  Time travel, superpowers, heroes and villains on the same team: plenty of material for action. The first season is too serious and sluggish… Read more →

• Malkoçoğlu Kurt Bey

  A kidnapped brother, a traitor on the run, a hidden treasure: Malkoçoğlu Kurt Bey puts everything an adventure needs on the table. Serdar… Read more →

• Malkoçoğlu Death Squads (Malkoçoğlu Ölüm Fedaileri)

  Malkoçoğlu and his death squad, a kidnapped princess, palace scheming and a fight that runs all the way to a castle: it's the full… Read more →

• Paris, je t'aime

  If you're after tension, chases or big set pieces, this isn't your film. For two hours you watch five-minute stories about love and the… Read more →

• Run, Man, Run! (Corri uomo corri)

  For spaghetti western fans: Tomas Milian's Cuchillo is back, and this small-time crook carries the film's energy almost on his own. At 120… Read more →

• Sold Man (Satılmış Adam)

  Cüneyt Arkın as a hired killer, a runaway couple and a hard journey: the setup promises a lively road movie, and at 85 minutes it moves… Read more →

• Tatar Ramazan in Exile (Tatar Ramazan Sürgünde)

  A prison film, a bullying order that has run for years and a tough hero who arrives to bring it down: the formula is obvious, but it works.… Read more →

• The Abandoned (Ostavljeni)

  Hear "criminal world" and expect a fast thriller, and you'll be wrong. The Abandoned is a quiet, character-driven drama that builds tension… Read more →

• The Saint Lies in Wait (Le Saint prend l'affût)

  Espionage, forged documents, German and American secret services: on paper everything is set for tension. But this is a spy comedy that… Read more →

• The Salamander

  The Italian army's chief of staff has been murdered, there's a neofascist plot behind it and people tied to the investigation keep dying.… Read more →

• The Unbreakable Man (Yıkılmayan Adam)

  Cüneyt Arkın as a kabadayı standing with the good against the wicked: it's easy to see why this formula works. At about 81 minutes the film… Read more →

• A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof (...e per tetto un cielo di stelle)

  It's a spaghetti western, but with comedy mixed in, so don't expect a straight gunslinger thriller. Most critics rank the opening among the… Read more →

• Father Eagle (Baba Kartal)

  Cüneyt Arkın directing and starring is an action promise on its own. A man who arrives from the village, enters the underworld through a… Read more →

• Paternity (Babalık)

  Robbery, betrayal, prison and revenge, all packed into a tight 73-minute Cüneyt Arkın film. The story sets up fast and Turhan's… Read more →

• I'm Not Him (Ben O Değilim)

  The moment Nihat realises that Ayşe's husband in prison looks as much like him as a twin is a genuinely intriguing setup. But instead of… Read more →

• Berlin Alexanderplatz

  It is billed as a crime series, but adjust your expectations from the start. This fifteen-hour production is not about chases or quick… Read more →

• For a Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro in più)

  Bounty hunters, a ruthless fugitive, a gang and a planned bank robbery: this film knows exactly how to build tension. The long stares and… Read more →

• Choice of Arms (Le Choix des armes)

  A gangster film, an accomplice breaking out of prison, dangerous ties from the past: on paper it is exactly my genre. But the film focuses… Read more →

• Poppy (Gelincik)

  It's tagged as adventure, but this is really a love story. The image of Cüneyt Arkın riding along the beach looks great, and the father's… Read more →

• Hallelujah for Django (La più grande rapina del West)

  Say spaghetti western and I think dust, guns and tense stare-downs; this one throws comedy into the mix as well. If the tension the critics… Read more →

• Il giovane favoloso

  Honestly: a drama of nearly two and a half hours about a poet's youth isn't my genre. There is tension, but from a father-son struggle… Read more →

• It's Hard to Be Nice (Teško je biti fin)

  Mafia, a taxi driver, a man trying to escape his past: on paper, that's thriller material. But this isn't an action film, it's a drama.… Read more →

• The Killer (Katil)

  A prison break, gendarmes on his trail and the hunt for the real culprits: on paper, a full chase story. Ayhan Işık's fugitive electrician… Read more →

• Kommissar X – Drei grüne Hunde

  Drug smuggling, kidnapping and an international ring called the Three Green Dogs: on paper it is a full-on spy adventure. The duo of Tony… Read more →

• Le Magnifique

  A parody of James Bond-style spy films, so there's action, but always with a wink. The jumps between Belmondo's timid writer Merlin and the… Read more →

• Operation Dumbo Drop

  Hauling an elephant through the jungle is a mission movie in itself, and the idea of finally dropping the animal from the air promises a… Read more →

• Midnight at the Pera Palace (Pera Palas'ta Gece Yarısı)

  A journalist dropped into the past to stop a conspiracy: on paper, that's a pure thriller setup. The period atmosphere looks great, but the… Read more →

• Transporter 3 (Le Transporteur 3)

  Jason Statham behind the wheel, a road running from Marseille to Odessa: what more do you want? Frank Martin's cool head is still the heart… Read more →

• The Band's Visit

  An orchestra gets stranded in the wrong town in the middle of the desert and... not much happens. The film runs entirely on quiet moments… Read more →

• They Called Him Bulldozer (Lo chiamavano Bulldozer)

  Say Bud Spencer and you know what you are getting, and this film delivers exactly that: huge punches, crowded brawls and plenty of… Read more →

• We All Loved Each Other So Much (C'eravamo tanto amati)

  Honestly, this isn't my genre. It's 118 minutes of long conversations, flashbacks and broken hopes, so if you want chases or suspense… Read more →

• Yellow Hair and the Pecos Kid

  A western adventure marketed as a female Indiana Jones: the idea is fun. The adventure led by Laurene Landon and Cihangir Gaffari is fast… Read more →

• 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1990: i guerrieri del Bronx)

  A real time machine for fans of 80s post-apocalyptic gang films. Gangs holding the Bronx, a running war with the police, names like Trash… Read more →

• Ankara Express (Ankara Ekspresi)

  Spies, a secret code word, a struggle running along the Istanbul-Ankara line: on paper it is a full-blown thriller setup. But expecting… Read more →

• Dawn of the World (L'Aube du monde)

  If you see the war film label and expect battle scenes, you may be knocking on the wrong door. The film tells its war mostly through the… Read more →

• Detective School Dropouts

  It may sometimes get called an action comedy, but the weight is clearly on the comedy. Stolen passports, a pursuit all the way to Italy and… Read more →

• Old Gun (Eski Silah)

  Showdowns, revenge, the mafia and three old tough guys whose paths have split: every ingredient of the genre is here. A running time of… Read more →

• Paparazzi

  At 87 minutes it is short and to the point, and it gets going without fuss. A hero who gives up on official channels and starts his own war… Read more →

• The Limits of Control

  On paper there's crime, mystery and a lone man on a job, so you expect tension, but the film deliberately refuses to deliver it. The pace… Read more →

• The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire)

  Anyone expecting a standard thriller from a spy parody may be a little surprised. The excitement here comes not from guns but from the hero… Read more →

• The Two Faces of January

  If you see the word thriller and expect chases and shootouts, this film is playing a different game. The tension comes from glances and… Read more →

• They Call Me Trinity (Lo chiamavano Trinità…)

  If you come looking for a spaghetti Western, it's a curious ride: the guns mostly go quiet and long fist fights take over. The brawls are… Read more →

• Captain Fracasse (Le Capitaine Fracasse)

  A hero who is a skilled swordsman, a duke ready to do anything to get him out of the way: on paper you could not ask for a better setup for… Read more →

• Confessions of a Police Captain (Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica)

  A mafia boss, a commissioner with an old score to settle and a by-the-book prosecutor: everything tension needs is on the table. Bonavía's… Read more →

