The best thrillers on Netflix right now | Digital Trends (2024)

Recommended Videos

Recently added to Netflix

• 

  Patriots Day

  r2016

• 

  A Simple Favor

  r2018

• 

  Wild Things

  r1998

• 

  Fatal Attraction

  r1987

Patriots Day (2016)

Related

• The best comedies on Netflix right now
• 5 best underrated action movies to watch on Father’s Day
• The best Black movies on Netflix right now

A Simple Favor (2018)

Wild Things (1998)

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Miller's Girl (2024)

Shot Caller (2017)

Dark Waters (2019)

The Little Things (2021)

Your Lucky Day (2023)

Unthinkable (2010)

Oldboy (2003)

Leave the World Behind (2023)

The Killer (2023)

Locked In (2023)

Fair Play (2023)

Reptile (2023)

River Wild (2023)

Run Rabbit Run (2023)

God's Crooked Lines (2022)

Missing (2023)

The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

The Snowman (2017)

47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

All Quiet on the Western Frontis a classic text that has received its fair share of cinematic attention with both the Oscar-winning 1930 Lewis Milestone adaptation and director Delbert Mann’s 1979 TV movie version. So does Edward Bergers’ 2022 Netflix reimagining have anything worthwhile to say? Yes, actually. The latest retelling stars Felix Kammerer as Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who enters combat during the last days of World War I. With his hopes high and valor strong, Paul and his comrades are thrust into the terrors of trench warfare — a harsh wake-up call to the enlistees that the battlefield is a forever-unforgiving place. Brilliantly shot and packed with the kind of performances that rip your heart out, All Quiet on the Western Front is just as relevant now as it was almost a century ago.

I Came By (2022)

I Came By stars George MacKay as Toby Nealey, an underground graffiti artist operating in London, who targets the aristocratic estates of the city’s top movers and shakers. Infamously renowned for the spray-painted “I Came By” moniker that he leaves behind, Nealey’s vigilante artwork lands the youth in troubled waters when he targets a decorated judge (played by Hugh Bonneville) who has some less-than-philanthropic secrets lurking in his manor — mysteries that could threaten Toby’s own life and the lives of those he holds dear. If you’re looking for pure originality, you won’t find it with I Came By, but among the tropes and cookie-cutter templates, there are still plenty of devilish surprises to shock viewers, and Bonneville is simply top-shelf casting as the madman running the show.

Circle (2015)

In Circle, sci-fi dystopia takes center stage. The premise is fairly simple: a collective of 50 individuals is imprisoned in a mysterious compound, each stationed on a single platform. If they attempt to move from their location, a laser-beam of death instantly eradicates them. When it’s discovered that a random captive is executed every two minutes, the group figures out that a gesture-led voting system will allow them to select who among them will get the beam treatment. If you like your thriller flicks dark and disturbed, but filled with gripping plot points, give Circle a whir — you won’t be disappointed.

The Good Nurse (2022)

Adapted from the true-crime novel of the same name, The Good Nurse stars Jessica Chastain as Amy Loughren, a single mother and ICU nurse. When a series of untimely patient deaths start cropping up around the hospital, Amy begins to suspect that new hire Charles Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) is the man responsible. Both Chastain and Redmayne are the kind of talents we expect greatness from, and truly, both actors go out of their way to foster a sort of surreal pathos for their characters, especially the latter. It’s a solid thriller and a tragic and haunting reminder that we don’t have to dig into fiction to tell some of the most grueling stories imaginable.

Lou (2022)

If you’re in the mood for something a little more on the action-heavy side, director Anna Foerster’s Lou will likely satiate. It stars Allison Janney as the titular protagonist, a reclusive woman living on Orcas Island, Washington. When a wicked storm threatens the Pacific Northwest, a single mother named Hannah (Jurnee Smollet) begs Lou for help when her young daughter is kidnapped by a vicious ex-pat (Logan Marshall-Green). But as the two women set off on their rescue mission, Hannah soon learns that there’s far more to Lou than meets the eye. A grim gut-punch of an action-thriller, Lou is a big win for the genre.

