Hitchcockian Thrillers: Must-See Films in the Style of the Suspense Master

by Stephen Rebello

During Alfred Hitchcock's five-decade reign as the screen's internationally celebrated Master of Suspense, he directed 53 motion pictures. In such Hitchcock gold standard classics as The 39 Steps, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds, he staked his claim as the architect, the O.G. of the thriller. He laid down the rules and rhythm of the genre, created an immediately identifiable visual style, experimented constantly with technique, pushed boundaries, tweaked censors, and shattered the expectations of his audiences -- along with their nerves. In exploiting his private fears and vulnerabilities, Hitchcock was as brilliant as making us think and feel as he was at making us scream and invading our nightmares. His films elevated the form and were among the biggest box-office successes and most influential of their time. They were and are emulated for their fashion sense and, more lastingly, even nudged the culture forward by liberalizing attitudes toward cinematic violence and sexual frankness.

Hitchcockian Must-See Films in the Style of the Suspense Master is a curated, opinionated, authoritative, highly personal, lavishly illustrated guide to nine decades of international moviemaking featuring films by directors – beginning in the era of Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and Sir Carol Reed and moving right up through today's David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Martin Scorsese – who have all tried to 'do a Hitchcock.'

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 19, 2026

About the author

Stephen Rebello is a screenwriter, journalist, and the author of such books as Reel Art: Great Posters from the Golden Age of the Silver Screen, which was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1999. Based in Los Angeles, he has contributed feature stories to such magazines as Cosmopolitan, GQ, More, and The Advocate, and currently serves as a Playboy contributing editor. Stephen Rebello adapted for the screen Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho as the basis of Hitchcock, the Fox Searchlight dramatic feature motion picture starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, James D’Arcy, Danny Huston, Ralph Macchio, and Michael Wincott.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for an advance copy to this guide to a collection of films that are full of suspense, high drama, humor, scares, witty dialogue, or direct copies of the movies of that most famous of directors, the master of the macabre Alfred Hitchcock.

One of the signs that an artist has made it made in their chosen art form are the copies that follow. To call them copies are to demean the works, I don't mean that. I mean more the works that follow a certain formula, a certain way of presentation, that seem inspired not in a celebration to the muses, but one muse in general. And Alfred Hitchcock was a big muse indeed. Over a career that spanned decades, from silent to sound, black and white to full on color, Hitchcock made movies in a variety of genres, but had certain tropes. Witty lines, women of a certain look, men of a certain appeal. A sense of danger, of suspense. Of fear. There is a name for movies that do this now, named for the master himself, Hitchcockian. Even reading this, one knows the movies that are being considered. Some good, some bad, some derivative, and some even the master himself would have liked to have directed. Hitchcockian Thrillers: Must-See Films in the Style of the Suspense Master by Stephen Rebello is a guide to movies from all over the world, inspired by the Hitchcock, done in homage to the master, copied from the popular director, and even a few that want to be Hitchcockian, but instead turn out to be best forgotten.

Stephen Rebello has written quite a few books on Hitchcock, his movies, influences, even a biography. Rebello begins the book with a look at what made Hitchcock, well Hitchcock, with a brief look at his art and life, before going into the films similar in vein. The book is broken into different subgenres, espionage, psychos, women, disappearing people, romance, and much more. In each of these chapters the movies that seem close to Hitchcock are listen in chronological order, with reviews based on how close they are to Hitchcock, and if they are any good. One won't be surprised at many of the films, but there are quite a few smaller movies, movies that time has forgotten, or even from world cinema, that might not be on people's radars. Rebello gives a history of the films, the directors, and cast, as well as a summary of the film. There are also Hitchcock mentions, a few times Hitchcock might have tried to make the same movie, or liked an actor. Even reviews from Hitchcock, as in after watching Blow-Up by Michelangelo Antonioni, Hitchcock was in awe of what was happening in Europe. These little snippets are fun to read, as are Rebello's feelings about certain films and directors, which get to be pretty obvious.