• Push

  Telekinesis, a girl who can sketch the future, memory erasure: the premise of Push is catnip for anyone into superpowers. Hong Kong is a… Read more →

• Das Experiment

  On the thriller side, the film knows its job. Rules that look like a game at first harden step by step, and every scene is more dangerous… Read more →

• Dobermann

  Bank and armoured-van heists, a gang member who storms luxury shops with an axe and a commissioner who ignores every rule: Dobermann is a… Read more →

• Flic Story

  A cop who never carries a gun on the trail of one of France's most feared killers: a solid setup for anyone who likes cat and mouse.… Read more →

• I as in Icarus (I... comme Icare)

  This is a thriller driven by evidence, not explosions. Every time the prosecutor questions a witness the danger creeps closer, and the… Read more →

• Backstabbing for Beginners (Komplo)

  It's labelled a political thriller, but anyone expecting action may be let down. Films about corruption scandals usually build their… Read more →

• The Insider

  Let's be straight: this is not an action film, it is a 157-minute talking film. Anyone expecting explosions or chases will be let down. But… Read more →

• The Kingdom (Operation: Kingdom)

  The Kingdom's strength is how it turns an investigation step by step into street combat. Michael Mann's hand as producer shows too: the… Read more →

• March or Die

  The Legion, the desert, a small column and a powerful Rif chief standing in its way: on paper it is a full-blown adventure setup. But the… Read more →

• Mocro Maffia

  A rise from petty crime to running Amsterdam's cocaine trade is the perfect launch pad for a hard-edged crime show. A gang war that raises… Read more →

• Servir y proteger

  A police station, detectives, cops who know the streets: on paper it promises action, but this is a daily soap. In 55-to-65-minute episodes… Read more →

• Vermist

  A team trying to find a missing person is tension in its most natural form: as time runs out, every clue counts. To me Vermist's strength… Read more →

• The Night of the Generals (La Nuit des généraux)

  A murder investigation in the middle of a war, with three generals as suspects: a great idea with plenty of potential for tension. But 145… Read more →

• The Quick and the Dead

  The story's backbone is a tournament: a quick-draw contest means duel after duel. That structure gives the film a built-in pace and, in my… Read more →

• Le Samouraï

  If 'hitman movie' makes you expect gunfire and chases, be warned: Le Samouraï is slow on purpose. The scenes are calm, the dialogue sparse… Read more →

• Lagaan

  Sports films live on their stakes, and Lagaan's could not be clearer: win the match and there is no tax for three years, lose and they pay… Read more →

• Liberation (Osvobozhdeniye)

  Five films, about seven and a half hours, and five major operations from Kursk to Berlin: you'll struggle to find anything bigger in scale.… Read more →

• Resident Evil: Retribution

  Nobody comes to this one for the story, and it is best to accept that up front. The fight choreography, which even the critics praised, and… Read more →

• Pan Am

  There is espionage and Cold War tension, but this is not an action series; the weight is on period drama and relationships between… Read more →

• The Blood of Others (Le Sang des autres)

  The German occupation and the French Resistance are in the background, but don't go in expecting a war thriller. This is an existential… Read more →

• The Loner (Le Solitaire)

  A police commissioner hunting the crook who killed his best friend and colleague is a solid engine for a revenge cop thriller. As the last… Read more →

• The Marseille Contract

  The hired killer turning out to be an old friend ties a good knot of tension into the story: the job or the friendship? The three-way… Read more →

• The Return of Monte Cristo (Sous le signe de Monte-Cristo)

  About 88 minutes is a good length for a revenge story: none of the novel's pages of build-up, it gets to the intrigue and the reckoning… Read more →

• The Thief of Paris (Le Voleur)

  If you go in expecting a heist movie, adjust your expectations: this is a 1967 film of about 120 minutes, and it would be unfair to expect… Read more →

• the Walking Dead

  In my view, what really drives up the tension isn't the zombies but the other human communities imposing their own rules, because with… Read more →

• Women Are Like That (Comment qu'elle est ?)

  If you put it on as a spy film, adjust your expectations: it sits between comedy and thriller, and that middle ground waters the tension… Read more →

• A Long Ride from Hell (Vivo per la tua morte)

  Seeing Steve Reeves, the muscle-bound star of peplum films, trade the sword for a gun is a draw in itself. For genre fans that is the real… Read more →

• Stupid Champion (Aptal Şampiyon)

  Anyone expecting a real fight film will be disappointed: karate here is an excuse for laughs. Still, an international tournament, a death… Read more →

• Superior to Love (Aşktan da Üstün)

  The set-up is genuinely good: a major posing as a sultan loyalist hunts for an informer, while the woman he loves has been ordered to… Read more →

• Baskin

  Five cops on night patrol, an abandoned historic police station and an unwitting walk into Hell: the set-up promises sky-high stakes. This… Read more →

• The Nut Job

  Adapting the heist template to squirrels is a fun idea: a plan, a crew and a fierce raccoon bent on wrecking the job. The rival adds a bit… Read more →

• The Truth (Gerçek)

  The setup genuinely hooks you: a mysterious phone call, a secret waiting in a hospital, and accusations about the husband. Mystery fans may… Read more →

• Gırgır Ali

  Cüneyt Arkın both wrote the script and plays the lead, throwing comedy, adventure and crime into the same pot. A friend accused of murder… Read more →

• The Shadowless (Gölgesizler)

  A missing girl, more disappearances, interrogations: on paper it looks like a thriller set-up, but Gölgesizler doesn't use that material… Read more →

• Caliphate (Kalifat)

  The tension runs on two clocks: a tip-off about an attack being planned in Sweden, and a woman getting ready to escape Raqqa with her baby.… Read more →

• Liaison

  Espionage, intelligence services, political intrigue: on paper, exactly my kind of thing. But Liaison is a thriller driven more by… Read more →

• Lucifer

  The Devil consulting for the LAPD is a fun hook, first and foremost. The procedural side keeps the pace lively and the case-solving moves… Read more →

• Ruhun Duymaz

  Intelligence officer, jewellery tycoon, documents in a safe and a skilled thief: on paper, perfect heist-thriller material. Onur catching… Read more →

• Return of Sabata (È tornato Sabata... hai chiuso un'altra volta)

  Lee Van Cleef returning as Sabata is reason enough on its own. A crack shot, a travelling circus, a family with the town in its grip and a… Read more →

• Cologne P.D. (SOKO Köln)

  Self-contained cases keep the pace lively; one case per episode leaves little room to drag. If you want the tension turned up, head for the… Read more →

• Attila

  One of the early sword-and-sandal films: the Hun ruler on one side, the Roman commander Aetius on the other, which promises a big showdown.… Read more →

• Contraband (Luca il contrabbandiere)

  Cigarette smuggling by speedboat, two brothers caught between bosses and a ruthless outsider trying to push drugs into the city: everything… Read more →

• Les Dalton

  On paper it has everything: Almería landscapes, four outlaw brothers and a cowboy who never gives up the chase. But the pursuit is built… Read more →

• Fear City

  Nightclubs, an unknown attacker targeting dancers and a former boxer out for revenge: the ingredients for a hard-edged thriller are all… Read more →

• U.S. Marshals

  The opening idea is solid: an escape triggered by a prison-transport plane going down sets the chase in motion straight away. The real… Read more →

• Kerr

  A killing, a face-to-face meeting with the killer, an escape attempt and every road sealed off: on paper, that is great thriller material.… Read more →

• Knockin' on Heaven's Door

  A fast stolen car, a million marks and a gun in the trunk, and a gang on the chase: a road movie could not ask for better fuel. The sense… Read more →

• Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Labirent: Alev Deneyleri)

  The film is a near non-stop escape: scorched wastelands, ruined cities and soldiers who never let up. A good setup if you want pace. But… Read more →

