The Best Conspiracy Thrillers Of All-Time
“What are the best Conspiracy Thriller Movies Of All-time?” We looked at 208 of the top Conspiracy thrillers, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 23 films, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Conspiracy Thriller” movie lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 175+ movies, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 23 Conspiracy Thriller Movies
23 .) Conspiracy Theory (1997) directed by Richard Donner
Lists It Appears On:
- Fandango
- IMDB 2
- The Cinemaholic
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
22 .) Edge of Darkness (1985) directed by Martin Campbell
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- The Guardian
Yorkshire detective Ronald Craven is haunted by the murder of his daughter and begins his own investigation into her death.
21 .) Marathon Man (1976) directed by John Schlesinger
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinema Jam
- Crime Reads
- IFC
A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.
20 .) Michael Clayton (2007) directed by Tony Gilroy
Lists It Appears On:
- Games For Girlsss
- IMDB 2
- The Cinemaholic
A law firm brings in its ‘fixer’ to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.
19 .) No Way Out (1987) directed by Roger Donaldson
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- IFC
- IMDB
Navy Lt. Tom Farrell meets a young woman, Susan Atwell , and they share a passionate fling. Farrell then finds out that his superior, Defense Secretary David Brice, is also romantically involved with Atwell. When the young woman turns up dead, Farrell is put in charge of the murder investigation. He begins to uncover shocking clues about the case, but when details of his encounter with Susan surface, he becomes a suspect as well.
18 .) The Day of the Jackal (1973) directed by Fred Zinnemann
Lists It Appears On:
- Crime Reads
- IMDB
- Quora
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail.
17 .) The Ghost Writer (2010) directed by Roman Polanski
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinema Jam
- Den Of Geek
- IMDB 2
A writer stumbles upon a long-hidden secret when he agrees to help former British Prime Minister Adam Lang complete his memoirs on a remote island after the politician’s assistant drowns in a mysterious accident. In director Roman Polanski’s tense drama, the author realizes that his discovery threatens some very powerful people who will do anything to ensure that certain episodes from Lang’s past remain buried.
16 .) The Insider (1999) directed by Michael Mann
Lists It Appears On:
- Games For Girlsss
- IMDB
- The Cinemaholic
Tells the true story of a 60 Minutes television series exposé of the tobacco industry, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand.
15 .) The X Files directed by Rob Bowman
Lists It Appears On:
- Fandango
- IMDB 2
- The Guardian
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI’s X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
14 .) Blow Out (1981) directed by Brian De Palma
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinema Jam
- IFC
- IMDB
- Slate
Jack Terry is a master sound recordist who works on grade-B horror movies. Late one evening, he is recording sounds for use in his movies when he hears something unexpected through his sound equipment and records it. Curiosity gets the better of him when the media become involved, and he begins to unravel the pieces of a nefarious conspiracy. As he struggles to survive against his shadowy enemies and expose the truth, he does not know whom he can trust.
13 .) Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) directed by Anthony Russo
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinema Jam
- Fandango
- IFC
- IMDB
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America is living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
12 .) Seven Days In May (1964) directed by John Frankenheimer
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- Fandango
- Taste Of Cinema
- Thought Co.
A U.S. Army general alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.
11 .) The Bourne Identity directed by Doug Liman
Lists It Appears On:
- Crime Reads
- IFC
- IMDB 2
- Slate
Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?
10 .) The Net directed by Irwin Winkler
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- Relatively Interesting
Angela Bennett is a freelance software engineer who lives in a world of computer technology. When a cyber friend asks Bennett to debug a new game, she inadvertently becomes involved in a conspiracy that will soon turn her life upside down. While on vacation in Mexico, her purse is stolen. She soon finds that people and events may not be what they seem as she becomes the target of an assassination. Her vacation is ruined. She gets a new passport at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico but it has the wrong name, Ruth Marx. When she returns to the U.S. to sort things out, she discovers that Ruth Marx has an unsavory past and a lengthy police record. To make matters worse, another person has assumed her real identity …
9 .) Valkyrie (2008) directed by Bryan Singer
Lists It Appears On:
- Games For Girlsss
- IMDB
- Taste Of Cinema
- The Cinemaholic
Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.