I really enjoyed this book, not just for the movies that I didn't know about, but for the ways of looking at familiar films through another creator's eyes and seeing things that I never thought were there. The movies are well discussed, and as I stated sometimes Rebello's biases are pretty apparant. Rebello is a very good writer, and knows both Hitchcock and film, with a skill in making these movies relatable to modern viewers. I have a large list of movies that I knew little about added to my Letterboxd Watchlist.

A book not only for Hitchcock fans, but for movie fans and people who constantly turn on their streaming service and go, now what will I watch. Really interesting reviews, lots of fun information and trivia, and a lot of celluloid love. I really enjoy everything Steven Rebello writes,and I really enjoyed the look at movies I might have never seen, but now will. A great book and lots of fun.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hitchcockian Thrillers by Stephen Rebello is a wonderfully premised book that leaves a lot to be desired in its execution. Still well worth the read simply because of the films mentioned and roughly grouped.

One of the most enjoyable things about reading a book about popular culture is arguing with it. Opinions from the writer will never perfectly match your own so you can have endless debates with the text. I've read several of Rebello's other books, and will likely read more, but I know not to consider him an expert but rather an effective researcher and gatherer of other people's work, so this is like arguing with your neighbor rather than a fellow academic, which keeps it light an fun. This is a popular book written for a popular audience, to help viewers choose movies that might appeal to them because of similarities with other movies. And that is always a good thing.

He lets you know his rating system and how he decided on what to include, which helps a reader know that a different system, whether better or worse, would have come up with different criteria and thus different films. So bracket your arguments about what was included or omitted and save them for your book. Enjoy the parallels he makes along with the commentary and, loosely defined, analyses he offers. Even where you disagree with his commentary or his less-than-enlightened personal comments you will still find a lot that might let you rewatch a film from a different perspective or introduce you to a film you haven't yet seen.

Recommended for readers who want a light, easy, and not very deep look at films that are somewhere on the Hitchcockian spectrum. You wish you could watch a movie similar to The Man Who Knew Too Much? This is the book for you.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

After writing an excellent book about the making of Psycho, Rebello returns to the Master of Suspense. This time, it is not about Sir Alfred directly, but about his enormous influence on contemporary and future filmmakers. In this entertaining volume, the author explores the best (and worst) movies that Hitch never directed. Some examples are quite obvious while others are surprising. Even with the ones that I could see were Hitchcockian, it was eye-opening to notice the ways in which his influence worked. The book is written in a colloquial, sometimes humorous style. And it is Rebello also acting as a critic, so I felt free to disagree with some of the films that he dislikes and I adore. The “Hitchcockian” rating is his own, though, and he should know, considering his encyclopedic knowledge of the director. Besides information about the Hitch originals, there are anecdotes about the movies, as well as an explanation of what was an homage (or a copy). Some of these reasons are subtle. I wasn’t clear on the explanation of why some movies were in one chapter or another, but the book is structured based on his tropes (falsely accused, femme fatales, charming villains, etc.). The downside to this book is that now I want to watch a lot of these movies again, starting with the originals. A joy for film lovers.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Amazon Publishing UK | Bloomsbury Academic.

[Megan Beech · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to horror and suspense, there's only one director everyone thinks of: Alfred Hitchcock. His movies have shaped and inspired generations of writers and directors to make suspenseful movies like his but none have come close, in my opinion. After reading through this book, I never realized how many movies are considered "Hitchcockian Thrillers" and now that I've looked through the list in the beginning of the book, I can definitely see similarities for sure.

This book is perfect for those who enjoy learning and reading all things film and pop culture, those who love and admire Hitch's work and those who love a good history read!

I received this ARC book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

#HitchcockianThrillers #NetGalley

[Catherine]

This is a valuable reference-point for building your IMDb watch-lists! The format is 'if you liked Vertigo / The Birds' (etc.), then you might like this other film (with a synopsis, some fabulous stills, and a score for the film's position along the Hitchcockian spectrum). I enjoyed the recommendations, some enlivened by images, and will definitely be seeking out In a Lonely Place on the strength of its write-up here. The author has a deep, broad knowledge of film-lore, making him ideally situated for making comparisons. The scoring of each film is of course subjective, but I trust his judgement!