2003 Hit Film Was Just Ranked the 'Most Intense Thriller of the Last 25 Years'

Moviegoers may have noticed that acclaimed thriller movies usually have plenty of tense and upsetting moments. In May 2026, Collider spotlighted some extremely stress-inducing movies from the genre by compiling a list of the "10 most intense thrillers of the last 25 years." Thrillers that made it on the ranking included 2017's Good Time, 2004's Children of Men, Black Swan from 2010, and Uncut Gems, released in 2019.

Collider ranked 2003's Oldboy as the number 1 "most intense thriller" released after 2001. According to the publication, the Park Chan-wook film has plenty of nail-biting, violent scenes and a traumatic plot twist.

Oldboy, based on the manga by Marley Caribou and Nobuaki Minegishi, has a rating of 82 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Park Chan-wook Discussed His Revenge Movies, Including 'Oldboy,' in 2025

In a December 2025 interview with Letterboxd, Chan-wook referenced that Oldboy is a part of his "Vengeance Trilogy," which also includes his films, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and Lady Vengeance (2005). He shared that he never wanted the audience to be "rooting for the revenge to succeed" when making the three films, as he doesn't believe one should be devoted to enacting revenge.

"I didn't want to make that kind of movie. Because to me, that kind of revenge is really something that requires giving up your whole existence, completely and entirely, to devote yourself to it," said the director during the interview. "Only humans can become part of such things. Because there's no gain from it. Even when they devote their entire being, there's nothing to be gained. No realistic benefit at all. Only humans are capable of such self-centered actions. And because of that, it reveals what kind of beings humans truly are."

He also shared that he decided to make the female-centered Lady Vengeance because he felt "a little sorry" for Mi-do's (Kang Hye-jung) fate in Old Boy.

"Because of that feeling toward the character, in my next film, this final film of the trilogy, Lady Vengeance, I wanted to resolve this issue. So, although nothing was planned, I decided the story had to focus entirely on the female protagonist," said Chan-wook while speaking to Letterboxd.

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 3:26 PM.