8 .) JFK (1991) directed by Oliver Stone
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Fandango
- Games For Girlsss
- IMDB
- The Cinemaholic
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there’s more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
7 .) They Live (1988) directed by John Carpenter
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinema Jam
- Games For Girlsss
- IMDB
- Slate
- The Cinemaholic
Nada, a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.
6 .) Enemy of the State (1998) directed by Tony Scott
Lists It Appears On:
- Fandango
- Games For Girlsss
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- Relatively Interesting
- The Cinemaholic
Hotshot Washington lawyer, Robert Dean becomes a victim of high-tech identity theft when a hacker slips an incriminating video into his pocket. Soon, a rogue National Security agent sets out to recover the tape – and destroy Dean.
5 .) The Manchurian Candidate (1962) directed by Jonathan Demme
Lists It Appears On:
- Fandango
- Games For Girlsss
- IMDB
- Slate
- Taste Of Cinema
- The Cinemaholic
- Thought Co.
Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.
4 .) The Conversation (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Cinema Jam
- EW
- IFC
- io9
- Slate
- The Cinemaholic
- Thought Co.
Surveillance expert Harry Caul is hired by a mysterious client’s brusque aide to tail a young couple. Tracking the pair through San Francisco’s Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. Tormented by memories of a previous case that ended badly, Caul becomes obsessed with the resulting tape, trying to determine if the couple are in danger.
3 .) All the President’s Men (1976) directed by Alan J. Pakula
Lists It Appears On:
- Crime Reads
- EW
- Fandango
- Games For Girlsss
- IFC
- IMDB
- io9
- Slate
- The Cinemaholic
- Thought Co.
In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.
2 .) Three Days of the Condor (1975) directed by Sydney Pollack
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Cinema Jam
- EW
- Fandango
- Games For Girlsss
- IFC
- IMDB
- io9
- The Cinemaholic
- Thought Co.
A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
1 .) The Parallax View (1974) directed by Alan J. Pakula
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinema Jam
- Den Of Geek
- EW
- Fandango
- Games For Girlsss
- IFC
- IMDB
- io9
- Slate
- The Cinemaholic
- Thought Co.
An ambitious reporter, investigating a senator’s assassination, realizes witnesses to the shooting are systematically dying and discovers a multi-million dollar corporation which serves as a front for the recruitment of political assassins.
The 175+ Additional Best Conspiracy Thriller Movies Of All-Time
# | Movie | Director | Lists |
24 | 16 Blocks | Richard Donner | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
25 | Air Force One | Wolfgang Petersen | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
26 | Arlington Road | Mark Pellington | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
27 | Capricorn One’ (1978) | Peter Hyams | IMDB |
– | – | – | Fandango |
28 | Chain Reaction | Andrew Davis | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
29 | Cop Land | James Mangold | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
30 | Cutter’s Way (1981) | io9 | |
– | – | – |
Cinema Jam
|
31 | Eraser | Chuck Russell | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
32 | Eyes Wide Shut (1999) | Stanley Kubrick | IMDB |
– | – | – |
Cinema Jam
|
33 | Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) | BFI | |
– | – | – |
Taste Of Cinema
|
34 | Jacob’s Ladder (1990) | Adrian Lyne | IMDB 2 |
– | – | – |
Cinema Jam
|
35 | Max Payne | John Moore | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
36 | Mercury Rising | Harold Becker | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
37 | Minority Report | Steven Spielberg | IFC |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
38 | Mulholland Drive | David Lynch | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
39 | Oldboy | Spike Lee | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB |
40 | Rendition (2007) | Gavin Hood | IMDB |
– | – | – |
Den Of Geek
|
41 | Shooter | Antoine Fuqua | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
42 | Shutter Island (2010) | Martin Scorsese | IMDB |
– | – | – |
Cinema Jam
|
43 | Side Effects (2013) | Steven Soderbergh | IMDB |
– | – | – |
Cinema Jam
|
44 | Spartan | David Mamet | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
45 | The Andromeda Strain (1971) |
Crime Reads
|
|
– | – | – |
Thought Co.
