Welcome to the heart-pounding world of StudioBinder’s screenplay library, your ultimate destination for gripping and suspenseful free thriller movie scripts. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride of tension, twists, and unexpected turns as we present a curated selection of the best thrillers ever written. From intricate plots to compelling characters, this treasure trove of thriller scripts will keep you on the edge of your seat. Get ready for an adrenaline-fueled experience. Enjoy the thrill!

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horror, thriller

1408

Written By:  Matt Greenberg and Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski (screenplay), based on the short story by Stephen King

Synopsis: A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.

sci-fi, thriller

Ad Astra

Written By: James Gray & Ethan Gross

Synopsis: Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.

horror, thriller

American Psycho

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Written By: Mary Harron & Guinevere Turner (screenplay), based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis

Synopsis: A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

sci-fi, thriller

Arrival

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Written By: Eric Heisserer (screenplay), based on the novel by Ted Chiang

Synopsis: A linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.

horror, thriller

The Babadook

Written By: Jennifer Kent 

Synopsis: A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.

action, thriller

The Bourne Ultimatum

Written By: Tony Gilroy and Scott Z. Burns & George Nolfi (screenplay), based on the novel by Robert Ludlum

Synopsis: Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless C.I.A. official and his Agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.



horror, thriller

Carrie

Written By: Lawrence D. Cohen (screenplay), based on the novel by Stephen King

Synopsis: Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.

thriller, crime

Collateral

Written By: Stuart Beattie

Synopsis: A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

horror, thriller

The Conjuring

Written By: Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes 

Synopsis: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

thriller, romance

The Crying Game

Written By: Neil Jordan

Synopsis: A British soldier kidnapped by IRA terrorists soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.

action, THRILLER

The Dark Knight

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Written By: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer (screenplay), based on the comics by Bob Kane

Synopsis: When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.

action, thriller

The Dark Knight Rises

Written By: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan (screenplay), based on the characters by Bob Kane

Synopsis: Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, Batman, with the help of the enigmatic Catwoman, is forced from his exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane.

action, thriller

Die Hard

Written By: Jeb Stuart & Steven E. de Souza (screenplay), based on the novel by Roderick Thorp

Synopsis: An NYPD officer tries to save his wife and several others taken hostage by German terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.



sci-fi, thriller

Ex Machina

Written By: Alex Garland 

Synopsis: A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.

horror, thriller

The Exorcist

Written By: William Peter Blatty

Synopsis: When a 12-year-old girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her.

crime, thriller

Fargo

Written By: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen 

Synopsis: Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.

thriller, drama

Fight Club

Written By: Jim Uhls (screenplay), based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk

Synopsis: An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soapmaker form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.

thriller, crime

Following

Written By: Christopher Nolan

SynopsisA young writer who follows strangers for material meets a thief who takes him under his wing.

horror, THRILLER

Get Out

Written By: Jordan Peele 

Synopsis: A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.

thriller, mystery

The Girl on the Train

Written By: Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay), based on the novel by Paula Hawkins 

Synopsis: A divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life.

thriller

Gone Girl

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Written By: Gillian Flynn 

Synopsis: With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

sci-fi, thriller

Gravity

Written By: Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón 

Synopsis: Two astronauts work together to survive after an accident leaves them stranded in space.

horror, thriller

Halloween

Written By: John Carpenter & Debra Hill

Synopsis: Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.

thriller, drama

Insomnia

Written By: Hillary Seitz (screenplay), based on the 1997 screenplay by Nikolaj Frobenius & Erik Skjoldbjærg

Synopsis: Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.

horror, thriller

It Follows

Written By: David Robert Mitchell

Synopsis: When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

thriller, drama

Joker

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Written By: Todd Phillips & Scott Silver

Synopsis: In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.

horror, thriller

Midsommar

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Written By: Ari Aster 

Synopsis: A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown's fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

horror, thriller

Misery

Written By: William Goldman (screenplay), based on the novel by Stephen King

Synopsis: After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.

horror, thriller

The Mist

Written By: Frank Darabont (screenplay), based on the novel by Stephen King 

Synopsis: A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.

action, thriller

Mission: Impossible

Written By: David Koepp & Robert Towne (screenplay), based on television series by Bruce Geller

Synopsis: An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

thriller

Memento

Written By: Christopher Nolan (screenplay), based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan

SynopsisA man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.

crime, thriller

Nightcrawler

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Written By: Dan Gilroy

Synopsis: When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

thriller, drama

Parasite

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Written By: Bong Joon Ho & Jin Won Han 

Synopsis: Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.

thriller

Rear Window

Written By: John Michael Hayes (screenplay), based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich 

Synopsis: A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window, and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend.

thriller

Scream

Written By: Kevin Williamson 

Synopsis: A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a new killer, who targets the girl and her friends by using horror films as part of a deadly game.

thriller, horror

Secret Window

Written By: David Koepp (screenplay), based on the novel by Stephen King

Synopsis: A successful writer in the midst of a painful divorce is stalked at his remote lake house by a would-be scribe who accuses him of plagiarism.

thriller, crime

Sicario

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Written By: Taylor Sheridan

Synopsis: An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.

Written By: Ted Tally (screenplay), based on the novel by Thomas Harris 

Synopsis: A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.

Written By: M. Night Shyamalan 

Synopsis: A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.

action, thriller

Speed

Written By: Graham Yost 

Synopsis: A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.

crime, thriller

Training Day

Written By: David Ayer 

Synopsis: A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.

action, thriller

Tenet

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Written By: Christopher Nolan 

Synopsis: Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.

crime, thriller

The Usual Suspects

Written By: Christopher McQuarrie 

Synopsis: A sole survivor tells of the twisty events leading up to a horrific gun battle on a boat, which began when five criminals met at a seemingly random police lineup.

thriller

Vertigo

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Written By: Alec Coppel & Samuel A. Taylo 

Synopsis: A former police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with a hauntingly beautiful woman.

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