The 25 best thriller movies on Netflix right now

22 July (2018)

The United States’ problem with gun violence is not an issue shared overseas, which is why the 2011 terrorist attack in Norway remains so memorable. A massacre in two parts, the terror inflicted caused 77 deaths, 69 of whom were teenagers attending a leadership camp. Written and directed by Paul Greengrass, 22 July is a chilling film that chronicles Norway’s deadliest terrorist attack, as perpetrated by a far-right extremist. But it’s also the story of a survivor’s journey to heal his body and move forward.

EW’s critic calls the film “harrowingly effective,” but trigger warnings abound. The gun violence showcased in the film is deployed for narrative purposes, but the historical context doesn’t make the movie any easier to watch. What makes the film worth sticking around for is the perspective it offers on the after effects of a terrorist act, as told through the eyes of the politicians, lawyers, and survivors who experience it most profoundly. —Ilana Gordon 

Where to watch 22 July: Netflix

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Jon Øigarden

Anon (2018)

Privacy and anonymity are luxuries afforded to no one in the 2018 British-American sci-fi thriller Anon. Clive Owen stars as Det. Sal Frieland, a troubled cop operating in a dystopia where the entire populace is implanted with an ocular device intended to record and track the movements of the people around them. The government's transparency methods ensure that all criminal activity is caught on tape — but when a mysterious woman with no digital footprint (Amanda Seyfried) crosses paths with Sal, he realizes she might have a connection with a series of unsolved murders he's investigating.

Director Andrew Niccol tells EW, "I always wanted to do a movie about privacy and the fact that there was never a war for privacy because we already lost — we gave away our privacy without a fight, all for convenience." —I.G.

Where to watch Anon: Netflix

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: Andrew Niccol

Cast: Clive Owen, Amanda Seyfried, Colm Feore, Mark O'Brien

A Simple Favor (2018)

There’s nothing simple about the plot to A Simple Favor, a thriller about a mommy blogger’s (Anna Kendrick) quest to find her friend Emily (Blake Lively) who disappears under mysterious circumstances. A romantic thriller with a fair amount of dark comedy thrown in courtesy of director Paul Feig, A Simple Favor benefits from excellent performances, Hitchcockian vibes, and a duplicitous tension that carries the audience through the film’s many zig and zags — even the ones that fail to pay off.

As EW’s critic writes, the movie is “full of panache, from its sexy French score to its glistening gin martinis, and it weaponizes style, using it to keep audiences off balance as the mystery unfolds.” Enjoy A Simple Favor, and keep an eye out for the sequel, which was greenlit in March of 2024. —I.G.

Where to watch A Simple Favor: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Rupert Friend, Jean Smart

Bird Box (2018)

Sight becomes a handicap in Bird Box, a post-apocalyptic thriller where the enemy must go unseen, or else. Sandra Bullock stars as Malorie Hayes, a woman responsible for transporting two young children down a river while wearing blindfolds, a strategy intended to help the survivors avoid seeing the entities that attacked Earth five years earlier, and who cause those who look upon them to commit suicide.

Jumping between their present journey and the past events that led Malorie and the children to this point, director Susanne Bier leans into the tension of the unknown and relies on her talented but eclectic cast to do the rest. Released the same year as A Quiet Place, and possessing a somewhat similar premise, Bird Box received less attention when it first premiered, but this sci-fi horror film is a great option for fans of both genres. —I.G.

Where to watch Bird Box: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Susanne Bier

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Danielle Macdonald, Sarah Paulson

Compliance (2012)

Go into your Compliance viewing with the understanding that this film will make you angry. Inspired by a true story, this thriller centers around a fast food manager, Sandra (Ann Dowd), who receives a call from a man identifying himself as a police officer claiming to be investigating a potential theft by Becky (Dreama Walker), one of the restaurant’s employees.

Under pressure from the officer on the phone, Sandra, her fiancé, and other employees at the establishment are ordered to put Becky through a series of increasingly exploitative and humiliating experiences — all in the name of upholding the law. A film about complicity, critical thinking, and how far people will go when they think they’re on the right side, Compliance is the perfect film for this particular cultural moment. —I.G.