|
46 | The China Syndrome (1979) |
Thought Co.
|
|
– | – | – | Quora |
47 | The Da Vinci Code | Ron Howard | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
48 | The Firm | Sydney Pollack | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
49 | The General’s Daughter | Simon West | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
50 | The International | Tom Tykwer | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
51 | The Losers | Sylvain White | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
52 | The Pelican Brief | Alan J. Pakula | IMDB |
– | – | – |
Relatively Interesting
|
53 | The Quiet American | Phillip Noyce | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
54 | Total Recall (1990) | Paul Verhoeven | IMDB 2 |
– | – | – |
Cinema Jam
|
55 | Training Day | Antoine Fuqua | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
56 | V for Vendetta | James McTeigue | IMDB |
– | – | – | IMDB 2 |
57 | Winter Kills (1979) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
– | – | – | io9 |
58 | Z (1969) | BFI | |
– | – | – |
Den Of Geek
|
59 | 2 Guns | Baltasar Kormákur | IMDB |
60 | A Tale of Two Sisters | Jee-woon Kim | IMDB |
61 | A Very British Coup (1988) |
The Guardian
|
|
62 | A Walk Among the Tombstones | Scott Frank | IMDB 2 |
63 | Absolute Power | Clint Eastwood | IMDB |
64 | Angels & Demons | Ron Howard | IMDB 2 |
65 | Anthropoid | Sean Ellis | IMDB |
66 | Black Sunday |
Crime Reads
|
|
67 | Blowup | BFI | |
68 | Breach (2007) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
69 | Breakdown | Jonathan Mostow | IMDB 2 |
70 | Broken Arrow | John Woo | IMDB 2 |
71 | Broken City | Allen Hughes | IMDB |
72 | Bug (2006) |
Cinema Jam
|
|
73 | Changeling | Clint Eastwood | IMDB |
74 | Chinatown | Roman Polanski | IMDB |
75 | Clear and Present Danger | Phillip Noyce | IMDB |
76 | Conspiracy (2001) |
Taste Of Cinema
|
|
77 | Conspiracy Principle (1997) |
Games For Girlsss
|
|
78 | Da Vinci Code |
Relatively Interesting
|
|
79 | Dark Blue | Ron Shelton | IMDB 2 |
80 | Dark City | Alex Proyas | IMDB 2 |
81 | Death of a President | Gabriel Range | IMDB |
82 | Defence of the Realm | BFI | |
83 | Deterrence (1999) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
84 | Eagle Eye | D.J. Caruso | IMDB 2 |
85 | Edison | David J. Burke | IMDB |
86 | Elysium | Neill Blomkamp | IMDB 2 |
87 | End Game | Andy Cheng | IMDB |
88 | Executive Action (1973) | io9 | |
89 | Fail Safe (1964) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
90 | Fleabag |
Crime Reads
|
|
91 | Flightplan | Robert Schwentke | IMDB |
92 | Frantic | Roman Polanski | IMDB 2 |
