You’d think we all have enough stress in our lives already, but for some reason we still love those heart-pumping thrillers—whether the quiet, suspenseful kind or the big action spectacles. It might be that the things that get our hearts racing in real life are in the realm of “oh no, this medical bill,” making a spy movie, a heist-gone-wrong scenario, or even a dark kidnapping story a good vehicle for vicarious (and comparatively cheap) thrills.
Regardless, here are the best thrillers currently streaming on Netflix, with a variety of tones that run from mildly tense to extremely dark.
Rebel Ridge (2024)
If you hadn't previously considered "civil forfeiture" as a fit subject for a tense action thriller, that might be about to change; Aaron Pierre stars as Terry Richmond, a former Marine, who cycles into the cycles into Shelby Springs, Louisiana with cash on hand to post bail for his cousin (held on a misdemeanor charge) and some extra to buy the truck they'll need for work. He's knocked off his bike and the cops claim the cash (a real thing that absolutely happens), forcing Terry into a position where he will have to prove in court that his money is not involved in criminal activity. The clock is ticking, though, and his cousin is about to be shipped off to a prison where he'll be a target as an informant. On the side of justice? Terry's fists—he's a close-quarters combat expert and he's more than capable of taking on some corrupt small-town cops. You can stream Rebel Ridge here.
Woman of the Hour (2023)
Anna Kendrick (also the director) stars as Sheryl Bradshaw, a real-life contestant on the TV game show The Dating Game. In and of itself, not terribly thrilling, except that Bradshaw was a guest on an episode with Rodney Alcala (played here by Daniel Zovatto), even winning a date with the "successful photographer" who was, in reality, in the middle of a string of serial murders and rapes. The movie alternates between their two stories until they collide on the set of the popular TV show, and later as Bradshaw meets Alcala for their planned date. You can stream Woman of the Hour here.
The Net (1995)
Time has caught up to The Net in many ways, in that elements that seemed wildly implausible in 1995 are commonplace now (ordering pizza over the internet, for example, was absolutely science fiction back in the day). And, while the aesthetics are often dated to the point of goofiness, the movie's overall premise holds up: Sandra Bullock plays Angela Bennett, a software systems analyst who gets involved in a tangled web (pun kinda intended) of intrigue when she's given a disk with links to a criminal conspiracy lead by Jack Devlin (Jeremy Northam). Computers are all-powerful here—erasing her life, crashing planes, bringing down politicians, etc.—in ways they weren't in 1995 but definitely are now. You can stream The Net here.
Fair Play (2023)
A throwback (complimentary) erotic thriller, Fair Play is an effective slow burner that builds toward a fairly shocking final act. Phoebe Dynevor is Emily Meyers, who's pretty happy for her secret boyfriend Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) when she hears that he might be getting a promotion at the ultra-cutthroat hedge fund where they both work. When she gets the new job instead? Let's just say that Luke is less enthusiastic, kicking off a series of power games that lead first to illegality, then to violence. You can stream Fair Play here.
Revelations (2025)
Writer/director Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) heads this more grounded police thriller, involving the intersecting lives of a quiet, shy pastor (Ryu Jun-yeol) and a traumatized police detective who's only recently been transferred to a violent crimes unit—just in time to lead the hunt for a truly nasty serial kidnapper. This time, it's one of Pastor Min-chan's congregation who's been taken, and the ensuing hunt leads to a crisis if faith for the minister, and then a growing conviction that God's will is for him to be an instrument of divine retribution. You can stream Revelations here.
Spiderhead (2022)
While Joseph Kosinski’s Netflix original Spiderhead didn’t make quite the splash of his mega blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick, it does make for a smart thriller with sci-fi overtones. Chris Hemsworth plays Steve Abnesti, who oversees a prison program in which prisoners receive less oversight and reduced sentences in exchange for serving as test subjects for a variety of pharmaceuticals. Supposedly, this is the project of some benevolent geniuses who just want to improve humankind, but you might not be surprised to learn (if you’ve ever lived in our world) that a pharmaceutical conglomerate has a lot more to do with it. The experiments grow increasingly manipulative and even deadly, with solid performances from Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett as two of the prison’s inmates. You can stream Spiderhead here.
