MOVIEPIQ · THRILLER · FOR SICK DAYS

Thriller Movies For Sick Days From The 80S And 90S

Thriller movies for sick days from the 80s and 90s. Includes Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Se7en and more, curated by Moviepiq.

You're not going anywhere. The blanket is already there. Pick one of these.

Pulp Fiction movie poster
1
1994 · ★★★★½ 8.5/10

A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.

The right texture for a sick day. Present enough to be company, gentle enough not to overwhelm.

Fight Club movie poster
2
1999 · ★★★★☆ 8.4/10

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

Warm, absorbing, and completely non-taxing. Exactly what sick days call for.

Se7en movie poster
3
1995 · ★★★★☆ 8.4/10

Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.

Warm, absorbing, and completely non-taxing. Exactly what sick days call for.

The Silence of the Lambs movie poster
4
1991 · ★★★★☆ 8.3/10

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

Warm, absorbing, and completely non-taxing. Exactly what sick days call for.

Perfect Blue movie poster
5
1998 · ★★★★☆ 8.3/10

Rising pop star Mima quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

The right texture for a sick day. Present enough to be company, gentle enough not to overwhelm.

The sick-day film is a category unto itself. Not too demanding, not too forgettable.

Engaging but not so intense it wears you out. Good pacing for a sick day.

The Shining movie poster
6
1980 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.

The right texture for a sick day. Present enough to be company, gentle enough not to overwhelm.

The Usual Suspects movie poster
7
1995 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.

The right texture for a sick day. Present enough to be company, gentle enough not to overwhelm.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day movie poster
8
1991 · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.

Warm, absorbing, and completely non-taxing. Exactly what sick days call for.

Bound by Honor movie poster
9
1993 · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.

The right texture for a sick day. Present enough to be company, gentle enough not to overwhelm.

Reservoir Dogs movie poster
10
1992 · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.

Warm, absorbing, and completely non-taxing. Exactly what sick days call for.

These films work because they match where you actually are, not where you think you should be.

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