10 Best Australian Thrillers Ever Made

Australia is a continent with a deep cinematic tradition, creating some of the most engaging and intense thrillers of all time. Filmmakers and creators use what’s on their doorstep, combining expansive raw landscapes and unique cultural traditions with captivating stories of the outback to produce some incredible films. The one-of-a-kind aesthetic provides the backdrop for films focused on isolation, violence, and survival in one of the harshest climates on earth.

Popular Australian thrillers effectively convey these themes masterfully, such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, which explores using the cruelty and mystique of the Australian bush to elevate its intricate narrative, and The Nightingale, which focuses on the Aboriginal cultures and history of Tasmania to provide context to its story. Australian thrillers all have their own distinct style while delivering a consistently mature and suspenseful thriller with perfect endings, expertly paced, that keep audiences hooked until the credits roll.

10 Killing Ground (2016)

Starring Harriet Dyer And Ian Meadows

Damien Power’s Killing Ground is a horror thriller revealed in a nonlinear narrative that has a foreboding sense of dread from the first minute of the film. It stars Harriet Dyer and Ian Meadows and tells the story of a couple who take a romantic trip to a remote beach campsite to celebrate New Year’s Eve and meet some of the locals. They soon discover a lost, injured toddler and an abandoned camp turned crime scene nearby, and realize some of the friendly faces they met at the beginning might not be who they appear to be.

Despite it being Power’s first feature-length directorial debut, the structure, acting, and pacing are all expertly handled, delivering a tension-filled, terrifying thriller. The use of a disjointed narrative that weaves back and forth in time adds an incredible source of terror, as the viewer quickly learns elements that the protagonists are yet to discover. Killing Ground has beautiful cinematography and utilizes the outback spectacularly, which contrasts with the brutal and often lingering violence that adds to the thrilling atmosphere throughout.

9 Road Games (1981)

Starring Stacy Keach And Jamie Lee Curtis

Set on the highways of Australia’s rural outback, Road Games tells the story of long-distance truck driver Pat Quid (Stacy Keach). Quid is driving along his route when he begins to suspect that the driver of a green van he has followed on multiple occasions is the serial killer who has been picking up and murdering hitchhikers in the area. What follows is a high-stakes cat-and-mouse affair with Quid, with the help of a hitchhiker (Jamie Lee Curtis) to track down and apprehend the suspected killer.

Described as a “cross of angst-ridden ’70s road movie with Hitchcockian thriller…” (via TimeOut), this provides the perfect summary of this Australian classic. Road Games plays on the expansive and isolated outback to add a sense of paranoia and dread to the story, while expertly developing the characters and their emerging relationships with each other. The viewer is left just as much in the dark as the potential victims, and the narrative is a tense and thrilling psychological drama that keeps answers throughout at arm’s length.

8 These Final Hours (2013)

Starring Nathan Phillips And Angourie Rice

These Final Hours is an Australian apocalyptic drama directed by Zak Hilditch. Starring Nathan Phillips and Angourie Rice, the film chronicles the last hours of Earth as a cataclysmic event approaches. The story follows a self-destructive man who finds purpose after rescuing a young girl searching for her father. The film depicts their journey through the chaos and their attempts to find redemption before the world ends.

Director

Zak Hilditch

Release Date

July 31, 2014

Writers

Zak Hilditch

Cast

Nathan Phillips , Angourie Rice , Daniel Henshall , Jessica De Gouw , David Field , Sarah Snook , Kathryn Beck , Lynette Curran

Character(s)

James , Rose , Freddy , Zoe , Radio Man , Mandy’s Man , Vicky , James’ Mum

Runtime

87 Minutes

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

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Zak Hilditch’s These Final Hours is a thriller in the sci-fi apocalyptic genre that sees a man called James (Nathan Phillips) aim to navigate a world that has begun to fall apart. The film is set ten minutes after an asteroid has struck Earth, and the ensuing damage will destroy Perth (and the world) in 12 hours, so everything has been thrown into total chaos. James leaves his loved ones to seek out one final blowout party but, on his way, ends up saving a girl who is looking for her lost father in a film that captures the absurdity and desperation of imminent, impending doom.

The timing and setting of the film give the perfect background to create a piece of cinema that has an incredibly gripping sense of doom and destruction. The chemistry between the two leads, Phillips and Angourie Rice, is electric, and it captures what feels like a really genuine and authentic look at the breakdown of society and how different people would react to the news. While being a thrilling, end-of-the-world film, it still has haunting moments of beauty and humor, and the sense of dread is wonderfully drawn out until the gruesome climax that is promised throughout the film.

