15 Best Movie Thrillers From The 1980s

Any maker of psychological thrillers will take their cues from Alfred Hitchcock, but few did so as overtly as Robert Benton. 1982’s Still Of The Night is hardly original, but as a throwback to the thrillers of yore, it’s a well observed and pacy bit of fun schlock.

The plot is frothy and familiar, but no less fun for it: Roy Scheider is a psychiatrist who falls in love with one of his patients (Meryl Streep). The married man with whom she was having an affair is found murdered, and the beguiling Streep quickly becomes a suspect.

As Schieder investigates, the film rewards the viewers with all the twists and turns they’d expect from such a steamy (and medically irresponsible) plot. Streep, of course, is revealed not to be the killer, and she and Schieder become further embroiled in a murder plot which unfolds in a lurid fashion.

It’s no high art, but if you appreciate your ‘80s camp, Still Of The Night is a decent slice of retro fun. Meryl Streep later declared it one of the worst films she’d been involved in, but what does she know?