Where to watch Compliance: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Craig Zobel

Cast: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp

The Devil All the Time (2020)

A Netflix original and period thriller, The Devil All the Time explores several interconnected groups of people living in two small towns in Southern Ohio between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s. Linked by religious evangelism, war, corruption, suicide, abandonment, and serial murder, the cast — which includes a host of young Hollywood heavy hitters — makes the most of the story's melodrama and dark subject matter.

Based on the 2011 novel and directed by Antonio Campos (The Staircase), The Devil All the Time takes the "all the time" portion of the film's title literally: the sins are multitudinous and the depths of human depravity on full display. Still, EW's critic writes that Campos' biggest accomplishment as the film's director is "toeing a tricky line between art-house atmosphere and Southern Gothic soap opera, and somehow still managing to land on the grim side of fascinating." —I.G.

Where to watch The Devil All the Time: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Antonio Campos

Cast: Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Eliza Scanlen, Haley Bennett, Bill Skarsgård, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke

El Camino (2019)

The best meth cook in Albuquerque is back, bitch. Breaking Bad's Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) return for El Camino, a film based on AMC's beloved show, with far more attention paid to Pinkman's character. Freewheeling through time and flashing back to events depicted in the series, El Camino picks up right where Breaking Bad left off, and includes a host of cameos from the show's five-season run.

Jane, Skinny Pete, and Badger are all back in one form or another, but it's Nazi Todd (Jesse Plemons) who informs most of the film's plot. Breaking Bad fans will be gratified to see Jesse Pinkman finally get the time to mentally process the last couple years of his life — even if Paul looks markedly older than he did when the show wrapped in 2013. —I.G.

Where to watch El Camino: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Vince Gilligan

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemons, Jonathan Banks, Matt Jones

Emily the Criminal (2022)

Drowning in debt and student loans, Emily is one of Los Angeles' many broke artists on the verge of financial ruin. With a former felony conviction preventing her from finding a job that might pay enough to survive, Emily finds purpose — and quick cash — by getting involved with a credit card fraud ring. What starts as a survival tactic soon balloons into much more, as Emily distances herself from the corporate world she can never quite crack and leans into the world of criminality.

Aubrey Plaza is in her element here, her blunt practicality and signature deadpan delivery serving as the perfect stand-in for an audience whose dreams of hitting milestones like home ownership and retirement have been deadened by current economic realities. —I.G.

Where to watch Emily the Criminal: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: John Patton Ford

Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Bernardo Badillo, John Billingsley

Fair Play (2023)

For newly engaged couple Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) and Emily (Phoebe Dynevor), their sizzling, can't-keep-their-hands-off-each-other love must remain discreet within their workplace. However, when Emily secures a managerial position at their dog-eat-dog hedge fund, the power shift within the bullpen begins to splinter their romantic bliss.

Praising its "lean, crackling script," EW's critic observes how Fair Play's final act is "so freighted with increasingly unhinged possibilities" yet "both leads hang on, throwing themselves headlong into the tar pits of contemporary workplace politics and gender roles without being drawn into clumsy, one-dimensional ideas of victimhood or villainy." —James Mercadante

Where to watch Fair Play: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Chloe Domont

Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer

The Good Nurse (2022)

Nurses are angels with the power to do the work of demons. In the Netflix original psychological thriller The Good Nurse, Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) is a night nurse with a work husband: Charles Cullen (Eddie Redmayne). A single mom with a serious heart condition, Amy is shocked to learn that the recent death of one of their hospital's patients is thought to have occurred intentionally, and that Charles might be involved. And the more Amy digs, the more she realizes the co-worker she trusts is actually someone far more nefarious.

Based on the true story of how the real-life Amy Loughren helped authorities take down serial killer Charles Cullen, The Good Nurse is good old-fashioned, ripped-from-the-headlines cinema with a story made all the more terrifying because so little of it is exaggerated. Trust us — you've never seen Eddie Redmayne like this before. —I.G.