The Stranger (2022)

Based on Kate Kyriacou’s non-fiction novel, The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer, writer-director Thomas Wright’s cinematic adaptation of the source text, The Stranger,stars Joel Edgerton as an undercover cop tasked with befriending a suspected murderer (Sean Harris), in hopes of electing a confession from the elusive man. But when the guise of friendship starts to falter, it’s only a matter of time before things start to boil over. With a similar plot to Apple TV+’s Black Bird series (which is also based on true events), The Stranger is a pulse-pounding thriller done right.

Inheritance (2020)

When New York City business magnate Archer Monroe (Patrick Warburton) passes away, a healthy inheritance is gifted to his surviving family members — his wife (Connie Nielsen), his son (Chace Crawford), and his daughter, Lauren (Lily Collins). But when a posthumous video confession from her father leads Lauren to a secret underground bunker beneath the family estate, what she discovers in the unknown locale spells disaster for her and the rest of her family. Playing like a combination of many different types of thrillers, Inheritance may not win everyone over, but genre diehards will appreciate the film’s many twists and turns.

A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)

In A Walk Among the Tombstones, Liam Neeson stars as former FBI agent-turned-private detective Matt Scudder, a man-for-hire working the streets of NYC. When a drug kingpin (Dan Stevens) calls upon Scudder to track down the men who brutally murdered his wife, Matt’s investigation turns up a number of jaw-dropping discoveries that force the PI to constantly address and re-address his moral compass. A Walk Among the Tombstones plays a bit like a grim film noir, a narrative leaning that bolsters the strength of the film’s script and further sells the airtight chops of the many onscreen talents.

Munich: The Edge of War (2022)

Based on the 2017 Robert Harris novel Munich, Munich: The Edge of War stars Jeremy Irons, George MacKay, and Jannis Niewöhner, among other players. Directed by Christian Schwochow, the story follows Hugh Legat and Paul von Hartmann (MacKay and Niewöhner), a British civil servant and a German official tasked with traveling to Munich for an international conference of nations. But on the brink of WWII, the stakes are high for the European powers, with Hitler’s planned takeover of Czechoslovakia an imminent danger. Can negotiations be successfully made, or will the Nazi besiegement come to be? An eloquently stylized espionage thriller, Schwochow draws on the many strengths of his core cast to deliver an elevated historical spy picture, exploring and unpacking the art and risk of top-shelf subterfuge.

The Platform (2019)

Spiderhead (2022)

Spiderheadtears down all the bars, gates, and imposing walls of the traditional prison thriller. And it totally flips the sub-genre on its head with a bit of sci-fi thrown in for good measure. The film stars Chris Hemsworth as Steve Abnesti, the tech-warden-savant of a revolutionary new prison, one where inmates are fed mind-altering drugs for their respective sentences as opposed to literal time “behind bars.” But when two new inmates, Jeff (Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), enter the facility, they form a unique bond that calls Abnesti’s experimental practices into question. Based on the George Saunders short story Escape from Spiderhead, the film adaptation aims for a high-brow blending of wit and adrenaline. While it doesn’t completely nail either, screen-stealing performances from its main ensemble, particularly Hemsworth, are enough to keep us here for the long haul.

Triple Frontier (2019)

In Triple Frontier, anensemble of recognizable talents are given the action-hero treatment for what amounts to a heist thriller that dares to say more about the genre, and succeeds. Our story follows a team of ex-Special Forces comrades as they band together to steal away the fortune of a South American drug lord. But as the group’s collective hubris threatens to deconstruct their mission, their adversaries gain ground, forcing the mercenaries to fight for their lives.

Lost Bullet (2020)

Lost Bulletis exactly what the world needs right now: A taut action-thriller with adrenaline-fueled everything — cinematography, editing, score, etc. Starring Alban Lenoir as Lino, a talented mechanic, Lino is in over his head when charges for a crime he committed in a horrific past life catch up to him. To escape the clutches of the crooked cops that want him put away, Lino must journey once more into the world of underground ram-driving to find his true freedom. Loud, caustic, and a ton of fun,Lost Bulletdoes both the familiar and daring with the sub-genre it lives within.