7 Snowtown (2011)

Starring Daniel Henshall And Lucas Pittaway

Snowtown is a film based on true events, portraying 16-year-old Jamie as he becomes entangled with his mother’s new boyfriend and a group of neighborhood watchmen. This association descends into a series of violent acts, highlighting the dark influence of these friendships. Released in 2011, it explores themes of manipulation and violence.

Director

Justin Kurzel

Release Date

May 19, 2011

Writers

Shaun Grant

Cast

Daniel Henshall , Lucas Pittaway , Louise Harris , Frank Cwertniak , Matthew Howard , Marcus Howard , Anthony Groves , Richard Green , Aaron Viergever , Beau Gosling , Brendan Rock , David Walker , Kathryn Wissell , Bryan Sellars , Craig Coyne , Keiran Schwerdt , Aasta Brown , Allan Chapple , Andrew Mayers , Krystle Flaherty , Denis Davey , Robert Deeble , Bob Adriaens

Runtime

120 minutes

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Based on the horrific true-crime ‘Bodies in Barrels murders’ case that took place in southern Australia across various towns and suburbs. Snowtown tells the grim story of Jamie (Lucas Pittaway), who lived an abusive life before falling under the spell of John Justin Bunting, who protected him from sexual abuse at the hands of his family. John, alongside Robert Joe Wagner and James Spyridon Vlassakis, committed a series of horrifying murders before leaving the bodies to rot in a collection of barrels in an abandoned bank vault in Snowtown.

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Taking on the story of one of Australia’s most gruesome and infamous serial murder cases was always going to produce a thrilling and horrifying film. In more ways than one, the harrowing realism put across is incredibly effective, with the murders and the disposing of bodies being painstakingly shot, as well as using locals with minimal to no acting experience for many of the roles. This combination leads to an authentic look into a brutal story that really focuses on the interpersonal dynamics that drove such a tragedy to occur.

6 The Rover (2014)

Starring Guy Pearce And Robert Pattinson

The Rover is another film that effectively displays the barren Australian outback as a basis for a dystopian, apocalyptic landscape. The film follows Eric (Guy Pearce), who forms an unlikely partnership with Rey (Robert Pattinson) after Eric gets into a wreck and has his car stolen. The two men start a journey to recover the car but come across a host of issues and combatants in a lawless society that is crumbling at the seams of ruin.

In a film that has many high points, the wonderful chemistry between Pearce and Pattinson has to be the main highlight. Pearce’s taciturn and domineering performance plays perfectly against Pattinson’s quieter and more nuanced portrayal of a participant who is only half willing. The narrative is tension-filled throughout, as the mission they are on seems destined to fail as well as the world around them, and the raw, minimal visual experience takes the unnerving atmosphere to new heights.

5 Dead Calm (1989)

Starring Sam Neill And Nicole Kidman

Dead Calm is a thriller directed by Phillip Noyce, starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, and Billy Zane. The film follows a couple on a yacht trip who encounter a stranger and becomes embroiled in a tense struggle for survival on the open sea. As the suspense intensifies, they must navigate psychological and physical challenges to protect themselves.

Director

Phillip Noyce

Release Date

April 7, 1989

Writers

Terry Hayes , Charles Williams

Runtime

96 Minutes

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Based on the 1963 novel of the same name by author Charles Williams, Dead Calm follows the story of a young couple (Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill) who lose their infant son in tragic circumstances. Spending more time alone at sea due to their depression and feelings of isolation, they happen upon a stranger (Billy Zane) who has abandoned his boat that had begun to sink. In what appears to be a chance encounter, things suddenly take a deadly twist as all is not what it first appears with the enigmatic stranger who they saved from drowning.

Hollywood superstar Nicole Kidman gives one of her first breakout performances in this tense psychological thriller. The film has an underlying current of fear and tension, as the isolated and claustrophobic ocean setting provides the perfect tones for the feelings of the characters involved. It is a gripping story told in a unique way, with the performances from the leading stars all producing a compelling energy and the unfolding twists and turns of the story, keeping a thrilling pace throughout the 95-minute runtime.

4 Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)

Starring Rachel Roberts And Dominic Guard

This classic Australian mystery film, based on the novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay, is an iconic piece of media that helped spearhead the emerging ‘Australian New Wave’ era of cinema in the ’70s and ’80s. It follows the story of a group of schoolgirls and their teacher who go for a picnic at a local former volcano-turned-attraction, Hanging Rock, when a series of bizarre and terrifying situations and supernatural influences lead to their mass disappearance.