93 | Fulltime Killer | Johnnie To | IMDB |
94 | GET OUT (2017) | Slate | |
95 | GoldenEye | Martin Campbell | IMDB 2 |
96 | Gone Baby Gone | Ben Affleck | IMDB |
97 | Good Guys Wear Black (1978) | io9 | |
98 | Gorky Park (1983) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
99 | Hard Rain | Mikael Salomon | IMDB 2 |
100 | Hitman | Xavier Gens | IMDB 2 |
101 | Illustrious Corpses/Cadaveri Eccellenti (1976) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
102 | In the Line of Fire | Wolfgang Petersen | IMDB |
103 | Inside Man | Spike Lee | IMDB |
104 | Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit | Kenneth Branagh | IMDB |
105 | Kafka | Steven Soderbergh | IMDB |
106 | Kiss of the Dragon | Chris Nahon | IMDB |
107 | L.A. Confidential | Curtis Hanson | IMDB 2 |
108 | Les Diaboliques (1955) |
Cinema Jam
|
|
109 | Lockout | James Mather | IMDB 2 |
110 | Lucy | Luc Besson | IMDB 2 |
111 | Madras Cafe | Shoojit Sircar | IMDB |
112 | Malcolm X | Spike Lee | IMDB |
113 | Man on Fire | Tony Scott | IMDB 2 |
114 | Ministry of Fear (1944) |
Cinema Jam
|
|
115 | Missing | Costa-Gavras | IMDB |
116 | Murder at 1600 | Dwight H. Little | IMDB 2 |
117 | Non-Stop | Jaume Collet-Serra | IMDB 2 |
118 | On Deadly Ground | Steven Seagal | IMDB 2 |
119 | Outbreak | Wolfgang Petersen | IMDB |
120 | Patriot Games | Phillip Noyce | IMDB |
121 | Paycheck | John Woo | IMDB 2 |
122 | Pi | Darren Aronofsky | IMDB |
123 | Red Eye | Wes Craven | IMDB 2 |
124 | Rubicon (2010) |
The Guardian
|
|
125 | Safe House | Daniel Espinosa | IMDB 2 |
126 | Salt | Phillip Noyce | IMDB 2 |
127 | Seeking Justice | Roger Donaldson | IMDB |
128 | Serpico | Sidney Lumet | IMDB |
129 | Shadow Dancer (2012) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
130 | Sicario (2015) |
Cinema Jam
|
|
131 | Six Days Of the Condor |
Crime Reads
|
|
132 | Snake Eyes | Brian De Palma | IMDB 2 |
133 | Sneakers | Phil Alden Robinson | IMDB |
134 | Spy Game | Tony Scott | IMDB 2 |
135 | Standard Operating Procedure | BFI | |
136 | Star Trek: Into Darkness | J.J. Abrams | IMDB |
137 | State of Play (2003) |
The Guardian
|
|
138 | Steal This Movie | Robert Greenwald | IMDB |
139 | Strange Days | Kathryn Bigelow | IMDB |
140 | Swordfish | Dominic Sena | IMDB 2 |
141 | Syriana | Stephen Gaghan | IMDB |
142 | Taken | Pierre Morel | IMDB 2 |
143 | Tango & Cash | Andrey Konchalovskiy | IMDB 2 |
144 | Telefon (1977) | io9 | |
145 | Tell Tale | Michael Cuesta | IMDB |
146 | The 39 Steps (1935) |
Cinema Jam
|
|
147 | The Amateur (1981) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
148 | The Anderson Tapes; 1971 |
Thought Co.