Where to watch The Good Nurse: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Tobias Lindholm

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne

The Good Shepherd (2007)

Robert De Niro reaches into the shadowy lore of the CIA to create an agency origin story grounded in the personal life of Edward Wilson, one of its early operatives. Spanning the '40s, '50s, and '60s, the film uses the CIA’s involvement in post-World War II Berlin and the Bay of Pigs invasion to paint a picture of the agency’s early methods and style.

Starring Matt Damon and released the same year as The Departed, Damon excels as the Yale graduate turned spy whose commitment to his work comes at the expense of his personal life. EW’s critic describes him as “the ultimate enigma machine, a man willing to erase himself for his country.” Featuring an illustrious cast of actors and deftly directed by De Niro, The Good Shepherd is a spy thriller buoyed by solid performances and some history. —I.G.

Where to watch The Good Shepherd: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Robert De Niro

Cast: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Joe Pesci, John Turturro, Billy Crudup

I Care A Lot (2021)

Rosamund Pike builds on her Gone Girl villainess status to portray Marla Grayson, a con artist who fronts as a professional "legal guardian" to fleece the elderly of their life savings. But Marla takes it a step too far when she meets Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), who seems infirm at first but actually has ties to important, dangerous people (like Peter Dinklage) who Marla would do well to stay clear of. Pike's duplicitous performance is a blast to witness, but seeing Marla meet her match is just as gratifying. As EW's writes in their review, "There's good fun in I Care a Lot's setup, and in Marla's ruthless M.O." —Gwen Ihnat

Where to watch I Care a Lot: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: J Blakeson

Cast: Rosamund Pike, Dianne Wiest, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Chris Messina, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)

After Yellowjackets, Togetherness, and Mrs. America, we'd straight-up watch Melanie Lynskey in anything, but even we missed Macon Blair's 2017 sleeper. Lynskey plays Ruth, a down-on-her-luck nursing assistant who decides after her house gets broken into that she's fed up. She hooks up with her odd neighbor Tony (Elijah Wood) to go out on a quest to get her stuff back, leading to a quirky journey that's both suspenseful and inspiring for the downtrodden.

Second only to Lynskey in luminescence in this movie is Wood, whose Tony named his dog Kevin and specializes in nunchucks and ninja stars. And Jane Levy is unrecognizable as one of the unsavory thieves. As EW's critic points out, the film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for its reconfiguration of "the buddy-cop film — at one point, Ruth even flashes a toy police badge." —G.I.

Where to watch I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Macon Blair

Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, Jane Levy

Lou (2022)

Allison Janney knows how to deliver a line, and thanks to stunt training for her new Netflix film, Lou, she also knows how to deliver a punch. Janney stars as the film's titular character, a misandrist landlord who rents a home to a single mother named Hannah (Jurnee Smollett) and her young daughter, Vee. After Vee is kidnapped, Lou agrees to help Hannah bring her back, but saving Vee's future will require Lou to confront her own messy past.

Director Anna Foerster asked a lot of her cast during production, as evidenced by the fact that both Smollett and Janney spend much of the film covered in mud. (Smollett tells EW, "The mud is a character in itself!") As for Janney, she hopes this role will showcase her rarely-seen physical abilities — and maybe land her a role in the next John Wick movie. —I.G.

Where to watch Lou: Netflix

Director: Anna Foerster

Cast: Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, Logan Marshall-Green

Munich — The Edge of War (2021)

A thriller set in the years leading up to World War II, Munich — The Edge of War is a fictional account of a pivotal historical period. Based on Robert Harris’ best-selling novel, the film follows two old college friends — Hugh Legat, a British civil servant, and Paul von Hartmann, a German diplomat — as they find themselves drawn into the center of Europe’s political powder keg.

A good, old-fashioned spy story with deep stakes, the film examines Neville Chamberlain’s (Jeremy Irons) role in the time leading up to World War II in a new light. A historical thriller that is sure to captivate, you won’t regret devoting two hours of your time to Munich — The Edge of War. —I.G.