The Devil All the Time (2020)

In writer-director Antonio Campos’ The Devil all the Time(an adaptation of the Donald Ray Pollack novel of the same name), the lives of several small-town post-World War II citizens are changed forever when the fervor of evangelical religion descends upon their rural community. Powered by an ensemble cast (Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland chief amongst the players), the source material may have been a bit too much to pull off for the creative team, butThe Devil all the Timemanages to serve up plenty of maniacal thrills, regardless of the bumpy nature of its narrative coherence.

Windfall (2022)

In Windfall, Jason Segel stars as an unnamed home invader. Breaking into the regal estate of a billionaire CEO, the man seeks to make off with whatever he can find, but his plans are thwarted when the owner of the home (Jesse Plemons) and his spouse (Lily Collins) arrive unexpectedly. As the robbery devolves into a hostage situation, the three home inhabitants are forced to contend with both their actions and intentions, all while some long-held secrets boil to the surface. A bare-bones thriller that really gets the job done, thanks in part to the strengths of its core cast,Windfallwill have you glued to the edge of your couch for its entire 90 minutes.

The Weekend Away (2022)

Based on the 2020 Sarah Alderson novel of the same name, The Weekend Awaystars Leighton Meester as Beth, a woman who boards a flight to Croatia to spend time with her best friend, Kate (Christina Wolfe). It turns out that Kate’s marriage isn’t going so well, but after a night on the town, the women agree to make the most of their getaway. But when Beth wakes the next morning, Kate is nowhere to be found. As she begins looking for her lost friend, the plot continues to thicken for Beth as she realizes that their simple trip may have been more than the girl’s retreat it was made out to be.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

An adaptation of the Elizabeth Kendall memoir The PhantomPrince: My Life with Ted Bundy,Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vilestars Zac Efron as the infamous serial killer and Lily Collins as his longtime girlfriend, Liz. As news of Bundy’s crimes start making headlines, the authorities descend on the murderer, putting him behind bars. At first, Liz is hesitant to believe that Ted could commit such horrific crimes, but as the evidence starts piling up, her steadfast belief in her partner starts to wane. Featuring great lead performances and a captivating story told from the perspective of someone who doesn’t want to believe their lover is a psychopath,Extremely Wickedis unnerving from start to finish.

Fever Dream (2021)

A hypnotic adaptation of the Samantha Schweblin novel of the same name, Fever Dreamcenters on the story of two young mothers that are brought together in psychologically mind-bending ways when their children fall victim to a mysterious poisoning. A commentary on some of Argentina’s environmental troubles, the film takes a bold visual approach, building an overbearingly eerie tone as the fates of several characters become unbreakably intertwined.

Extraction (2020)

Retiring his superhero cape in favor of gritty militant threads, ExtractionstarsThoralum Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, a cunning Australian mercenary. Hired to rescue the kidnapped son of a Mumbai crime lord, Tyler’s descent into hostile territory quickly proves to be more than the black-ops soldier ever bargained for. Packed with electric action sequences and a strong performance from Hemsworth,Extractionis an octane-charged foray into the familiar amalgamation of the action-meets-thriller sub-genre.

The Ice Road (2021)

The Ice Roadstars thriller-stalwart Liam Neeson as Mike, a big-rig truck driver. When a crew of diamond miners is trapped inside their working quarters in the wake of a collapse, Mike must drive his eighteen-wheeler across the harsh Canadian tundras, over frozen waters and through a devastating storm, to rescue the miners. But as Mother Nature begins prevailing, Mike and his backup team are in for much more than they bargained for. Playing out much like a number of Liam Neeson’s cinematic escapades,TheIce Roaddoesn’t seek to reinvent the action-thriller but provides plenty of gravitas in the form of big dialogue, big effects, and big locations.

Forgotten (2017)

Jin-seok (Kang Ha-neul) has just moved into a new house with his parents and older brother, and it’s quite the unusual place. While there’s seemingly nothing that is blatantly out of the ordinary, Jin-seok just doesn’t feelright under the new roof. This is further compounded when his brother is suddenly kidnapped, returning close to three weeks later. After his sibling’s reemergence, Jin-seok notices that his entire nuclear unit is acting funny. Then they hit him with the news: It’s not actually 1997, but 2017. What in tarnation is going on? A slick entry in the South Korean action-thriller canon,Forgottenis a visual feast set against a compelling and complex narrative.