• Le Miracle des loups

  All the classic swashbuckler ingredients are here: a feud between king and duke, a traitor, a forbidden love and a real setting in the… Read more →

• Prince Valiant

  A tournament, a duel, a stolen Excalibur, Vikings and a scheming sorceress: a lot of material packed into one film. That density keeps the… Read more →

• Quantum of Solace

  Picking up right where Casino Royale ended is a big plus: Bond's anger is still raw and the film runs on it. The chases and fights are… Read more →

• Reclaim Your Brain (Free Rainer – Dein Fernseher lügt)

  A car crash staged for revenge and a hidden arrangement in the TV industry: on paper, a great thriller opening. But this is a satire, and… Read more →

• Breathless (À bout de souffle)

  On paper the plot is a straight crime thriller: a stolen car, a dead policeman, a manhunt. But anyone going in expecting that may be… Read more →

• Last Action Hero

  The idea is brilliant: an action film that both uses and mocks every action-movie cliché. The explosions, chases and perfect coincidences… Read more →

• The Five Man Army (Un esercito di 5 uomini)

  Gold stolen from a heavily guarded train, five men who are each masters of their own trade, and Morricone in the background. Fusing the… Read more →

• Until the End of the World (Bis ans Ende der Welt)

  A pursuit across the globe, an air of catastrophe and cyberpunk touches look like a perfect thriller recipe on paper. But here the chase is… Read more →

• Z

  It is billed as a political thriller, but don't look for explosions or chases; the tension comes from an examining magistrate opening the… Read more →

• 24

  With the clock running on screen, it's almost impossible for the tension to drop; that's 24's whole thing. Assassination plots, bombs… Read more →

• Armageddon

  Pure blockbuster action: an asteroid the size of Texas, an eighteen-day countdown and a crew of drillers sent into space. The tension is… Read more →

• BloodRayne

  On paper it has everything: vampires, a woman warrior out for revenge and a vampire king played by Ben Kingsley. But the classic problem of… Read more →

• Bobby Deerfield

  A Formula One driver as the hero and real racing footage from the 1976 season: on paper it looks like a full-on speed movie, but it isn't.… Read more →

• Dervish Bey (Derviş Bey)

  A village in the shadow of a blood feud and a man trying to bring peace: the stakes are clear from the start, and that's where the tension… Read more →

• Bottom (Dip)

  It carries an action and crime label, but don't take it for a shoot-out series. Dip's tension comes from a puzzle rather than chases: a… Read more →

• Flatfoot in Africa (Piedone l'africano)

  The crime-comedy series heads to South Africa this time, and the change of scenery gives the adventure a fresh feel. The investigation… Read more →

• Two Acrobats (İki Cambaz)

  Henchmen on their tail, a stash of hidden money and two swindlers who slip away every time: the chase framework is solid. There are plenty… Read more →

• Black Sea

  A cramped submarine, a wartime wreck on the seabed and gold: it is hard to find a better set-up for tension. The danger comes not only from… Read more →

• Life Is Tough (La vita, a volte, è molto dura, vero Provvidenza?)

  It is a spaghetti western, but there are as many jokes as guns, with Tomás Milián in the lead. If you want classic western tension, the… Read more →

• The Albanian (Shqiptari)

  If hearing "human trafficking" makes you expect a thriller, let me say it up front: this isn't a crime film, it's a slow-moving drama. The… Read more →

• The Cop (Un condé)

  Favenin putting the law aside and answering the criminals with their own methods gives the film a dangerous tension from start to finish.… Read more →

• The Married Couple of the Year Two (Les Mariés de l'an II)

  Revolutionary years, foreign invasions and a scramble to survive: the adventure side rests on solid ground. Having Belmondo in the lead… Read more →

• Flightplan (Flightplan – Ohne jede Spur)

  The whole story plays out inside one aircraft, and that tight space keeps the tension alive throughout. Its real trump card is the double… Read more →

• Agent 3S3: Massacre in the Sun (Agente 3S3, massacro al sole)

  Locations from Berlin to Ibiza, a secret agent, adventure: on paper everything's in place. But for today's action audience, 1960s fights… Read more →

• The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)

  Bombs, robberies, raids: the pace barely drops and events explode one after another. As a tension machine it is strong. But it is not the… Read more →

• De Gaulle: Tilting Iron (La Bataille de Gaulle : L'Âge de fer)

  1940, a collapsing France and a general who refuses to surrender: big stakes, a war backdrop. But this isn't a combat film; it's a story of… Read more →

• The Grifters

  If you are waiting for chases or shootouts, you will be disappointed; the tension here comes entirely from people deceiving one another.… Read more →

• Flatfoot in Egypt (Piedone d’Egitto)

  In this series mixing police thriller and comedy, fun comes before tension. A story built on a kidnapped professor and a bug that lives… Read more →

• Heroes

  An office worker who stops time, a cheerleader who heals from any wound, an artist who paints the future: the power ideas are genuinely… Read more →

• I Am Sartana, Trade Your Guns for a Coffin (C'è Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara!)

  A Sartana film from the Spaghetti Western's most prolific stretch: a gunslinger hero, a challenge with a coffin right in the title and the… Read more →

• Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud)

  A perfect murder plan, a killer stuck in a lift, and the blame landing on someone else: a terrific setup. But the tension here comes from… Read more →

• If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (...Se incontri Sartana prega per la tua morte)

  A mysterious gunfighter, gold, greed and a game where everyone betrays everyone: every piece of the spaghetti western formula is here.… Read more →

• Unknown

  The premise is a great hook: you wake up after a crash, nobody knows you, and someone else is going by your name. With the police not… Read more →

• King & Conqueror

  The story flows towards a war that ends at Hastings, so the promise of a big clash is clear from the start. The problem is how long it… Read more →

• Lonesome Dove

  It is a Western, but at its heart are not shootouts but the journey itself: the dangers of driving a herd north. That deliberately slows… Read more →

• Nirvana

  A game character who has gained consciousness and a deadline to wipe him from the servers: on paper, a great thriller hook. The cyberpunk… Read more →

• Odds and Evens (Pari e dispari)

  Don't come here for suspense: in a Hill and Spencer film the punch is the joke. Mafia, an illegal casino, a huge brawl on a yacht — on… Read more →

• Stranger in the House (L'inconnu dans la maison)

  Anyone who sees the names Belmondo and Lautner and expects something in the vein of Le Professionnel is in for a surprise. This is a… Read more →

• The Patriots (Les Patriotes)

  A young man joining the Mossad, missions stretching from France to the United States: on paper, a full-on spy thriller. But because the… Read more →

• The Poppy Is Also a Flower (Opération Opium)

  A story by Ian Fleming, an opium shipment tagged with a radioactive substance and two agents on its trail: on paper, a proper spy… Read more →

• The Stendhal Syndrome (La sindrome di Stendhal)

  It starts as a cat-and-mouse game, and as the line between hunter and hunted blurs, the tension turns in a different direction. That part… Read more →

• The Trojan Horse (La guerra di Troia)

  A sword-and-sandal film set in the last year of the Trojan War: battle, a hero and the wooden horse all in one. That is the classic peplum… Read more →

• Rising Sun

  The poster may say action, but at heart this is a murder puzzle. Because the mystery and crime side outweighs the rest, the pace mostly… Read more →

• 125 (125, rue Montmartre)

  An innocent man who finds himself in the middle of a murder is a set-up that always works, because the stakes are personal from the start.… Read more →

• Buffalo Soldiers (Army Go Home!)

