Foreign Films The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked  

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List Rules Only thriller films in a language other than English. Vote up the best foreign action movies.

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If you love a good adrenaline rush, check out some of these superb foreign thriller movies to get your heart rate pumping. Thriller films are always enticing, with that mix of action, adventure, and larger-than-life characters.

Foreign thriller films add an extra layer of excitement as they simultaneously offer you the opportunity to broaden your horizon and learn more about other cultures. From new foreign action movies to long-beloved classics, you'll find films to satiate your craving for action and adventure in the list below. 

What are some great foreign language action films? Tom Tykwer's 1998 German film Run Lola Run follows the title character as she tries to save her boyfriend's life. The film is set in three parts each, with a small variance that changes the plot immensely. The Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is also a great foreign thriller. The Hunt - a 2012 Danish film - is a slow-burner, full of psychological suspense. Other good foreign thrillers include Oldboy, The Lives of Others, and I Saw the Devil.

Do you have a favorite foreign thriller? Give the best movies a thumbs up, and please add any good films we may have missed.

list ordered by

1
14 0
The Invisible Guest is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
asifhaque98 added The Invisible Guest

2
46 17
Oldboy is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Oh Dal-su Oldboy is a 2003 South Korean mystery thriller neo-noir film directed by Park Chan-wook. It is based on the Japanese manga of the same name written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya. ...more

3
27 6
The Hunt is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Mads Mikkelsen, Alexandra Rapaport, Thomas Bo Larsen The Hunt is a 2012 Danish drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Mads Mikkelsen. The story is set in a small Danish village around Christmas, and follows a man who becomes the ...more

4
35 13
I Saw the Devil is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Cheon Ho-Jin I Saw the Devil is a 2010 South Korean psychological thriller/horror film directed by Kim Ji-woon, written by Park Hoon-jung, and starring Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun. The film introduces the ...more

5
26 6
The Girl with the Dragon Tatto... is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Noomi Rapace, Marika Lagercrantz, Lena Endre The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2009 Swedish drama thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Swedish author/journalist Stieg Larsson. It is the first book in the trilogy known as ...more

6
23 5
The Body is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
The Body Belén Rueda, José Coronado, Pere Brasó The Body is a 2012 thriller film written by Oriol Paulo and Lara Sendim; and directed by Oriol Paulo.

7
24 6
Headhunters is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Aksel Hennie, Baard Owe Headhunters is a 2011 Norwegian-Swedish action thriller film, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Jo Nesbø. The film was directed by Morten Tyldum and stars Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj ...more

8
22 5
The Skin I Live In is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Antonio Banderas, Blanca Suárez, Elena Anaya The Skin I Live In is a 2011 Spanish psychological thriller film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet, and Roberto ...more

9
27 11
The Secret in Their Eyes is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Ricardo Darín, Mariano Argento, Soledad Villamil The Secret in Their Eyes is a 2009 Argentine crime thriller film directed, produced and edited by Juan José Campanella and written by Eduardo Sacheri and Campanella, based on Sacheri's ...more

10
26 13
The Man from Nowhere is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Young-chang Song "Won Bin’s heartthrob’s pretty boy image is shattered, tossed out, and forever lost buried under the pile of blood splattered bodies in his latest film “The Man from Nowhere” (Korean title ...more

11
14 3
The Hidden Face is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
The Hidden Face Clara Lago, Alexandra Stewart, Martina García The Hidden Face is a 2011 Colombian thriller film directed by Andrés Baiz. An official Bollywood remake of the film, titled Murder 3, was made in 2013.

12
21 10
The Lives of Others is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Ulrich Tukur, Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, about the monitoring of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the ...more

13
22 11
Run Lola Run is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Franka Potente, Armin Rohde, Moritz Bleibtreu Run Lola Run is a 1998 German thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain ...more

14
16 6
The Chaser is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Kim Yoo-jung, Ha Jung-woo, In-gi Jeong The Chaser is a 2008 South Korean film starring Kim Yoon-seok and Ha Jung-woo. It was directed by Na Hong-jin in his directorial debut. Inspired by real-life Korean serial killer Yoo Young-chul, ...more

15
19 10
Timecrimes is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Karra Elejalde, Nacho Vigalondo, Barbara Goenaga Timecrimes is a 2007 Spanish science-fiction thriller film directed by Nacho Vigalondo. A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour, starting a series f ...more

16
22 13
Tell No One is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Kristin Scott Thomas, Harlan Coben, Guillaume Canet Tell No One is a 2006 French thriller film directed by Guillaume Canet and based on the novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. Written by Canet and Philippe Lefebvre and starring ...more

17
11 3
Dead Man's Shoes is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Paddy Constantine, Toby Kebbell, Gary Stretch This film is a 2004 British psychological thriller film written and directed by Shane Meadows, and co-written by Paddy Considine, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Toby ...more

18
10 3
Lady Vengeance is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked

19
14 7
Audition is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi, Ren Osugi Audition is a 1999 Japanese psychological horror-drama film, directed by Takashi Miike and starring Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina. It is based on a Ryu Murakami novel of the same title, from a ...more

20
9 3
Nine Queens is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Ricardo Darín, Oscar Nunez, Alejandro Awada Nine Queens is a 2000 Argentine crime drama film written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky and starring Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice, Tomás ...more

21
8 3
Loft is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Loft Rachael Taylor, Veerle Baetens, Jan Decleir Loft is a 2008 Belgian thriller directed by Erik Van Looy and written by Bart De Pauw, starring an ensemble cast of notable Flemish actors.

22
12 7
Animal Kingdom is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton, Jacki Weaver "Welcome to the jungle known as the Melbourne underworld. Animal Kingdom uses this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of survival and revenge. Pope Codyis on the run from a gang of ...more

23
5 1
The Orphanage is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
asifhaque98 added Geraldine Chaplin, Belén Rueda, Édgar Vivar The Orphanage is a 2007 Spanish horror film and the debut feature of Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, Fernando Cayo as her husband, Carlos, and Roger ...more

24
5 1
Julia's Eyes is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
asifhaque98 added Belén Rueda, Clara Segura, Lluís Homar Julia's Eyes is a critically acclaimed 2010 Spanish horror film directed by Guillem Morales and written by Morales and Oriol Paulo.

25
5 1
I'm Not Scared is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Foreign Thriller Movies, Ranked
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Diego Abatantuono, Dino Abbrescia I'm Not Scared is a 2003 film directed by Gabriele Salvatores. Francesa Marciano and Niccolò Ammaniti wrote the script, basing it on Niccolò Ammaniti's successful 2001 Italian ...more