Coming Home in the Dark (2021)

The feature debut of James Ashcroft, Coming Home in the Darkstars Daniel Gillies and Matthias Luafutu as Mandrake and Tubs, a pair of hellbent maniacs who attach themselves to the doomed Hoaganraad family, a nuclear unit of four hoping to enjoy a weekend away from it all. As the family gets to know Mandrake more, they soon realize that his surface-level charisma is but a thin wall that holds back a much more sinister plan, a scheme he has been planning for nearly two decades. Powered by a devilish lead performance from Daniel Gillies, Coming Home in the Darkwill feel familiar to anyone who was watched movies likeFunny Games, but it’s a welcome entry to the constantly rotating sub-genre of domestic invasion thrillers.

Sentinelle (2021)

Revenge-thrillers are a dime a dozen, so what makes Sentinelle any different than the rest? Well, for starters, it’s completely unrelenting. The plot follows Klara (Olga Kurylenko), a discharged soldier sent home after a harrowing close call during combat. The woman’s trauma is only compounded when she uncovers a web of crime that could lead to her sister’s death. Taking justice into her own hands, Klara utilizes her weapons training and intellect to hunt down the could-be killers. As mentioned, Sentinellehits hard and fast, delivering a blazing action-thriller in less than 90 minutes.

Army of Thieves (2021)

Serving as a prequel to Zack Synder’s adrenaline-pumping Army of the Dead,Army of Thieveswas co-written by Matthias Schweighöfer and Synder and directed by Schweighöfer. Our story follows Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), operating as Sebastian, a safecracking expert living in Potsam. When one of Sebastian’s safecracking instructional YouTube videos receives attention from a mysterious viewer, he journeys into the city where he is recruited to join an elite heist-team led by Gwendoline (Natalie Emmanuel). Together, the band of thieves concoct a plan to crack a series of impenetrable safes throughout Europe. A brilliant extension of the Armyuniverse,Thieves stands on its own two legs, thanks to memorable performances and riveting set-pieces.

The Guilty (2021)

LAPD officer Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) is working the night shift for 9-1-1 dispatch. Awaiting a court hearing for an initially-unknown incident that occurred months before, Joe receives a call from a woman claiming to be kidnapped. As Joe does everything in his power to help his abducted caller, it soon becomes clear that this singular call may have more to do with Joe and his past than he’s aware of. A fist-clenching thriller, one led by an extremely captivating lead performance from Gyllenhaal, The Guiltymay not be as great as the original 2018 Danish film, but the talent onscreen and close-quarters cinematography is undeniably gripping.

In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)

Our story begins in 1988. Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook) is faced with a macabre investigation in Philadelphia — one where several victims all hemorrhage to death at the same time, with puncture wounds located on each of their heads. Following leads that inevitably result in an even deeper mystery, Lockhart’s investigation goes dormant until a series of copycat killings resurfaces nine years later. A great blend of mystery-meets-sci-fi, In theShadow of the Moonmay not land with all viewers, but as a made-for-Netflix caper, it’s an arresting genre-dive you won’t want to miss.

Creep (2014)

When shoestring videographer Aaron (Patrick Brice) accepts a paying gig from a mysterious new client, his visit to the man’s remote mountain residence soon devolves into a bizarre nightmare as Josef (Mark Duplass), the homeowner, claims to be making a video for his unborn child before he dies from a brain tumor. At least that’s what Josef wants Aaron to believe. The truth, as the viewer will come to discover, is far more sinister. Taking the found footage sub-genre to thrilling new places, Creepfeels like a very small film, but one packed with suspense and misdirects as Josef’s intentions become increasingly murkier.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

In this rollicking action thriller, Karen Gillan stars as Sam, a high-octane assassin carrying out hits for an underground organization known as The Firm. Abandoned at a young age by her mother (Lena Headey), a fellow hitman, Sam’s estrangement has reinforced her cold-blooded tendencies. In the wake of a hit gone wrong, Sam is forced to re-examine her allegiance to the organization that provides her lifestyle and the life of an innocent 8-year-old girl (Chloe Coleman). An intense film from start to finish, Gunpowder Milkshakegives us an intriguing premise with excellent players and top-notch filmmaking.