Where to watch Munich — The Edge of War: Netflix

Director: Christian Schwochow

Cast: George MacKay, Jannis Niewöhner, Jeremy Irons, Sandra Hüller, Liv Lisa Fries, August Diehl, Jessica Brown Findlay

The Novice (2021)

The obsession with perfection crosses the line from competitive to dangerous in Lauren Hadaway’s directorial debut, The Novice. Orphan’s Isabelle Fuhrman stars as a compulsive college student who is determined to make her school’s varsity rowing team at all costs. Fuhrman gives a virtuoso performance as Alex, a queer first-year student whose addiction to being the best torpedoes her mental and physical health, her academic performance, and her social and romantic life.

Anyone who has ever met a self-destructive, Type A teenager will recognize the anxious thrill that comes with watching someone who can’t relax work themselves into a terrifying state, and The Novice transforms that feeling into a thriller with aplomb. —I.G.

Where to watch The Novice: Netflix

Director: Lauren Hadaway

Cast: Isabelle Fuhrman, Amy Forsyth, Dilone, Charlotte Ubben, Jonathan Cherry, Kate Drummond

Oldboy (2003)

South Korea’s Oldboy — not to be confused with the American version directed by Spike Lee — is considered one of the greatest films ever made, and since its release more than two decades ago, the movie’s fight sequences have challenged action directors and stunt coordinators to up their game. Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is a businessman who has spent 15 years in captivity with no idea of who his kidnapper is or what they want with him. After his release, he wants vengeance — but he only has five days to hunt down his captor.

Beloved for its memorable plot twist, hallway fight scene, and terrifying use of a living octopus, the film is beyond memorable. At the time of its release in 2003, EW’s critic writes, “Oldboy caused a love-it-or-hate-it stir at Cannes last year, and how could it not: It’s an onslaught made to cause a sensation.” —I.G.

Where to watch Oldboy: Netflix through Mar. 23

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Park Chan-wook

Cast: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung

Oxygen (2021)

A nightmare come to life for claustrophobics everywhere, Oxygen is a French language sci-fi film that thinks outside the box in terms of action. At the genesis, an unidentified woman (Mélanie Laurent) awakens in an airtight medical unit, unsure of who or where she is. Interactions with the system's AI — dubbed M.I.L.O. (Medical Interface Liaison Officer) — provide some clarity as to her identity, but no matter what she tries, she cannot escape her prison.

As she seeks to understand who placed her in the box and why, truths about her personal life and the current state of the world come into focus — but her search for context is actually a race to outwit the slowly depleting oxygen levels. Laurent is excellent, and despite being forced to perform on her back, she manages to imbue the film with a strong sense of determination and humanity. —I.G.

Where to watch Oxygen: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Alexandre Aja

Cast: Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi

Parasite (2019)

The central question of Bong Joon Ho’s black comedy and thriller Parasite is who is the parasite? The film follows two families — the wealthy Parks and the broke Kims — as each member of the Kim family duplicitously obtains a job working for the Parks. A film that has a lot to say about class consciousness and late-stage capitalism, Parasite was the first foreign language film to take home the Best Picture Oscar.

The movie also secured trophies for Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, and Best Director, but the real win is the film’s ending. As EW’s critic writes “If the movie is a Rorschach of who you identify as parasite and host, it’s a test you’re just as likely to fail.” —I.G.

Where to watch Parasite: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Cast: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Jang Hye-jin

The Platform (2019)

In this Spanish dystopian thriller, prisoners are trapped in a "Vertical Self-Management Center," a towering structure of stacked cells featuring a large hole in the floor. Every day, a platform loaded with food descends the tower, pausing at each level for the prisoners to eat. Those at the top feast heartily, while those below get the leftover table scraps. If everyone only took what they needed, there would be enough for all, but the greedy folks don't care about those suffering beneath them. (FYI: The Platform 2 is now available to watch on Netflix.) —Danny Horn

Where to watch The Platform: Netflix

Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

Cast: Iván Massagué, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor

Queen& Slim (2019)

At one point during Queen & Slim, a character refers to the leads as “the Black Bonnie and Clyde,” and this description — while simplistic — gives the viewer some idea of what to expect from this culturally relevant road movie. Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) are in the middle of a tepid first date when a fatal altercation with a police officer forces the pair to flee for their lives.

