2021 was a very good year for going back to the movie theaters, taking the necessary precautions to enjoy a great movie on the silver screen. In fact, there were many movies produced last year that rose to the occasion. For thriller movie fans, a number of films fulfilled expectations and allowed the audience to experience the excitement and tension of those minute-to-minute plots. There is an increasing interest in thrillers, placing them in the sixth place in the 2021 ranking of box-office grosses. This makes sense, considering that thrillers condense all the best elements of every genre: a little bit of fear, but without going full-on horror, the speed of action movies but endowed with a much more robust plot, and even hints of drama and comedy without having to fully commit to either — in other words, perfect combo to keep the viewer's attention on edge at all times and then, at the very end, deliver a plot twist that often leaves the audience theorizing for years to come.

Some of these movies are so exciting that they even make the audience want to repeat them at least one more time, to see what hidden details can be uncovered. That is why, in this article, we'll review seven of the most interesting 2021 thriller movies that are on our re-watch list (and deserve a spot on yours).

Related: 10 Undersung 1990s Thriller Movies Worth Revisiting

7 Titane

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Agatha Rouselle in Titane (2022)

The main character in this acclaimed film is Alexia (Agathe Rouselle), a young woman who was involved in a car accident as a child that left her with a scar, a titanium plate in her skull, and a strange affection for cars. Now, Alexia works as a show dancer and has several serial murders under her belt. In order to hide from the police, she adopts an androgynous figure and disguises herself as Adrien, the missing son of Vincent (Vincent Lindon). After changing her appearance, Alexia is welcomed by Vincent, who thinks that she is indeed his son, whom he has not seen for ten years. Yet no one in his entourage seems to believe it. To top it off, Alexia is pregnant from a relationship she had with a car.

Titane is a French movie written and directed by Julia Ducournau. The director's second film made her the second woman in history to take home the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and the only woman to win it alone. According to critics, Titane is the most shocking film of 2021, in which Ducournau creates an extreme nightmare you wouldn't expect from a horror film, as she did in Raw, her first film, but even better.

6 The Novice

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It must be every director's dream to have your directorial debut be a critical smash hit. That is what happened with The Novice, Lauren Hadaway's first movie, which earned her rave reviews and a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This film is related in some ways to Whiplash, in which Hadaway took part as a member of the sound crew.

The Novice follows the story of Alex Dall (brilliantly played by Isabelle Fuhrman), a new student at the University of Wellington. Alex is a lonely, withdrawn, and obsessive girl with a strong desire to be the best at whatever she undertakes; she can't tolerate being outdone by anyone. She enters the university rowing team, a sport she knows nothing about and for which she has no talent whatsoever. While many of the other girls on the team are on equal footing, there are some who are far more advanced, and Alex develops a strong obsession. Her exhaustive training and competitive attitude may not win her many friends, but it does earn her respect from her coaches — and yet, Alex wants more: she aspires to compete with the older, more advanced novices, regardless of the costs.

5 The Beta Test

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The Beta Test has Jim Cummings in the lead role as main character, editor, co-writer and co-director, sharing duties with his colleague PJ McCabe. The creator of Thunder Road, who grew considerably as a director in recent years, steps into the role of Jordan, a married Hollywood agent who can't help but be tempted to accept a mailed invitation that takes him on an anonymous sex date in a hotel room. There, he meets a woman he doesn't know and can't see because he is blindfolded. As a result, the main character experiences a nightmare that eventually unleashes a sinister web of lies and fatal consequences. The movie premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in March and garnered rave reviews, both for its sharp point of view and Cummings' performance.

4 Pig

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Once again, we are treated to a stunning directorial debut. This time around, we are talking about Pig, the movie in which Michael Sarnoski breathes life into his vision with a brilliant and raw performance by Nicolas Cage. Pig follows the story of Rob, a man who has put his past behind and lives in the remote Oregon woods with a small truffle-hunting pig. Both lead a routine and ordinary life: they go out into the woods, find truffles, and stay away from the rest of the world in a little cabin. Unfortunately, when Rob is attacked and discovers that his pig has been taken away, the man decides to return to Portland to track the attackers down and find the animal again.

Related: 12 Best Nicolas Cage Films, Ranked

3 Boiling Point

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For consumers, gastronomy is exclusively associated with pleasure, yet for culinary professionals, it can be a very different reality. Very few jobs are as arduous as cooking, and especially haute cuisine. This is what Boiling Point, Philip Barantini's film that was shot in a single take, tries to reflect. The plot revolves around chef Andy (Stephen Graham) and his team as they face the most demanding night of the year, an evening that brings together several demanding clients and critics, resulting in a night that leads to a spiral of adrenaline and madness. Boiling Point won an award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, and has been nominated seven times at the British Independent Film Awards, winning four statuettes.

2 Last Night in Soho

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Last Night in Soho is produced by English director and screenwriter Edgar Wright and recounts the story of Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie), a young woman on a scholarship to study fashion in London. Ellie moves to the city and rents a small room from an old woman, and from that moment on, her vivid dreams begin. By night, the young woman steps into the shoes of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), an aspiring nightclub singer. This parallel story takes place during the 1960s, and by day Ellie lives her ordinary life. Meanwhile, Sandie wishes to succeed performing on stage and meets Jack (Matt Smith), who becomes her boyfriend and manager. She is willing to do anything in order to make it big, but in this timeline, trouble is not long in coming.

1 Old

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M. Night Shyamalan, director of such hits as The Sixth Sense and Split, released Old in 2021. Based on Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters' 2010 graphic novel Sandcastle, Old features a typical family portrayed by Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Luca Faustino Rodriguez, and Thomasin McKenzie. This family heads to a remote, paradisiacal beach for a day's vacation. This place is quite isolated and seems to be perfect — how could such a perfect place be so empty? No tourists have ever discovered it? Yet, this island hides a secret that is about to turn everyone's life upside down: as the hours go by, each of them grows older and older, to the point where their life is reduced to that day, unless they find a way to escape their fate.