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The Best Snowy Thriller Movies, Ranked

Updated September 3, 2020 1.2k votes 242 voters 24.4k views37 items

List RulesVote up the top thrillers set in the cold, snowy winter.

Frigid temperatures and icy conditions add to the intensity of great thrillers set in the winter. The best snowy thriller movies feature characters fighting the elements as they attempt to save their own lives. This is a list of the top thrillers set in winter, including everything from The Day After Tomorrow to 30 Days of Night to Snowpiercer.

What films will you find on this list of wintery action movies? The nerve-rattling finale of The Shining, set in snow in the middle of a labyrinth, is an unforgettable icy sequence. Fargo is another great movie set in the winter, when the snow can't quite cover up the traces of murder. The Thing is one of the most suspenseful films ever produced, thanks in part to its desolate, frozen setting in an Antarctic research base. Other movies featured on this best snowy thriller films list include The Grey, Hanna, and Murder on the Orient Express.

Do you have a favorite thriller set in the snow? Bundle up and get ready to vote your personal picks up towards the top of the list.

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The Thing
Kurt Russell, Keith David
Released: 1982
Directed by: John Carpenter
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The Shining
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall
Released: 1980
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
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Fargo
Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy
Released: 1996
Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
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30 Days of Night
Josh Hartnett, Melissa George
Released: 2007
Directed by: David Slade
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The Grey
Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney
Released: 2011
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
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Wind River
Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen
Released: 2017
Directed by: Taylor Sheridan
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Snowpiercer
Chris Evans, John Hurt
Released: 2013
Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
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Frozen
Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore
Released: 2010
Directed by: Adam Green
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The Day After Tomorrow
Emmy Rossum, Jake Gyllenhaal
Released: 2004
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
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Cliffhanger
Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow
Released: 1993
Directed by: Renny Harlin
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Insomnia
Al Pacino, Robin Williams
Released: 2002
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
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Dreamcatcher
Morgan Freeman, Timothy Olyphant
Released: 2003
Directed by: Lawrence Kasdan
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Hanna
Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana
Released: 2011
Directed by: Joe Wright
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Alive
John Malkovich, Ethan Hawke
Released: 1993
Directed by: Frank Marshall
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Hold the Dark
Alexander Skarsgård, Riley Keough
Released: 2018
Directed by: Jeremy Saulnier
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The Lodge
Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell
Released: 2020
Directed by: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
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The Colony
Laurence Fishburne, Bill Paxton
Released: 2013
Directed by: Jeff Renfroe
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A Simple Plan
Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton
Released: 1998
Directed by: Sam Raimi
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Centigrade
Vincent Piazza, Genesis Rodriguez
Released: 2020
Directed by: Brendan Walsh
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Transsiberian
Kate Mara, Woody Harrelson
Released: 2008
Directed by: Brad Anderson
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Eye See You
Sylvester Stallone, Tom Berenger
Released: 2002
Directed by: Jim Gillespie
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Blood and Money
Tom Berenger, Kristen Hager
Released: 2020
Directed by: John Barr
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Whiteout
Kate Beckinsale, Alex O'Loughlin
Released: 2009
Directed by: Dominic Sena, Len Wiseman, Stuart Baird
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The Last Winter
Connie Britton, Ron Perlman
Released: 2007
Directed by: Larry Fessenden
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The Thaw
Val Kilmer, William B. Davis
Released: 2009
Directed by: Mark Lewis
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The Lodge