You’re all familiar with Disney’s phenomenal five (Mermaid, Beauty, Aladdin, Lion, and Frozen). But let’s look at the other end of the genre spectrum – suspense and thrillers.
There are three movies that I think are the masters of suspense, and they conveniently fall into three of the seven narrative conflicts (man vs. man, man vs. God, man vs. nature, man vs. science, man vs. technology, man vs. self, man vs. supernatural).
Let’s take a look at my top three picks.
Jurassic Park (m v. s) – You can watch almost any of Spielberg’s movies and rightly claim that it’s his best. Jurassic Park is certainly one such movie. He builds suspense in the first half of the movie by giving the allusion that something is about to go terribly wrong in the amusement park. And in the second half, when the electricity goes out, that anxiety and those nerve pay off. I still consider Jurassic Park to be amongst one of the greatest thrillers of all time. (By the way, who’s pumped about JPIV??)
Speed (m v. m) – For man v. man, this was a toss up between Speed and River Wild. You’d think that River Wild would have come out on top, considering how badly Dennis Hopper butchers his character (and how naturally creepy Kevin Bacon is), but it’s just a little easier to believe in a highjacked bus than a family vacation gone wrong where the bad guys could very well just walk along the river to their freedom.
Twister (m v. n) – Am I really outdated for still liking this movie? I’ve seen plenty of disaster films from Dante’s Peak to 2012. But nothing has yet to come close to Helen Hunt’s desperation to get the Dorothy to fly and warn neighbors of the impending doom. Plus, the soundtrack is awesome to listen to when you’re driving through a wild storm in the summer.
(A fun fact: Those three movies are all related. Twister was made by the producer of Jurassic Park and the director of Speed.)
I’ve yet to come up with the ultimate movies for man v. God, man v. supernatural, man v. society, man v. technology, and man v. self (can I nominate my book The Man in the Box for this last one?).
Do you agree with my three picks? Do you have any suggestions for the other narrative conflicts (book or movie)? If so, list them below!
Life Through the Big Screen 
I still vote River Wild.
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Yeah, as I thought it over, I think I’d have to swap Speed for River Wild. Dennis Hopper turns the movie into a complete mess.
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You have impeccable taste in movies. But I do agree with Joseph – River Wild is also a classic.
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Yeah, I’m thinking that would have been the better choice in hindsight 🙂
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Twister and JP I’m right there with you but Speed required too much suspension of disbelief for me. That jump, it was just too stupid. Wrecked the whole movie for me. Oh, and that old lady who tried to get off the bus – I cheered when she bit it.
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The jump was pretty out there. Not sure I’d ever cheer at an old lady’s death, however.
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If I remember, everyone knew the rules at that point, nobody gets off the bus or everyone dies. Her selfishness, had what’s his name kept his word, would have killed everyone. In this context, I did.
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She was definitely selfish and jeopardized everyone. I’ll give you that.
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Yes..I was in grade school when wtaching Jurassic Park and it was indeed terrifying and yet awesome! Speed was thrilling except for the fact that it was ruined by Keanu Reeves faceless acting. He was only suitable for Matrix.
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Yeah, he didn’t really offer much else, did he?
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I totally agree with all your picks! Man vs technology- the terminator films immediately come to mind as the most obvious choice but not necessarily the best:)
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Hey ,
All these movies are really super and entertaining, but the one i loved most is twister( IT IS NOT OUTDATED STILL :p). I really enjoyed every bit of this movie.
Also i am agreed “bgddyjim” . 🙂
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I loved all of those movies. The suspense was incredible. My favourite…I think it’s a tie between Twister and The River Wild. Loved Helen Hunt and Meryl Streep in those!
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