Society of the Snow (2023)
You might be familiar with the true story of the 1972 Uruguayan rugby team lost in the Andes following a plane crash—the incident has been the subject of multiple documentaries and two previous dramas, including Frank Marshall's 1993 Alive. This is probably the best take on the tragedy, a thoughtful and tastefully thrilling drama. Director J. A. Bayona emphasizes both the heart-stopping physical perils faced by the team, and the spiritual toll their survival takes on them. You can stream Society of the Snow here.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
When nursing assistant Ruth (a fabulous Melanie Lynskey) comes home to find that she’s been burglarized, she sets out with her neighbor (Elijah Wood) to get her stuff back, and get revenge, in the most incompetent manner possible. As a vigilante farce, it nearly reaches Coen-brothers levels of absurdity, but it hits a lot of those beats while alternately challenging and confirming our worst instincts about our fellow humans. You can stream I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore here.
The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
This brooding mystery is a compelling (and twisty) tale that plays fast and loose with history, even as it conjures up a chilly and brooding atmosphere. Christian Bale plays a retired and troubled detective teaming up with a young West Point cadet you might have heard of: his name’s Edgar Allen Poe, and he’s played here by Harry Melling, who’s great. The two team up to solve a case involving dead students and creepy occult signifiers. You can stream The Pale Blue Eye here.
Runaway Jury (2003)
Gene Hackman's third John Grisham adaptation (and his penultimate film overall) isn't quite the movie The Firm is, but it's still an effective legal thriller. Hackman plays shady, conniving jury consultant Rankin Fitch, going head-to-head with Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) as key figures in the trial of a gun manufacturer. Complicating matters is the presence on the jury of Nick Easter (John Cusack) who, with the help of girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz), plans to manipulate the jury in such a way that he'll have a multimillion dollar payout coming his way. You can stream Runaway Jury here.
Trap (2024)
Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is a pretty cool dad in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, taking his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see a very cool Taylor Swift-ish pop star in concert. We quickly learn, though, that Cooper is a hunted serial killer, and that the FBI knows that "The Butcher" will be at the concert, even if they don't know exactly who it is. Of such premises are fun thrillers made, as Cooper has to try to escape the pop concert while somehow making sure his daughter gets to enjoy the show. You can stream Trap here.
Delicious (2025)
The thrills here are more psychological, but the movie is no less intense for it. A German family strikes a young woman on the road during a protest en route to their beautiful villa in Provence. Rather than let that ruin an otherwise perfectly delightful vacation, they take the young woman in and hire her on as domestic help; each family member has their own motive for wanting her around, and they will, each of them, come to deeply regret their choices (shades of Parasite) by the final act. You can stream Delicious here.
Doi Boy (2023)
Sorn (Awat Ratanapintha), fleeing conscription and violence in his native Myanmar, flees to Thailand, living in poverty as an illegal immigrant. With little money and fewer legal rights, he becomes a dancer and sex worker at the title's gay club, being one of the few ways he can make money. When Covid shuts down the club, Sorn gets an offer from one of his customers, Ji, a cop charged with quietly silencing activists—if Sorn will help capture and disappear a human rights activist, Ji will promise a passport and legal status. Director Nontawat Numbenchapol is best known for his award-winning documentaries, and brings a scrupulously realistic approach to this tense drama. You can stream Doi Boy here.
The Killer (2023)
Michael Fassbender plays the titular (nameless) hitman, a fastidious and ruthless killer who is suffering from the fallout of the first mistake of his career—accidentally shooting the wrong person, whoops—as his carefully managed life begins crumbling faster than he can shore it up. Very unlike his previous Netflix original, Mank, this is about as close as Fincher gets to a pure action thrill ride. You can stream The Killer here.
Bird Box (2018)
This Netflix original had a cultural moment way back in 2018, riding the success of A Quiet Place with a story about creatures YOU MUST NOT LOOK AT. Sandra Bullock leads an impressive cast that includes John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson, Lil Rel Howery, and BD Wong in a post-apocalypse in which the only way to survive is with a blindfold and, perhaps, a stylish puffer jacket. You can stream Bird Box here.
