What separates tension from noise
Suspense needs information, not surprise
The oldest rule in the genre still holds: a bomb going off is a shock that lasts a second, while a bomb the audience knows about and the characters do not is ten minutes of tension. The best films here give you more information than the people on screen and then make you sit with it.
Films that rely on withholding everything until a twist tend to be gripping once and inert on rewatch. Films built on dread survive knowing the ending, which is a fair test of which kind you are watching.
The competence question
Tension collapses the moment a character does something stupid to keep the plot moving. The thrillers that hold up are the ones where everybody behaves intelligently and the situation is still terrible — the trap is the circumstances, not the characters' judgement.
When a thriller loses you, this is almost always why. It is worth naming, because it also predicts which recommendations you will like.
Conditions matter more than usual
Sustained tension is fragile. Phones, interruptions and a half-watching room dismantle it in a way they do not dismantle a comedy. If you are going to watch one of these properly, watch it properly.
The list runs on audience score, so the top is dominated by films that grip a broad audience. Further down you will find slower, colder, more sustained work — often better, and much less forgiving of a distracted evening.