  Army base, sergeant, soldiers: it is easy to expect a war film, but Buffalo Soldiers is something else entirely, a black comedy about the… Read more →

• American Gangster

  A strong cast and a solid cat-and-mouse game for crime fans, but don't expect fast action. This is more a drama about a drug empire being… Read more →

• Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar (Astérix et Obélix contre César)

  A rescue mission, a village that won't bow to Rome, a kidnapped druid: plenty of adventure material. But this is a comedy first and… Read more →

• A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari)

  A stranger whose name is never even given runs his own game between two feuding families: a setup made for tension. It is hard to tell… Read more →

• Black Belly of the Tarantula (La tarantola dal ventre nero)

  For anyone after tension, the giallo is always a good stop, and this one leans on the genre's pace and its unexpected turns. If you want a… Read more →

• The Expendables (Cehennem Melekleri)

  This film makes one promise: put the action stars of the eighties and nineties in a single crew. And it keeps it. Knife man, sniper, heavy… Read more →

• Coup (Darbe)

  A strike, a murder, the mafia, brawls and Cüneyt Arkın: on paper, a full seventies action package. But first and foremost this is a… Read more →

• The Longest Day

  The scale is enormous: airborne drops, beach landings, four sides living through the same day. War cinema rarely works on a canvas this… Read more →

• Fabiola

  Its British release title sets you up for arena fights, but this is a historical drama first and foremost. It carries traces of the… Read more →

• Far Cry

  An island, a secret military project, genetic experiments gone out of control, a former special forces man: on paper, everything is in… Read more →

• Stealth

  On paper it has everything: the director of The Fast and the Furious and xXx, fighter jets, an aircraft carrier and an artificial… Read more →

• House of Saddam

  Don't see the war-drama label and expect battlefield scenes; the weight is not on combat but on the relationships swirling around the seat… Read more →

• Los hombres de Paco

  Don't let the cop-show label fool you: early on, the point is not action but the comic antics of clumsy detectives. If you want tension… Read more →

• Man of the East (...E poi lo chiamarono il Magnifico)

  It's a western, but not the usual kind: the hero hates violence, rides a bicycle instead of a horse, and only decides to learn to fight… Read more →

• Napoleon

  There is a whole sweep of campaigns, from Arcole to Austerlitz, from the retreat from Russia to Waterloo, and the critics' praise for the… Read more →

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

  In my view the first part is mostly set-up: getting the siblings into Narnia and building the winter-locked world takes a while. Once the… Read more →

• NCIS

  Murder, espionage, terrorism, even stolen submarines: NCIS never runs short of material. Each episode opens and closes a new case, which… Read more →

• First and Foremost, the Homeland (Önce Vatan)

  Tanks, paratroopers, commandos and battles in the Pentadaktylos mountains: on paper it's a full-on war film. The crowded combat scenes look… Read more →

• One Thousand Dollars on the Black (1000 dollari sul nero)

  A point of curiosity for spaghetti western fans: it's the film where Sartana first appears on screen, and here he's the villain, not the… Read more →

• Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco e i suoi fratelli)

  There's boxing, and there are two brothers turned against each other over a woman, so tension isn't lacking. But honestly, this isn't a… Read more →

• RocknRolla

  Ritchie heads back to London's underworld, where an old-school gangster, a Russian oligarch, a small crew and a vanished rock star all… Read more →

• Spartacus

  A gladiator school, a slave army, victories over Roman legions: on paper, an action feast. But this is not like today's fast-paced epics.… Read more →

• Star Trek Beyond (Star Trek: Más allá)

  You can feel the hand of Justin Lin, known for the Fast and Furious films, right away; this one puts pace and big action set pieces first.… Read more →

• Storm Rider

  Lee Van Cleef, a young man accused of a murder he didn't commit, and the dead man's children out for revenge: all the tension ingredients… Read more →

• Tarkan Versus the Vikings (Tarkan: Viking Kanı)

  Huns, Vikings, a besieged fortress, a captured princess and a warrior out for revenge: on paper it's the full adventure package. It's an… Read more →

• The Flower of Evil (La Fleur du mal)

  Anyone expecting a breathless ride from the psychological thriller label may be wrong-footed. The tension comes less from chases than from… Read more →

• The Gunman

  The director of Taken, a retired mercenary, hit squads on his trail and a girlfriend to protect: on paper, a solid action skeleton. The… Read more →

• The Killer Likes Candy (Un killer per sua maestà)

  When I hear spy film, I want chases, tension and a cool agent. This is one of the European takes on the Bond wave, so expecting it to match… Read more →

• The Shortest Day (Il giorno più corto)

  Hearing 'war film parody', you might picture big battle scenes, but expectations need adjusting here. This is a buddy comedy set in the… Read more →

• The Wise Guys (Les Grandes Gueules)

  Don't expect heists or chases here; this is a drama that turns hard-edged as rivals answer with violence and a betrayal lands. The action… Read more →

• Thor: Love and Thunder (Thor : Amour et tonnerre)

  A villain sworn to kill every god raises the stakes from the start, and there's a reason critics praised Christian Bale. But Waititi's… Read more →

• Tripoli, Beautiful Land of Love

  The war-comedy label signals that the weight falls mostly on the laughs; anyone looking for front-line tension may not find it. The story… Read more →

• Turbo

  When the subject is speed, animation has no limits, and Turbo makes good use of that. With the Indianapolis 500 as the goal, a snail… Read more →

• Twin Peaks

  On paper it's made for thriller fans: an FBI agent, a murder from the past, a story spread across several states. But if pace is your… Read more →

• Ulysses (Ulisse)

  Kirk Douglas, Polyphemus and a colourful mythological voyage: on paper, a full adventure package. Condensing the events actually helps the… Read more →

• Avengers: Age of Ultron

  Six heroes, an artificial-intelligence villain and a plan to wipe out humanity: the scale is bigger than the first film, and so is the… Read more →

• Behold a Pale Horse

  There is a promise of a manhunt and a deadly showdown, but this is not an action film. Zinnemann builds tension not through fights but… Read more →

• Alexander (Alexandre)

  Campaigns against the Persian Empire, a march all the way to the edge of India: there is plenty of material for battle scenes. But the film… Read more →

• My Cevriye (Cevriyem)

  A fugitive, an armed and wounded man, and an inspector on their trail: on paper everything is set for suspense. Having Erol Taş in the cast… Read more →

• Destruction Force (La banda del trucido)

  If you want a poliziottesco that mixes cops and comedy, this one keeps that vein going, with a catch: Milian, who carries the film as… Read more →

• Domina

  A story that starts after Caesar's assassination and runs on conspiracy, seduction and murder sounds promising for tension. But Domina's… Read more →

• The World Is Not Enough

  Everything you expect from Bond is here: an international conspiracy, an adventure spread across several countries and the threat of a… Read more →

• Female Agents (Les Femmes de l'ombre)

  The setup is clean and strong: the eve of the Normandy landings, an agent who must be freed before he talks, and a team of women who each… Read more →

• Frantic

  A missing wife, a mixed-up suitcase, the Paris underworld and smuggling: plenty of ingredients, but Frantic is not an action film; it is a… Read more →

• Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117

  A proper Eurospy adventure from the sixties: an agent, a dangerous mission, a far-off location. Shooting on real locations in Brazil, with… Read more →

• Il coltello di ghiaccio (Detrás del silencio)

  The suspense premise is solid: a serial killer roaming the countryside and a witness who cannot tell what she saw. That sense of isolation… Read more →

• British Kemal vs. Lawrence (İngiliz Kemal Lawrense Karşı)

  A boxing match, a murder at sea, fights and rivalry between spies: a fairly lively package for 1952. British, French and Turkish… Read more →

• Equilibrium

  In a world where emotions are banned, a cleric turns the fighting techniques the regime taught him against the regime itself: it is hard to… Read more →

• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo)

  One of the first films that comes to mind when you say Western, and the tension between its three gunslingers is, in my book, still… Read more →

• Karaoğlan

  The structure is an escort mission: keep Çise Hatun safe and get her to her destination. That gives the story a clear goal and a constant… Read more →

