Last updated March 2024
Looking to watch sensational Best Thriller Movies 2004 everybody's raving about? We compiled 30 marvelous, critically acclaimed Best Thriller Movies 2004 ready for you to start watching instantly. Hailed as must-sees by IMDB reviewers and our own users alike, these highly decorated titles represent the best of the best. Help fellow fans uncover their next great find by voting for your favorites. We appreciate you helping spotlight the finest Best Thriller Movies 2004 available!
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Bride unwaveringly continues on her roaring rampage of revenge against the band of assassins who had tried to kill her and her unborn child. She visits each of her former associates one-by-one, checking off the victims on her Death List Five until there's nothing left to do … but kill Bill
Duration: 137 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 791000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: revenge, vigilante, vengeance, strong female lead, sword fight, dark humor, martial arts, mission, hitman, retribution, tough girl, female assassin, one woman army, female warrior, sword, mentor, master warrior, female protagonist, kung fu, samurai, female martial artist, pride and honor, gory, fight, journey
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Plot Summary:
When a CIA operation to purchase classified Russian documents is blown by a rival agent, who then shows up in the sleepy seaside village where Bourne and Marie have been living. The pair run for their lives and Bourne, who promised retaliation should anyone from his former life attempt contact, is forced to once again take up his life as a trained assassin to survive
Duration: 108 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 481000
Genere: Action, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, Russia, India
Plot tags: spy, cia, conspiracy, amnesia, espionage, on the run, revenge, assassin, tough heroes, dark past, lone hero, chase, one against many, agent as target, tough guy, one man army, escapades, hitman, twists and turns, uncover truth, chases and races, hidden truth, swat team, secret past, fighting the system
Man on Fire (2004)
Plot Summary:
Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life
Duration: 146 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 383000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Switzerland, UK, USA, Mexico
Plot tags: revenge, kidnapping, vengeance, vigilante, cia, vigilantism, friendship, mercenary, lone hero, redemption, justice, child in peril, police corruption, danger, ransom, bodyguard, cia agent, violence, daring rescue, violent, warrior, organized crime, conspiracy, torture, murder
Crash (2004)
Plot Summary:
Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption
Duration: 112 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 446000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, Australia
Plot tags: racism, police, prejudice, racial tension, multiple storylines, sexual harassment, racist, social injustice, plot twist, redemption, interracial relations, class differences, society, city life, police corruption, immigrant, cop, hate, parents and children, social differences, suffering, depression, tragedy, manipulation, relationships
The Machinist (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Machinist is the story of Trevor Reznik, a lathe-operator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances; yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. Trevor has lost the ability to sleep. This is no ordinary insomnia
Duration: 101 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 410000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, France, UK, USA
Plot tags: insomnia, insanity, paranoia, obsession, twists and turns, mysterious character, losing-it hero, hallucination, uncover truth, schizophrenia, secrets, life is a bitch, mental illness, plot twist, alienation, psychology, mysterious stranger, factory, hit and run, imaginary friend, torment, layoff, single mother, waitress, existentialism
Saw (2004)
Plot Summary:
Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer abducts the morally wayward. Once captured, they must face impossible choices in a horrific game of survival. The victims must fight to win their lives back, or die trying
Duration: 103 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 459000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: torture, macabre, gory, serial killer, mind game, plot twist, survival horror, trap, violent, psychopath, fear, trapped, locked in a room, extreme violence, twists and turns, survival, insanity, game of death, deathtrap, characters killed one by one, sadism, captivity, violence, isolation, confined
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Plot Summary:
A young man struggles to access sublimated childhood memories. He finds a technique that allows him to travel back into the past, to occupy his childhood body and change history. However, he soon finds that every change he makes has unexpected consequences
Duration: 113 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 514000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Plot tags: time travel, memory, time loop, butterfly effect, memory loss, alternate reality, twists and turns, psychology, time traveler, changing the past or future, alternate universe, mind control, child abuse, destiny, life philosophy, insanity, supernatural ability, love, philosophy, time, supernatural, parallel universe, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, unrequited love, haunted by the past