The Vault (2021)

In The Vault, Freddie Highmore stars as Thom, a prolific engineer who happens upon some intoxicating intel. Learning of a hidden treasure trove located underneath The Bank of Spain, Thom and his group of allies concoct a master plan to break into the compound and make off with the riches while the rest of the country is distracted by Spain’s World Cup Final. Powered by energetic performances from its main ensemble and buttressed by some incredible set pieces and memorable locations,The Vaulthits all the beats that a heist thriller should, making for an excellent watch.

Hold the Dark (2018)

In his follow-up to the ultra-violent Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier takes to the great wilds of Alaska for an adaptation of William Giraldi’sHold the Dark. Starring Jeffrey Wright as wolf-tracker Russell Core, the animal expert is hired by Medora Slone (Riley Keough), a woman convinced that a pack of vicious wolves made off with her young son. As Russell begins his investigation, Medora’s spouse, Vernon (Alexander Skarsgård), arrives home from Iraq. Troubled by the horrors of frontline warfare, Vernon begins an all-out descent into madness as Russell begins to uncover more than he bargained for in the unrelenting tundra. Working with his biggest budget yet, indie stalwart Jeremy Saulnier delivers a grim reimagining of Giraldi’s already-macabre prose, complete with big action sequences and a touch of folkloric horror.

The Call (2020)

In Chung-hyun Lee’s The Call,we follow two different timelines, with a telephone call linking both eras. Seo-Yeon (Shin-hye Park) spends her days in the present while Young-Sook (Jong-seo Jun) lurks in the past. One is a serial killer, the other the victim. A bizarre amalgam of sci-fi-meets-psychological-thriller,The Callscores high with us for its nail-biting narrative, moody tone, dedicated performances, and plenty of originality.

Red Dot (2021)

David (Anastasios Soulis) and Nadja (Nanna Blondell), a set of young newlyweds, lead a stressful life of work, school, and poor communication skills. When Nadja learns that she’s pregnant, she decides to save the news for an adventurous ski trip to Sweden’s far north with David. As the couple begins to lose themselves to nature’s bounty, a hidden assailant begins stalking David and Nadja. It’s a nightmarish fight for survival in the merciless winter wilderness, as the infamous red dot of a rifle-sight follows every move the married couple makes. An energy-packed survival thriller, Red Dotis effective in making us feel just as lost and drenched in paranoia as the film’s leading talents.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

The art world is a strange one to live in, particularly when the tortured spirits of dead artists start wreaking havoc on the outside world. These are the cards we’re dealt with Dan Gilroy’s insanely odd Velvet Buzzsaw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Morf Vandewalt, an eccentric art critic that comes in contact with the possessed paintings of Vetril Dease (Alan Mandell). Death, dismemberment, and other macabre occurrences soon descend on the principal players, leaving us to wonder where the line is drawn between reality and fiction. Big, odd, and loaded with color, Velvet Buzzsaw is one you won’t forget.

Calibre (2018)

When two lifelong friends, a businessman and his pal from boarding school, head out for a hunting weekend in the Scottish Highlands, things quickly turn ugly. The old friends find themselves unexpectedly panicked and dealing with dire situations they never thought they would face. The British thriller, originally released on Netflix, was described by Variety as an “intensely terrifying twist on Deliverance.”

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

For fans of the AMC series Breaking Bad, this flick is the epilogue they’ve been waiting for to address the unanswered question of what happened to Jesse Pinkman. For others who might not have seen Breaking Bad, it’s still a fabulous film about a young man on the run from a clearly sordid past. It wraps Pinkman’s story up with a nice little bow and delivers plenty of cameos and throwback references from the original series to make it a worthwhile watch for any fan who has been missing the show.