• Empire of the Wolves (L'Empire des loups)

  With Kiss of the Dragon as the director's previous film, you expect plenty of fighting, but this is mainly a crime thriller. Pairing a… Read more →

• Le Corps de mon ennemi

  Belmondo, revenge, a man back from prison: that trio instantly sets you up to expect action. But at its core the story is an investigation… Read more →

• Mannaja

  Even the name tells you what's coming: it means axe. Mannaja is counted, alongside Keoma, among the last important spaghetti westerns, so… Read more →

• Massacre in Rome

  Put this on expecting combat and you may be disappointed. The partisan attack is the starting point, but the real weight lies in how the… Read more →

• Night Flight from Moscow (Le serpent)

  A KGB official defects to the West and three intelligence services get tangled up with each other: on paper, a great idea. But don't… Read more →

• Only the Wind Knows the Answer (Die Antwort kennt nur der Wind)

  A film that opens with a billionaire's yacht blowing up grabs you from the first minute. What follows is an investigation: Lucas the… Read more →

• Operation Sabre (Sablja)

  An assassination, a secret operation, a mafia clan: on paper it is a full thriller package. Just don't mistake it for a straight action… Read more →

• Our Kind of Traitor

  Since it's a le Carré adaptation, know this going in: it's a spy thriller built on distrust rather than explosions. An ordinary couple… Read more →

• Romanzo Criminale

  A gang that starts with kidnappings and drug dealing and grows into the capital's most powerful criminal force is exactly the material a… Read more →

• Sheitan

  The setup is familiar and it works: three guys, two mysterious girls, a house far from the city and a strange caretaker. Once black magic… Read more →

• Suspiria

  If you're used to the pace of modern horror, Suspiria may feel strange: the tension comes mostly from the place itself and its smothering… Read more →

• The Battle of El Alamein

  The subject promises everything I want from a war film: a battle that turned the North African front and a paratrooper unit that took heavy… Read more →

• The Confessions (Le confessioni)

  It is billed as a thriller, but set your expectations right. A summit hotel, a mysterious death and the investigation that follows sound… Read more →

• The Equalizer

  The hero here is not a young fighter but a retired agent who works with wit and spy gadgets. That shifts the tension from muscle to… Read more →

• The Facts of Murder (Un maledetto imbroglio)

  A murder, a commissioner and a set of suspects: a classic but solid crime skeleton. But this is not a film about speed. As a crime mystery… Read more →

• The President (Le Président)

  The political-thriller label sounds exciting, but the weight is on the talking; anyone expecting chases or shootouts may be disappointed.… Read more →

• The Swindle (Rien ne va plus)

  If you want fast plans, surprise twists and plenty of tension from a con movie, this one takes a calmer road. The big job, built on… Read more →

• The Truth (La Vérité)

  For a courtroom drama the pace is decent: the clash between prosecution and defence keeps the case alive and the flashbacks keep curiosity… Read more →

• The Two Gladiators (I due gladiatori)

  For sword-and-sandal fans the promise is clear: the brothers' feud ends up in the arena, which gives the story a firm target to build… Read more →

• Under Ten Flags

  A raider cruiser creeping up on enemy merchant ships under false flags: on paper, a great suspense idea. The question of whether they will… Read more →

• Vengeance (Joko - Invoca Dio... e muori)

  A betrayed outlaw, five men and five pieces of rope: it is hard to find a cleaner setup for a revenge western. Knowing exactly who each… Read more →

• Adiós gringo

  A cowboy forced to shoot a farmer in self-defence and fighting to prove his innocence: a solid setup for tension, and the accusation… Read more →

• Bang Boom Bang (Bang Boom Bang – Ein todsicheres Ding)

  It is billed as an action comedy, but the weight is on the comedy. The small-town setting and a crowded cast keep the pace lively. Don't… Read more →

• Boot Hill (La collina degli stivali)

  Terence Hill and Bud Spencer together, plus a spaghetti western: what more could you want? The mix of comedy and western makes a fun… Read more →

• Loft

  A body of a woman they don't know in their secret flat, and only five people with keys: that set-up hooks you from the first minute. But… Read more →

• Chicken with Vinegar (Poulet au vinaigre)

  See the crime label and expect chases and a fast pace, and you may be wrong. Chabrol mixes the crime with mystery, romance, comedy and… Read more →

• Da Vinci's Demons

  A secret cult, a genius chasing a lost book, powerful families trying to topple one another: everything you need for pace is on the table.… Read more →

• Death is serving (La muerte cumple condena)

  An early spaghetti western, and for a genre fan the real question is tone. Some sources call it a comedy western, which should count as a… Read more →

• Dog Day (Canicule)

  A criminal with the law on his heels, a few million dollars in his bag and a farmhouse in the countryside: that is a proper thriller… Read more →

• Fort Saganne

  The Sahara, camel troops, a remote fort and a defence against a feared sultan: on paper, a big adventure, and being the most expensive… Read more →

• French Connection II

  Dropping Popeye Doyle in Marseille is a great idea: chasing a drug trafficker through the dark world of the port, in a city whose language… Read more →

• Hearts and Armour (I paladini: storia d'armi e d'amori)

  Knights, armour, a medieval adventure: on paper it is right up my street. But building tension is hard in a film where even the critics… Read more →

• The Bait (L'Appât)

  Don't expect a slick heist movie just because it's a Golden Bear-winning crime film. This isn't about chases or big set pieces; it's about… Read more →

• La Totale!

  If you love True Lies, it is interesting to know the same idea was filmed in France first. But set your expectations early: the focus here… Read more →

• Lost Command (Les Centurions)

  Paratrooper units, two separate fronts from Indochina to Algeria, and names like Anthony Quinn and Alain Delon: on paper, a solid war film.… Read more →

• Mademoiselle

  It is labelled a psychological thriller, but do not look for chases or big set pieces here. The tension comes from knowing who is behind… Read more →

• Mister Scarface (l Padroni della città)

  An ordinary debt collector climbing the ranks of the organisation on his own is an engine that always works in crime films, and the scheme… Read more →

• Teacher (Öğretmen)

  A teacher taking his whole class hostage inside the school: the setup promises tension from the start. The closed setting, the time… Read more →

• Prepare a Coffin! (Preparati la bara!)

  The Django name, a gunslinger, a spaghetti western: a good starting point for fans of the genre. Seeing Terence Hill as this gunslinger is… Read more →

• Prom Night

  An escaped obsessive killer, a prom and a single night: a classic slasher recipe, and the set-up moves fast. But instead of turning the… Read more →

• RED 2

  Retired agents, a missing nuclear weapon and a chase right across Europe: on paper, it is exactly my kind of setup. The Korean master… Read more →

• Reservoir Dogs

  A heist film that never shows the heist; that sounds odd at first, then turns into its biggest ace. The tension comes less from gunfire… Read more →

• Samson and the Slave Queen

  Pitting Maciste against Zorro is a pure showdown idea on paper: raw muscle on one side, a legendary masked hero on the other. Leaving the… Read more →

• Shoot the Piano Player (Tirez sur le pianiste)

  Gangsters, stolen loot, a kidnapping threat: there is plenty of crime-film material here. But Truffaut does not build it like a classic… Read more →

• Tatort

  Tatort isn't for anyone expecting action-movie pace; the weight usually falls on the murder investigation itself. Its ninety-minute… Read more →

• Tele Girls (Tele Kızlar)

  Chases, hostage-taking, hiding and a deadly gang: the ingredients for a crime thriller are all there. The short running time helps the… Read more →

• Battle for Terra

  Spaceships, gravity-free cities above the clouds, a dangerous journey to humanity's mothership, the Ark: there is plenty of material for… Read more →

• The Indian Tomb (Das indische Grabmal)

  Lost cities, tombs, adventure in distant lands: the idea of an Indian Epic still sounds cool today. But to be honest, for anyone used to… Read more →

• The Third Generation (Die dritte Generation)

  On paper it has everything: underground militants, a plan to kidnap an industrialist, the streets of Berlin. But anyone expecting a tight… Read more →

• The Tiger of Eschnapur (Der Tiger von Eschnapur)

  Despite the adventure label, this is a romantic melodrama first, in my view. The palaces, the exotic locations and the tiger in the title… Read more →

• Violent Rome (Roma violenta)

  A solid way into poliziottesco, the hard-edged Italian police films of the seventies. Commissioner Betti's no-compromise attitude is the… Read more →

• Watch Out, We're Mad! (...altrimenti ci arrabbiamo!)