Collateral (2004)
Plot Summary:
Cab driver Max picks up a man who offers him $600 to drive him around. But the promise of easy money sours when Max realizes his fare is an assassin
Duration: 120 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 426000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: hitman, hostage, twists and turns, taxi driver, taxi, killings, sociopath, killer, assassin, merciless, murderer, victim, murder witness, organized crime, conspiracy, contract killer, nihilism, gunfight, danger, murder, accident, death, brutality, fbi, surveillance
Survive Style 5+ (2004)
Plot Summary:
A man continually trying and failing to get his wife to stay dead; a self-absorbed ad agency creative director who comes up with one unworkably inane idea after another; a British hitman who only wants to know everyone's function in life; and an unfortunate office worker and father whose brain is left scrambled after a stage hypnotist is murdered in mid-performance
Duration: 120 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: hitman, murder, hypnosis, losing-it hero, social relations, dark humor, multiple storylines, surrealism, undead, gay, mysticism, giant monster, stoner, humour, trippy, human relationship, asian prostitute, kaiju, masturbation, gay slur, new year, translator, sleazy, disorder, bodies
Everything about Mustafa (2004)
Plot Summary:
A man is forced to confront his past after he loses everything in an accident. Mustafa is a successful business man living a seemingly great life with his family when an accident takes it all away from him and leaves him with many questions and a cab driver, Fikret, who can answer it all. Mustafa is due to get a lot more than what he bargained for, however, as his interrogations take him to long-forgotten childhood memories and force him to see his formerly perfect life from a very different perspective
Duration: 119 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Turkey
Plot tags: taxi driver, haunted by the past, life turned upside down, investigation, human nature, who to trust, kidnapping, cheating wife, confined, disorder, past, hospital, cemetery, car accident, funeral, male full rear nudity, death of wife, flashback, sex in car, firefly, kidnapped man, brother murders brother, crying woman, urinating on someone, flashbacks
Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
Plot Summary:
A soldier returns home to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his dimwitted brother while he was away
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: revenge, bullying, brutality, vengeance, mental illness, justice, cruelty, great ending, humiliation, execution, drug abuse, heroes, brother brother relationship, forced sex, vigilante, haunted by the past, violent, gangster, drug, twists and turns, small town, anti hero, sadism, illness, bully
Before the Fall (2004)
Plot Summary:
In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) – high schools that produce Nazi elite. Over his father's objections, Friedrich enrolls. During his year in seventh column,Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code. His friendship with Albrecht, the ascetic son of the area's governor, is central to this education
Duration: 110 min
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Sport, Thriller, War
Country: Germany
Plot tags: boxing, nazi, friendship, nazi germany, boarding school, anti semitism, war, pow, world war two, youth, bullying, military school, against humanity, holocaust, gestapo, suicide, german soldier, gay, boarding school life, ss, children in wartime, boys' school, family relations, boy, lgbt teen
The Uniform (2004)
Plot Summary:
Just as he is preparing for his daughter's wedding, a veteran policeman is assigned to a crack team transporting a Pakistani secret agent to trial
Duration: 174 min
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: India
Plot tags: terrorism, murder, muslim, vengeance, rivalry, danger, law enforcement, dishonesty, heroes, rookie, small town, small town life, police, revenge, corruption, police officer, hindu, corrupt politician, cop, terrorist, police corruption, wedding, chases and races, violence, death
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
Plot Summary:
Groundbreaking director Mamoru Oshii continues to push the boundaries of art and anime with this universally acclaimed cyber thriller following cyborg detective Batou as he tries to unravel the reasons for a murderous robot revolt in the year 2032. A quest for a killer that becomes a mind bending search for the meaning of life
Duration: 100 min
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: cyberpunk, cyborgs, artificial intelligence, androids and robots, distopia, androids, investigation, robot, hacker, ghost in the shell, technology, imaginary, mind game, fighting crime, good versus evil, computers and web, escapades, innocence, loss of partner, uncover truth, philosophy, computer, mature, existentialism, cyberspace
Layer Cake (2004)
Plot Summary:
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin
Duration: 105 min
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB Votes: 192000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: twists and turns, gangster, heist, murder, drug, drug lord, caper, plot twist, violence, drug addiction, organized crime, mafia, going straight, criminal heroes, british gangster, female nudity, robbery, drug dealing, hitman, drug dealer, betrayal, greed, sex, chase, gang
