Action/Adventure, Best Movies, Crime/Mystery, Drama, Horror/Thriller

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

Conspiracy Theory (1997)

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

Edge of Darkness (1985)

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

Marathon Man (1976)

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

Michael Clayton (2007)

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

No Way Out (1987)

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

The Day of the Jackal (1973)

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

The Ghost Writer (2010)

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

The Insider (1999)

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

The X Files

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

Blow Out (1981)

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

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

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

Seven Days In May (1964)

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

The Bourne Identity

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

The Net

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

Valkyrie (2008)

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

JFK (1991)

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

They Live (1988)

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

Enemy of the State (1998)

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

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

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

The Conversation (1974)

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

All the President's Men (1976)

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

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

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

The Parallax View (1974)

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