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Commercially and critically, Picnic at Hanging Rock was a massive success for Australian cinema, as it is widely regarded as one of the jewels in its cinematic crown. The film mixes a lot of key elements that are quintessentially Australian, such as the iconic location, the mystical elements of the deep-rooted Indigenous culture, and the captivating, realistic situations that can produce such an authentic experience through the screen. The haunting visuals and suggestive sexual undertones help craft a standout film that holds up to the test of time.

3 Animal Kingdom (2010)

Starring Jacki Weaver And Joel Edgerton

David Michôd’s feature-length directorial debut, Animal Kingdom, is a crime drama that is partially based on a true story of the crimes allegedly committed by the Pettingill family of Melbourne. It follows the story of a young man (James Frecheville) who becomes involved in his intimidating and manipulative grandmother’s criminal enterprise after the overdose of his mother. He is caught between doing what’s right and wrong and descends further into a world of drugs, assaults, and other criminal activities.

The film features an ensemble cast of talented Australian actors, including Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver, and Joel Edgerton. Animal Kingdom provides a no-holds-barred look into the gritty underworld of Melbourne and gives an unflinching look into a criminal family that will do anything to stay on top. It is a potent combination of incredible acting up and down the cast, intricately laced narratives, and high-stakes moral dilemmas that make for one of the best and most suspenseful films to ever come out of Australia.

2 The Proposition (2005)

Starring Guy Pearce And Ray Winstone

The Proposition is a 2005 Australian Western film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Nick Cave. Set in the 1880s Outback, it stars Guy Pearce as an outlaw who is given a brutal ultimatum by a British lawman, played by Ray Winstone. Emily Watson and John Hurt also have significant roles. The film explores themes of justice, loyalty, and the harsh realities of frontier life.

Director

John Hillcoat

Release Date

September 12, 2005

Studio(s)

Surefire Films , Autonomous , Jackie O Productions , Pictures in Paradise , The Pacific Film and Television Commission , The Film Consortium

Distributor(s)

Sony Pictures Releasing

Writers

Nick Cave

Runtime

104 Minutes

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Set in 1880s Australia in the harsh wilderness of the outback, John Hillcoat’s The Proposition tells the fascinating story of Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce), who is faced with an impossible dilemma. After a shootout with police, Burns is in jail, and his younger brother is facing execution for his part in the gunfight. The Lawman (Ray Winstone) offers Burns a deal that he can save his younger brother’s life if he hunts down and kills his older brother, who is wanted for rape and murder. A proposition that leads the family through a series of violent and gruesome confrontations.

In one of the most authentic and original films to come out of Australia, The Proposition has been widely praised for its accurate depiction of the Indigenous Australian culture at the time and its attention to detail in following the customs and traditions. It is a film that slowly burns as the tension ramps up, using the desolate landscape as another character and a tool to drive the story forward. While it focuses on the family dynamics and the titular ‘Proposition,’ the film never shies away from showing the brutal and violent scenes that make this an incredibly thrilling film.

1 The Nightingale (2018)

Starring Aisling Franciosi And Sam Claflin

Set in 1825, The Nightingale follows Clare, an Irish convict seeking revenge for the brutal violence inflicted on her family by a British officer and his men. Teaming up with an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, she navigates the Tasmanian wilderness pursuing retribution. Directed by Jennifer Kent, this historical drama explores themes of colonialism, vengeance, and survival against a backdrop of harrowing brutality and resilience.

Director

michelle maclaren

Release Date

August 2, 2019

Writers

John Sayles , michelle maclaren , Ann Peacock

Cast

Charlie Shotwell , Luke Carroll , Sam Smith , Ewen Leslie , Baykali Ganambarr , Harry Greenwood , Damon Herriman , Matthew Sunderland , Nathaniel Dean , Sam Claflin , Aisling Franciosi , Michael Sheasby

Runtime

136 minutes

The Nightingale is a historical, psychological thriller directed by Jennifer Kent and features an incredible ensemble cast. Set in 1825 on the eve of the Black War, a brutal conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians, the film follows the story of Irish convict Clare (Aisling Franciosi) and her mission for vengeance. Clare is the victim of a series of horrific sexual assaults and, following the murder of her husband and child, enlists the help of an Aboriginal Tasmanian tracker to find and bring the Colonial officers to justice.

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Though not always a comfortable or easy watch, The Nightingale is the culmination of a lot of Australian works that helped it become one of the biggest highlights of its cinematic landscape. Winning the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, the film also received an outstanding 15 nominations at the 9th AACTA Awards. Franciosi’s performance as a woman who has lost everything but remains determined and powerful is a masterclass in acting, and the film’s utilization of the Tasmanian wilderness combined with the graphic violence and captivating story make it the most thrilling Australian film ever made.

Sources: TimeOut