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Plot Summary:
Deformed since birth, a bitter man known only as the Phantom lives in the sewers underneath the Paris Opera House. He falls in love with the obscure chorus singer Christine, and privately tutors her while terrorizing the rest of the opera house and demanding Christine be given lead roles. Things get worse when Christine meets back up with her childhood acquaintance Raoul and the two fall in love
Duration: 143 min
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
IMDB Votes: 129000
Genere: Drama, Musical, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: obsession, opera, disfigurement, musician's life, dangerous attraction, destructive relationship, theater, fall in love, disguise, love and romance, prodigy, tragic hero, singer, love triangle, broadway, musician, unrequited love, dancing, loneliness, music, love story, phantom of the opera, love, dance, aristocracy
Terkel in Trouble (2004)
Plot Summary:
In this unhinged Danish animation, 6th-grader Terkel (Anders Matthesen) begins experiencing a streak of bad luck after sitting on a black spider. His teacher dies and is replaced by the strange Justin (also Matthesen). At home, Terkel's Uncle Stewart (also Matthesen) erupts in sporadic fits of rage, and at school, Terkel is bullied by two boys after they learn that fat Doris likes him. On a school camping trip, Terkel begins receiving death threats and must figure out who wants to kill him
Duration: 77 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Musical, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Denmark
Plot tags: mischievous children, nothing goes right, eccentric family, child suicide, youth, escapades, danger, buddies, forced into action, kids in trouble, parents and children, little sister, overweight child, revenge, teacher, friendship, teachers and students, gore, vulgar, twists and turns, friends, family relations, profanity, spoiled brat, disorder
I, Robot (2004)
Plot Summary:
In 2035, where robots are common-place and abide by the three laws of robotics, a techno-phobic cop investigates an apparent suicide. Suspecting that a robot may be responsible for the death, his investigation leads him to believe that humanity may be in danger
Duration: 115 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 567000
Genere: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Plot tags: artificial intelligence, robot, cyberpunk, distopia, cyborgs, androids and robots, androids, hi-tech, technology gone awry, danger, computer, dystopia, fate of humanity, man versus machine, robot vs. robot, science runs amok, human versus robot, humanoid robot, dystopian future, technology, murder, imaginary, killer robot, revolution, police investigation
Ferpect Crime (2004)
Plot Summary:
A playboy has the tables turned on him when he finds himself being used as a plaything by an undesirable woman in this black comedy from Spain
Duration: 105 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: Spain, Italy
Plot tags: murder, store, satire, ambition, rivalry, character study, salesman, dangerous attraction, couples, blackmail, job promotion, department store, revenge, dysfunctional family, sex, business, wedding, magic realism, gangsta, criminal mind, amor, ghost, unrequited love, sexual abuse, delusional woman
36th Precinct (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Film takes place in Paris, where two cops are competing for the vacant seat of chief of police while in the middle of a search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the french police before creating this story, which in part is taken from real facts that happened during the 1980s in France
Duration: 111 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Plot tags: vengeance, twists and turns, rivalry, organized crime, police corruption, investigation, violence, dirty cop, police investigation, police, nudity, ambition, law enforcement, workplace intrigue, heist, gang, uninhibited rivalry, gang violence, police officer killed, dishonesty, blind ambition, spouse in danger, cop, betrayal, robbery
District B13 (2004)
Plot Summary:
Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb
Duration: 84 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: France
Plot tags: martial arts, ghetto, gang, parkour, fight, undercover cop, tough guy, bomb, betrayal, race against time, urban ghetto, crime boss, heroes, danger, working undercover, revenge, dystopia, violence, hand to hand combat, distopia, vigilantism, bully, organized crime, escapades, corruption
Main Hoon Na (2004)
Plot Summary:
An army major goes undercover as a college student. His mission is both professional and personal: to protect his general's daughter from a radical militant, and to find his estranged half-brother
Duration: 182 min
IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama, Musical, Romance, Thriller
Country: India
Plot tags: terrorism, college, family relations, siblings relations, rescue, love and romance, fall in love, couples, danger, estrangement, undercover, chase, hindu, high school, die hard, heartwarming, covert operation, soldier, desire, couple relations, terrorist, hostage, tough guy, helicopter, arm wrestling
Shutter (2004)
Plot Summary:
A young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past
Duration: 97 min
IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Thailand