  The plot is an excuse; the real show is the duo flattening the thugs sent after them one by one. A quarrel over a red dune buggy escalating… Read more →

• What to do in case of fire? (Was tun, wenn’s brennt?)

  Til Schweiger is on the poster and action is listed among the genres, but don't go in expecting a pure action film. The real weight is on… Read more →

• A Bullet for the General (Quién sabe?)

  Train raid, gun-running, a revolutionary general: on paper it's the full action package. But the film builds its real tension less from… Read more →

• Black Sunday

  A plot to hit a football stadium is an almost perfect setup for a thriller. Frankenheimer keeps the story tight, and its top-25 spot on… Read more →

• A Matter of Life and Death (Can Pazarı)

  The feud between underworld bosses Abbas and Kamil gives the story a real sense of threat and stakes. Seeing Erol Taş as Kamil is… Read more →

• Dabbe (Dab6e) (Dabbe 6)

  Bringing in the Cuhenna, said to be the most dangerous jinn tribe, is an ambitious start and solid ground for tension. The problem: the… Read more →

• Detective

  A hotel, an old murder investigation, a boxing match in the works, debts... on paper it's a full-on crime movie. But nobody here intends to… Read more →

• Don't Look Back (Ne te retourne pas)

  If you're coming for a thriller, bring patience. For a long time the film circles a woman noticing strange things at home while nobody… Read more →

• The Jinn (El-Cin)

  A kidnapped girl, telepathic visions, whispers and cursed events: there's plenty of material for horror. Five university students trying to… Read more →

• Innocents with Dirty Hands (Les Innocents aux mains sales)

  On paper it's a solid thriller: two lovers, a murder plan and a death dressed up as an accident. The plan going unexpectedly wrong is a… Read more →

• Inspector De Luca (Il commissario De Luca)

  It carries crime and action labels, but don't expect a chase show. In my view the weight sits on period atmosphere and drama, so anyone… Read more →

• La Chèvre

  It gets called a comedy with an adventure streak, but set your expectations right: this is a comedy first and an adventure second. What… Read more →

• Road of Death (Ölüm Yolu)

  A crash, a breakout, a hostage, a ransom, a stubborn inspector on their tail: the set-up is ideal for tension. Police raids, constantly… Read more →

• You Can't Win 'Em All

  War, treasure, a long journey and two mercenaries: on paper it is a full adventure recipe. Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson are the film's… Read more →

• Police Python 357

  The title comes straight from a gun, the Colt Python and its .357 Magnum round, which sets up expectations of a hard-edged cop movie. Yves… Read more →

• Sarfarosh

  An arms-smuggling network, intelligence links and a cop for whom the job turns personal: Sarfarosh is a solid thriller setup. The deeper… Read more →

• Sijjin 2 (Siccîn 2)

  What makes Siccîn 2's job easier is a clear goal: Hicran has to find out who had the spell cast and with what intention. That search gives… Read more →

• Sleepless Night (Nuit blanche)

  One night, a kidnapped son and a cocaine shipment that has to be handed back: Sleepless Night is a tension machine from the moment it is… Read more →

• The Apartment (L'Appartement)

  It carries a thriller label, but this is not a chase movie. Max's search for his former lover moves on surprises and emotional tangles… Read more →

• The Stranger's Hand

  Kidnapping, spies, the streets of Venice; on paper everything is set for a tight thriller. A son searching for his father and the agents… Read more →

• The Unvanquished (L'Insoumis)

  A Legion deserter, a hostage lawyer and former partners hunting them down: a solid setup for a chase. A hero forced to shoot his way out… Read more →

• The Way Back

  Breaking out of a labour camp sounds made for tension, but this is not a classic escape movie. The real fight is with the road and with… Read more →

• Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben)

  A kidnapping, a small village, everyone hiding something: on paper it's perfect thriller material. But go in expecting a classic crime… Read more →

• War of the Robots (La guerra dei robot)

  On paper it has everything: kidnapped scientists, a dying alien race and a squad of soldiers heading out to fight humanoid robots. A… Read more →

• 2019, After the Fall of New York (2019 - Dopo la caduta di New York)

  A ruined New York after a nuclear disaster, a mercenary who has to slip in unseen, and the last fertile woman on Earth: the setup is a… Read more →

• Absurd

  For slasher fans the appeal of Absurd is obvious: a notorious film that got into real trouble with censors. But notoriety alone does not… Read more →

• Ali Baba and the Seven Dwarfs (Ali Baba ve Yedi Cüceler)

  The comedy-action label fits: two partners who head to Sofia to sell garden gnomes land in the middle of a mafia cat-and-mouse game through… Read more →

• Relentless Road (Amansız Yol)

  Thugs on their tail, a woman and a little girl in the truck, a long road ahead: there is plenty of material for a chase thriller. But… Read more →

• Purgatory (Araf)

  For a thrills-first viewer, Araf's trump card is the idea of a spirit returning for revenge, solid ground for jolts and rising tension. But… Read more →

• The Cowboy Who Loved His Horse (Atını Seven Kovboy)

  Put it on as a western expecting tension, duels and hard-hitting gunplay and you'll be disappointed. The showdown with the Daltons is built… Read more →

• Attack of the Robots (Cartas boca arriba)

  An agent called back from retirement, a robot-like army in black-framed glasses: the idea is genuinely fun. Just don't mistake it for an… Read more →

• Babek (Babək)

  A rebellion against the Caliphate lasting more than twenty years, and a movement finally crushed by military force: strong material for a… Read more →

• Beau Travail

  Legion soldiers, desert, training camp: on paper it looks like a war film, but it isn't. No combat, no chases; the tension is entirely… Read more →

• Black Lightning (Chyornaya Molniya)

  The idea of a flying Volga alone makes the film worth a look; in a Russian superhero story, a local touch like that feels fresh. Action… Read more →

• Camille

  It's set in a war zone, but it's no war action film; anyone expecting combat scenes will find a slow-paced drama. The tension comes less… Read more →

• Dante 01

  The setup is great: a sealed station orbiting a fiery planet, dangerous prisoners and doctors experimenting on them. There's nowhere to run… Read more →

• Dolmen

  The setup is solid: a craggy island off Brittany, an upcoming wedding and preparations that soon turn into a funeral. There are few better… Read more →

• Dying of the Light

  On paper it is a great hook: a retired agent losing his memory goes after the man who tortured him. That could have made a tight, ticking… Read more →

• Ghulam

  The action-drama label fits, but don't expect a hard, fast thriller. True to the Bollywood tradition, Ghulam puts emotion and music at… Read more →

• Goliath and the Vampires (Maciste contro il vampiro)

  Adding a vampire to a sword-and-sandal adventure is fun even on paper. A villain who roams from village to village enslaving people, and… Read more →

• Gunfight at Red Sands (Duello nel Texas)

  Western, duel and a short runtime: on paper a good package for genre fans. You can expect something that moves along without drowning in… Read more →

• The Mule Drivers (Katırcılar)

  Blizzards, mountain trails, smuggling, the gendarmerie: on paper it is a full-on survival adventure. Nature itself plays the enemy, which… Read more →