|
|
149 | The Anderson Tapes” (1974) | Quora | |
150 | The Art of War | Christian Duguay | IMDB 2 |
151 | The Bodyguard | Mick Jackson | IMDB |
152 | The Bourne Legacy | Tony Gilroy | IMDB 2 |
153 | The Bourne Ultimatum | Paul Greengrass | IMDB |
154 | The Boys from Brazil | Franklin J. Schaffner | IMDB |
155 | The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) |
Cinema Jam
|
|
156 | The Conspiracy | Christopher MacBride | IMDB |
157 | The Constant Gardener | Fernando Meirelles | IMDB |
158 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Kevin Reynolds | IMDB |
159 | The Crimson Rivers | Mathieu Kassovitz | IMDB 2 |
160 | The Debt/Ha-Hov (2007) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
161 | The Devil’s Double (2011) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
162 | The Dialog (1974) |
Games For Girlsss
|
|
163 | The Domino Principle (1977) | io9 | |
164 | The Eternal Jew (1940) |
Taste Of Cinema
|
|
165 | The Forgotten | Joseph Ruben | IMDB |
166 | The Fugitive | Andrew Davis | IMDB 2 |
167 | The Game | David Fincher | IMDB 2 |
168 | The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest | Daniel Alfredson | IMDB |
169 | The Girl Who Played with Fire | Daniel Alfredson | IMDB |
170 | The Good Shepherd | Robert De Niro | IMDB |
171 | The Hole | Nick Hamm | IMDB |
172 | The Illusionist | Neil Burger | IMDB |
173 | The Invasion | Oliver Hirschbiegel | IMDB 2 |
174 | The Island | Michael Bay | IMDB 2 |
175 | The Last Boy Scout | Tony Scott | IMDB 2 |
176 | The Laughing Policeman” (1973) | Quora | |
177 | The Life of David Gale | Alan Parker | IMDB |
178 | The Lives of Others | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | IMDB |
179 | The Long Kiss Goodnight | Renny Harlin | IMDB 2 |
180 | The Mothman Prophecies | Mark Pellington | IMDB |
181 | The Negotiator | F. Gary Gray | IMDB |
182 | The Ninth Gate | Roman Polanski | IMDB 2 |
183 | The November Man | Roger Donaldson | IMDB 2 |
184 | The Osterman Weekend | Sam Peckinpah | IMDB |
185 | The Package (1989) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
186 | The Peacemaker | Mimi Leder | IMDB 2 |
187 | The Philadelphia Experiment | Stewart Raffill | IMDB |
188 | The Prisoner (1967 – 1968) |
The Guardian
|
|
189 | The Recruit (2003) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
190 | The Shooter/Skytten (2013) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
191 | The Siege (1998) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
192 | The Sixth Sense | M. Night Shyamalan | IMDB |
193 | The Skulls | Rob Cohen | IMDB |
194 | The Stepford Wives |
Relatively Interesting
|
|
195 | The Testament of Dr. Mabuse | BFI | |
196 | The Wave/Die Welle (2008) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
197 | The Whistleblower (2010) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
198 | The Yards | James Gray | IMDB |
199 | Traitor (2008) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
200 | Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
201 | U.S. Marshals | Stuart Baird | IMDB 2 |
202 | Unknown | Jaume Collet-Serra | IMDB 2 |
203 | Unthinkable (2010) |
Den Of Geek
|
|
204 | Vantage Point | Pete Travis | IMDB |
205 | Veronica Guerin | Joel Schumacher | IMDB |
206 | Wag the Dog’ (1997) | Fandango | |
207 | Wedlock | Lewis Teague | IMDB |
208 | White House Down | Roland Emmerich | IMDB |
18 Best Conspiracy Thriller Film Sources/Lists
Source | Article |
BFI | How we learned to start worrying and love conspiracy movies |
Cinema Jam | The Top 20 Paranoid Conspiracy Films of All Time |
Crime Reads | The Best of 1970s Conspiracy Thrillers |
Den Of Geek | 25 Underrated Political Thrillers |
EW | All The Presidents Men and 3 more of the best conspiracy movies ever |
Fandango | 12 Great Government Conspiracies on Film |
Games For Girlsss | Best Conspiracy Movies |
IFC | 10 Paranoid Conspiracy Thrillers Worth Investigating – IFC |
IMDB | Best Conspiracy Movies |
IMDB 2 | Best Conspiracy Thrillers |
io9 | 10 Most Essential 1970s Conspiracy Thrillers |
Quora | What are some of the best conspiracy thriller movies in the 70s |
Relatively Interesting | The Top 5 Conspiracy Movies – Relatively Interesting |
Slate | Slate’s Conspiracy Thrillers Movie Club |
Taste Of Cinema | 20 Great Conspiracy Movies That Are Worth Your Time « Taste of |
The Cinemaholic | 12 Best Conspiracy Movies of All Time |
The Guardian | Six to watch: conspiracy thrillers |
Thought Co. | Paranoid Thrillers |