Plot tags: ghost, revenge, supernatural, nightmare, photograph, photographer, car accident, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, macabre, suicide, spirit, secret lover, dark past, blood, photography, rape, gang rape, darkroom, gory, vengeance, brutality, haunted house, life & death, danger, uncover truth
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)
Plot Summary:
It’s 1974 and Sam Bicke has lost everything. His wife leaves him with his three kids, his boss fires him, his brother turns away from him, and the bank won’t give him any money to start anew. He tries to find someone to blame for his misfortunes and comes up with the President of the United States who he plans to murder
Duration: 95 min
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Plot tags: depression, obsession, hypocrisy, assassination, suicide, psychology, robbery, crime gone awry, revenge, tragedy, attempted murder, head of state, mental illness, life is a bitch, society, rules and policies, misfit, alienation, lifestyle, social commentary, biopic, hijacking, corruption, planned murder, swindle
National Treasure (2004)
Plot Summary:
Modern treasure hunters, led by archaeologist Ben Gates, search for a chest of riches rumored to have been stashed away by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin during the Revolutionary War. The chest's whereabouts may lie in secret clues embedded in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and Gates is in a race to find the gold before his enemies do
Duration: 131 min
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
IMDB Votes: 350000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: treasure hunt, treasure, archaeology, archaeologist, treasure hunter, adventurer, secret place, riddles and clues, map, artifact, journey, ancient, tomb, obsessive quest, heist, legends and myths, caper, danger, tombs and skeletons, heroic mission, expedition, freemason, conspiracy, treasure map, knight
New Police Story (2004)
Plot Summary:
Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing (Jackie Chan) needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader
Duration: 123 min
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Plot tags: martial arts, hostage, redemption, partner, police, kung fu, fight scenes, gang, undercover cop, gunfight, rivalry, bank robbery, fight, haunted by the past, buddy cop, vengeance, dark past, karate, violence, kidnapping, murder, car chase, chase, guilt, mafia
Appleseed (2004)
Plot Summary:
In a utopian society created at the end of the third world war, a female warrior who has been plucked from the badlands begins to see cracks in this new facade. And what does this community have planned for the rest of humankind?
Duration: 101 min
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War
Country: Japan
Plot tags: cyberpunk, androids and robots, artificial intelligence, apocalypse, danger, dystopia, chaos, post apocalyptic, vestiges of humanity, save the world, genetic engineering, violent content, end of the world, graphic violence, robot, distopia, conspiracy, mature, heroes, rivalry, heroic mission, violence, mythology, partner, imaginary
Wicker Park (2004)
Plot Summary:
Matthew, a young advertising executive in Chicago, puts his life and a business trip to China on hold when he thinks he sees Lisa, the love of his life who left him without a word two years earlier, walking out of a restaurant one day
Duration: 114 min
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: obsession, love story, fall in love, unrequited love, love at first sight, love triangle, twists and turns, relationships, secrets, dating, psychology, passion, destiny, life philosophy, love, happy ending, love of one's life, stalking, multiple perspectives, love and romance, winter, dream girl, plot twist, stalker, selfishness
Steamboy (2004)
Plot Summary:
After receiving a package from his Grandfather, Rei, a young inventor living in England during the mid-19th century, has his life thrown into disarray. The package contains a "Steam Ball", a device of incredible power, and a letter asking him to guard it. Rei must evade capture from the nefarious "O'Hara Foundation" who will do anything to steal the device and use it for their own nefarious means
Duration: 126 min
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: steampunk, betrayal, technology gone awry, heroic mission, rivalry, danger, inventions and discoveries, master villain, chases and races, chase, father son relationship, inventor, civil engineer, energy, heroes, desire, parents and children, airplane, police officer, train, cave, snow, kidnapping, ice, castle
Primer (2004)
Plot Summary:
Friends and fledgling entrepreneurs invent a device in their garage which reduces the apparent mass of any object placed inside it, but they discover that it has some highly unexpected capabilities - ones that could enable them to do and to have seemingly anything they want. Taking advantage of this unique opportunity is the first challenge they face. Dealing with the consequences is the next
Duration: 77 min
IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
IMDB Votes: 113000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: time travel, time loop, time machine, parallel universe, changing the future, changing the past or future, science, inventor, paradox, time traveler, twists and turns, scientist, invention, time, experiment gone awry, plot twist, quantum physics, philosophy, greed, paranoia, mathematics, technology, identity crisis, mistrust, puzzle