• Rampage (Korkusuz)

  If you want a cult Turkish Rambo, this is the place. Bodybuilder Serdar Kebapçılar's commando goes after the terrorists in the mountains… Read more →

• Birdman (Kuşçu)

  In terms of tension, the strongest idea is the chance of switching sides mid-job. Murat takes on a kidnapping for money, but the real… Read more →

• Living & Dying

  The setup is genuinely good: robbers hiding out in a roadside diner run into two killers far more dangerous than themselves, and the police… Read more →

• Massacre Time (Le colt cantarono la morte e fu... tempo di massacro)

  Franco Nero and George Hilton in the same western, with Lucio Fulci, later hailed as a horror master, in the director's chair. That… Read more →

• Napoli velata

  Mystery fans get a good hook: a story that starts as a romance and connects to a suspicious murder investigation is intriguing. But it… Read more →

• The Teachers' Lounge (Das Lehrerzimmer)

  The thriller label is fair, but don't expect guns, chases or big set pieces. All the tension comes from conversations, looks and decisions… Read more →

• Romantic (Romantik)

  On paper there is a solid thriller setup: a man unwillingly pulled into a murder, forced to flee, and returning years later. But the film… Read more →

• Silver Saddle (Sella d'argento)

  If you like spaghetti Westerns, Silver Saddle belongs on the list; Giuliano Gemma's last western role is reason enough on its own. The cast… Read more →

• The Celestine Prophecy

  A man chasing ancient secrets in Peru is a good adventure idea on paper. But the film pushes tension and danger into the background, and… Read more →

• The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea

  The label says thriller and horror, but don't mistake it for a pacy genre film. Here violence works less like an explosion and more like… Read more →

• The Psychic (Sette note in nero)

  On the suspense side the hook is strong: a vision that may belong to the future is perfect for keeping a ticking-clock feeling alive.… Read more →

• The Wolverine

  The film's smartest idea is stripping Wolverine of his healing powers. When an invincible hero suddenly becomes someone who can bleed… Read more →

• This Man Must Die (Que la bête meure)

  The engine is clear and the stakes are set from the start: a father's vow of revenge. An opening like that pulls you straight in. But this… Read more →

• Tidal Wave

  The scale is huge: not one city at risk but an entire country. Volcanic eruptions and a devastating earthquake give disaster fans plenty of… Read more →

• Murat of Tophane (Tophaneli Murat)

  An interesting stop for genre fans curious about Turkish adventure films of the seventies. With a prosecutor and a police commissioner in… Read more →

• The Visit (Ziyaret)

  On paper there's a strong hook: a girl who lost her mother to slander setting out to settle the score, with an attempted lynching thrown… Read more →

• The American (Amerikalı)

  A billionaire coming home for revenge, a police chief, a detective and a journalist: Amerikalı has all the ingredients of a crime caper. To… Read more →

• Ator l'invincibile

  Swords, sorcery, an abducted wife and the Spider Cult: every ingredient of the eighties barbarian-film recipe is here. The story is simple… Read more →

• Bebo's Girl (La ragazza di Bube)

  Anyone who sees the crime-drama label and expects a thriller may be off the mark. At the centre of Bebo's Girl is not a chase or a heist… Read more →

• Castle of Blood (Danza macabra)

  For a gothic horror fan, Castle of Blood makes a clear promise: a castle, Barbara Steele and an original title that means Dance of Death.… Read more →

• Delhi Belly

  Three hapless guys who end up in the mafia's sights by accident: the setup promises a fast, chaotic chase, and the film does not waste… Read more →

• Destroy All Monsters

  Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah and more in a single film: for a kaiju fan it is hard to imagine a bigger get-together. Even critics… Read more →

• Django and Sartana Are Coming... It's the End (Arrivano Django e Sartana... è la fine)

  With Django and Sartana in the title you expect a big showdown. But watch out: the film is not part of either character's real series, and… Read more →

• Fanaa

  Fanaa starts out like a romance, then shifts gear: once Rehan's secret comes out, the story turns into a thriller. A separatist group, an… Read more →

• Flight from Ashiya

  A rescue flight, rough seas and civilians stranded on a liferaft: on paper, that set-up could carry tension from start to finish, and… Read more →

• La Notte

  Let me be blunt: La Notte is a tough film for anyone who wants pace. Antonioni drops classic storytelling on purpose; there is no mystery… Read more →

• Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (Ammazzali tutti e torna solo)

  Here the story is an excuse; the real business is action. A plan to steal gold from a fort, the threat of betrayal hanging over the gang… Read more →

• Gold

  Anyone expecting the gunfights a western usually brings to mind may be a little surprised. Gold is an endurance story more than a showdown… Read more →

• Gridlocked

  One building, armed mercenaries and two men who cannot stand each other: a straightforward, effective action recipe. The forced partnership… Read more →

• Hundra

  Archer, swordswoman, a warrior woman out for revenge: on paper it is a pure action recipe. Some critics found it cheerful and thrilling… Read more →

• Double Impact

  Getting Van Damme not once but twice is a selling point in itself for fans of the genre. One is a street-hardened brawler, the other a… Read more →

• Jerichow

  A forbidden affair, money trouble and a dangerous reckoning: there is plenty of fuel for tension. But Jerichow chooses to heat it slowly… Read more →

• Immortal (Immortel, ad vitam)

  A digital New York, a pyramid in the sky, Egyptian gods: the visual package definitely grabs you. But this looks more like a film of… Read more →

• The Karadede Affair (Karadedeler Olayı)

  A village, creatures roaming at night, talk of jinn and cameras that never stop rolling: on paper it is a ready-made recipe for tension.… Read more →

• Omar

  If 'political drama' makes you expect a slow film, Omar may surprise you; it builds tension early and rarely lets go. Every crossing of the… Read more →

• Rabid Dogs (Cani arrabbiati)

  An escape story that plays out largely in real time: a robbery, hostages and a man forced to be the getaway driver. On paper that setup is… Read more →

• Shaft's Big Score

  Tough detective John Shaft is back, this time with more than three times the first film's budget, which is a real chance to scale up the… Read more →

• Talaash: The Answer Lies Within

  A police inspector, a star's suspicious death and Mumbai's underworld: a solid set-up for a thriller. But this is less a classic cop story… Read more →

• Ten Days' Wonder

  A murder mystery adapted from an Ellery Queen novel sounds exciting on paper, but the psychological thriller label tells you this film… Read more →

• Terror Beneath the Sea

  An undersea base, silver fish-men, a submarine and cyborgs running out of control: on paper, a full B-movie feast. Sonny Chiba in the lead… Read more →

• The Vourdalak (Le Vourdalak)

  Vampire story usually means chases and blood, but The Vourdalak does not go that way. The tension feeds on the family's odd behaviour and a… Read more →

• The Wax Mask (M.D.C. - Maschera di cera)

  The setup is good: a museum where people start disappearing as soon as it opens, and new figures appear every time. That is solid ground… Read more →

• The Penitent (Tövbekar)

  If you want a short, no-frills revenge story, Tövbekar does the job. The old enemies hunting a man fresh out of prison keep a sense of… Read more →

• Two Men in Manhattan (Deux Hommes dans Manhattan)

  A missing diplomat, a search that lasts all night, the streets of Manhattan: on paper it is a perfect thriller setup. But as I see it, the… Read more →

• Volt

  Say dystopian police thriller and you picture shootouts and chases, but Volt is not a film that meets that expectation. The tension comes… Read more →

• Will Our Heroes Be Able to Find Their Friend Who Has Mysteriously Disappeared in Africa? (Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso in Africa?)