Traveling through the country in search of disguise and safe passage, Queen and Slim bond. But as the two become closer, their story goes viral, turning the pair into either fugitives or revolutionaries, depending on who you ask. EW’s critic calls the film “violent and sexy, balanced between hope and despair, definably too-much and unapologetically mythic. The road is bumpy, but what a trip.” —I.G.

Where to watch Queen & Slim: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Melina Matsoukas

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson, Indya Moore

Runaway Jury (2003)

It’s your civic duty to watch Runaway Jury, a cat and mouse legal thriller adapted from John Grisham’s bestselling novel. Two years after a mass shooting kills 11 people at a stock brokerage, a victim’s widow sues the gun manufacturer for negligence. The defense attempts to stack the jury to assure a verdict in their favor, but finds themselves thwarted by one of the jurors (John Cusack), and a mysterious woman named Marlee (Rachel Weisz), who makes contact with both the defense and prosecution, offering to deliver the preferred verdict to the highest bidder. The overall outcome is a tense ride filled with legal U-turns and commanding performances. —I.G.

Where to watch Runaway Jury: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Gary Fleder 

Cast: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Bruce Davison, Bruce McGill, Jeremy Piven, Nick Searcy

Society of the Snow (2023)

In 1972, the Andes Mountains became a crucible of survival when a Uruguayan flight crashed en route to Santiago, Chile. Sixteen remaining passengers found themselves stranded in one of Mother Nature's most life-threatening terrains, pushing them to take ineffable means to find their way back. While Hollywood attempted to soften this tragedy with a more glossy depiction in Alive (1993), Society of the Snow delivers a far more raw and emotive experience — enriched by the director's conversations with the real-life survivors — that sinks viewers into the gut-wrenching terror of the situation without being overly insensitive.

"A story that is based on humanism," J.A. Bayona (the director who also helmed another intense disaster film, 2012's The Impossible) describes the story as "more about emotional survival. It's not only physical survival. It's to understand that there's something bigger than yourself." —J.M.

Where to watch Society of the Snow: Netflix

Director: J.A. Bayona

Cast: Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Felipe González Otaño, Luciano Chatton, Valentino Alonso, Francisco Romero, Agustín Berruti, Andy Pruss, Simón Hempe, Juan Caruso, Esteban Bigliardi, Rocco Posca, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, Manuela Olivera, Agustín Della Corte, Tomas Wolf

They Cloned Tyrone (2023)

A single genre isn't enough to contain one of Netflix's 2023 releases, They Cloned Tyrone. A sci-fi comedy that combines '70s Blaxploitation with mystery and social satire, the film has similar vibes to movies like Get Out (2017) or Sorry to Bother You (2018) while employing a far more absurd premise. Fontaine (John Boyega) is a drug dealer living in an impoverished area called the Glen. While trying to collect funds owed to him by a local pimp named Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), Fontaine is shot and killed — but that doesn't stop him from showing up on Slick's doorstep the next day to collect his money.

Joined by a sex worker named YoYo (Teyonah Parris), the trio attempts to get to the bottom of what appears to be a massive government conspiracy aimed at exploiting their disenfranchised community as medical subjects. A satirical romp that has as much to say about class and racial injustices as it does about mystery movie tropes, They Cloned Tyrone is smart, silly, and uniformly well-acted. —I.G.

Where to watch They Cloned Tyrone: Netflix

Director: Juel Taylor

Cast: John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx

The Weekend Away (2022)

Leighton Meester stars in this murky mystery as Beth, a married new mom who goes off to visit her more glamorous friend Kate (Christina Wolfe) in a palatial apartment in Croatia. But when Kate disappears, Beth runs into one dead end after another trying to find her, until she eventually becomes a suspect in her friend's disappearance herself. The gripping whodunnit is only augmented by the idyllic seaside backdrop, which may make you long for a (less-eventful) weekend in the Balkan region yourself. —G.I.

Where to watch The Weekend Away: Netflix

Director: Kim Farrant

Cast: Leighton Meester, Christina Wolfe, Ziad Bakri