  Even the title reads like an adventure novel: setting off after a friend who vanished in Africa. With a journey inspired by Salgari and… Read more →

• Before the Rain

  If 'war drama' makes you expect battle scenes, let me say it up front: this one seems built more on silence, waiting and strained… Read more →

• Captain Tahsin (Yüzbaşı Tahsin)

  The opening promises plenty: villagers gathered to face a firing squad and a cavalry raid arriving at the last minute. But from there the… Read more →

• 2020 Texas Gladiators (Anno 2020 - I gladiatori del futuro)

  A Texas wrecked by wars and disasters, a fascist regime and a band of warriors standing up to it: the setup is a full genre-fan menu. It is… Read more →

• A King Without Distraction (Un roi sans divertissement)

  A mountain village buried in snow, little girls vanishing one after another and a police captain put on the case: on paper, a solid… Read more →

• Çöl

  Expecting tension on the level of the real Jaws from a film nicknamed "Turkish Jaws" would be unfair. Çöl's fun lies elsewhere: in watching… Read more →

• Dhoom 3

  A circus-raised illusionist plotting unusual heists on a Chicago bank: that idea gives the series a fresh twist. Mixing stage magic with… Read more →

• Hacı Murat Is Coming (Hacı Murat Geliyor)

  The set-up is solid: a secret mission, a false identity, a seized letter and an enemy colonel stepping into the hero's shoes. A hero… Read more →

• Real Treasure (Harbi Define)

  A lost treasure, a brooch smuggled out of the country, a fortune buried under a house... There was a tense adventure in this material. The… Read more →

• Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

  A sports film built around an intercollegiate bicycle race, so everything flows toward that race, and in stories like this the tension… Read more →

• Kickboxer

  The setup is clear from the start: the older brother is paralysed in the ring, the younger swears revenge, a punishing training stretch… Read more →

• La víctima número 8

  A thriller that opens with a terror attack raises the stakes from the very first minute. Once the police investigation locks onto catching… Read more →

• Late Shift (Heldin)

  It starts out as a drama, but once the shift spins out of control it turns into a genuine thriller. No guns, no chases; the only enemies… Read more →

• Malkoçoğlu Raiders Are Coming! (Malkoçoğlu Akıncılar Geliyor)

  The mission is clear and the stakes are high: free a kidnapped artillery commander and stop a marriage meant to break an alliance. That… Read more →

• Corn Island

  Military conflict, a wounded soldier, the pressure to pick a side: on paper there is plenty of thriller material. But the film doesn't use… Read more →

• Son (Oğul)

  The plot runs on a solid tension engine: a father racing to get his son to the city for fear of rabies, with the men who did it hot on… Read more →

• The Ottoman Lieutenant

  If a title with a lieutenant in it and a story set in 1915 wartime has you expecting action, as it did me, be warned: this is essentially a… Read more →

• Raakh

  Raakh has the two sturdiest building blocks of any revenge story: a young man who takes justice into his own hands and a disgraced cop.… Read more →

• The Birthday Party (Histoires de la nuit)

  The setup is a textbook thriller recipe: a remote farm by a marsh, a surprise party in the works, and three strangers prowling around the… Read more →

• The Embalmer (L'imbalsamatore)

  A quick warning for anyone who sees the neo-noir label and expects a thriller: this is not a chase movie. The tension builds slowly out of… Read more →

• The Net 2.0

  A hero with her identity stolen, no money and cornered in a foreign city: on paper, everything a thriller needs is in place. The “No money.… Read more →

• Homeland and Namık Kemal (Vatan ve Namık Kemal)

  The front line, a fortress under siege, cannon fire and a secret mission to destroy the enemy's ammunition depot: on paper, a full-blown… Read more →

• Yor, the Hunter from the Future

  A prehistoric warrior, futuristic touches and Cappadocia scenery: on paper it is a full adventure cocktail. But expecting polished fight… Read more →

• Letter from the Dungeon (Zindandan Gelen Mektup)

  A captivity film with a breakout attempt is, on paper, a great foundation for tension. Escape stories naturally set their own pace through… Read more →

• 3 Giant Men (3 Dev Adam)

  Captain America, the masked wrestler El Santo and Spider-Man as the villain: that line-up alone is enough to spark curiosity. Artifact… Read more →

• Scorpion Mustafa (Akrep Mustafa)

  Robbery, a plan, an escape, snow and Bursa: on paper, every ingredient of a crime film is here. Having the villain in the lead makes the… Read more →

• His Father's Son (Babasının Oğlu)

  This is exactly what they mean by masala: drama, adventure, action and comedy in one film. With Cüneyt Arkın directing himself you expect… Read more →

• Death in Sarajevo (Smrt u Sarajevu)

  Strike spokespeople vanishing one by one, an important guest under police protection, all on a single day: on paper, that is tension. But… Read more →

• Crazy Yusuf (Deli Yusuf)

  A voice-controlled armoured vehicle, a villain who orders a bulletproof car, and bulldozers: a pretty wild action idea for seventies… Read more →

• Peak (Doruk)

  On paper there are two separate threats: a friendship that breaks down over the same woman, and a troublesome treasure hunter they cheated… Read more →

• From Lips to Weapon (Dudaktan Silaha)

  A drug ring, a boss who hides his identity even from his own men, and a courier caught in the middle of the gang: a solid hook for a crime… Read more →

• Bandit Halil (Eşkiya Halil (Haydut))

  A hero whose father is murdered and whose fiancée is abducted, who breaks out of prison and sets out for revenge: you will struggle to find… Read more →

• Esztergom Castle (Estergon Kalesi)

  An inn raid, a fortress under siege, food and ammo running out: on paper it is a full-on adventure. But the first half goes to a… Read more →

• Fatih's Loyal Follower: Kara Murat (Fatih'in Fedaisi: Kara Murat)

  An akıncı commander who can charge into enemy lines on his own: you can't ask for a better action premise. A story running a war and a… Read more →

• Storm (Fırtına)

  Two women pulled from wreckage, a storm breaking loose, a smashed boat and a deserted island: a great setup for a survival story. In my… Read more →

• Journalist (Gazeteci)

  A reporter going undercover in the mafia: hard to find a better starting point for suspense. Its fairly short running time works in its… Read more →

• Ghajini

  Great hook: a memory that resets every fifteen minutes adds a ticking clock to every scene. With photos, notes and tattoos, revenge turns… Read more →

• There's a Letter from Halime (Halime'den Mektup Var)

  Four young avengers against three thugs extorting a town: a plain, clear-cut showdown adventure. With a structure reminiscent of westerns… Read more →

• How I Ended This Summer (Kak ya provyol etim letom)

  Don't let the psychological thriller label fool you: don't expect big action scenes, because the tension here comes from two men's… Read more →

• Blood and Bullets (Kan ve Kurşun)

  Casinos, debts and revenge: on paper, a proper thriller setup. But the film is built as much as a sentimental drama as an adventure, so the… Read more →

• Kara Murat, Master of the Seas (Kara Murat Denizler Hakimi)

  Swords, ship cannons, pirates and a hero who gets himself thrown into a dungeon on purpose: everything an adventure needs is here. Kara… Read more →

• Debt of Honor (Namus Borcu)

  A safe-cracking, a gendarme's bullet, ten years inside and a man who comes out to settle the score: on paper it is a straight revenge… Read more →

• Of Money and Blood (D'argent et de sang)

  This is not a guns-and-chases series; the tension comes from following the money rather than from firearms. An obsessive investigator… Read more →

• Raja Hindustani

  Action is listed among its genres, but anyone coming to it for action is in the wrong place. At its centre is a love story trying to cross… Read more →

• Defense (Savunma)

  A murder, a suspect husband, an inspector who won't let go and a witness hauled into court: plenty of material for a thriller. But… Read more →

• My Sweet Pepper Land (Tatlı Biber Diyarım)

  On paper the set-up is pure thriller: a former peshmerga fresh from his post in Erbil, a new assignment nobody wants him in, and a border… Read more →