Cam (2018)
Director Daniel Goldhaber (the upcoming How to Blow Up a Pipeline) teamed up with writer Isa Mazzei, who based this Black Mirror-esque story partly on her own memoir. Madeline Brewer (Orange is the New Black) plays online sex worker Alice Ackerman, aka Lola_Lola, who once night discovers there’s another Lola out there—a cam girl who’s identical to Alice in appearance and general vibe, but whose willingness to go further puts her out in front in terms of viewership. It’s a horror movie with a lot to say about the dehumanization of sex workers, with a great central performance from Brewer. You can stream Cam here.
The Guilty (2021)
It’s not quite up to the standard of the Danish original, but this American remake of a 2018 film is still excellent. Director Antoine Fuqua is joined by screenwriter Nic Pizzolatto (True Detective) in the film starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe Baylor, an LAPD officer who’d been busted down to 911 dispatcher for initially unspecified errors in judgment. He gets a call from a panicked woman that leads him to make some dramatic decisions, not all of them good. An exercise in pure suspense, the contained movie very much rests on Gyllenhaal’s shoulders, though a few famous names show up via voiceover. You can stream The Guilty here.
Shimmer Lake (2017)
This crime drama begins on a Friday, with Andy (Rainn Wilson) hiding in his basement while his wife stalls his brother Zeke (Benjamin Walker), who’s also the sheriff. Andy, on the run with a bag of money, will be dead before the day’s out, but we’re going backwards here: writer/director Oren Uziel’s narrative then takes us to Thursday, and each previous day subsequently, until we understand how everyone wound up where they are. You can stream Shimmer Lake here.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
Set almost entirely in an isolated cabin in the woods, this Stephen King adaptation involves a single immobilized character for much of its running time. Director Mike Flanagan, nevertheless, manages to craft a taut, suspenseful story about a married woman (Carla Gugino) trapped in a remote cabin when her husband played by Bruce Greenwood, dies after having handcuffed her to the bed. Increasingly delirious, she’s forced to face not only her past trauma, but the hungry dog that keeps sniffing around. You can stream Gerald's Game here.
Lou (2022)
Lou (Allison Janney) is a quiet loner on Orcas Island in 1986; she’s also landlady to Hannah (Jurnee Smollett). Lou has just come by to tell Hannah that the rent is due when she learns that Hannah’s daughter has been kidnapped by the girl’s father, an ex-Green Beret and war criminal. Fortunately for Hannah, Lou has some very John Wick-esque secrets regarding her past, making her an unexpectedly good ally against the kidnapper. You can stream Lou here.
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
Continuing from the British crime series starring Idris Elba, but also a movie you can watch on its own, the film finds disgraced, imprisoned former DCI John Luther taunted by a serial killer (Andy Serkis) who, he’s pretty sure, can only be stopped if Luther busts out of jail and hunts him down. If you watched the series, this is an essential follow-up. If you haven’t, it’s a perfectly good time to find out why Elba is doing the morally gray detective thing better than anyone, maybe ever. You can stream The Fallen Sun here.
Creep (2014)
Mark Duplass (The Morning Show) co-writes and stars alongside director/co-writer Patrick Brice in this sly spin on the found-footage genre. Filmmaker Aaron (Brice) answers an ad from Josef (Duplass) who says he wants to document his life for the benefit of his unborn child. Things start off normal enough, but then Josef's requests keep getting more and more bizarre, and Aaron's car keys go missing. The slightly comedic vibe, at least at the outset, only serves to make the whole affair more unsettling. You can stream Creep here.
Fractured (2019)
This is a solid example of that type of thriller in which one person realizes someone has disappeared, and everyone else acts like that person was never around at all. (If it's not quite a sub-genre, it's definitely a thing.) After an accident at an exposed construction site, Ray (Sam Worthington) takes his family to the hospital, then dozes off in the waiting room. Big mistake: When he wakes up, they're gone, and the hospital has no idea what he's talking about. If it isn't entirely original, it's still a fun and creepy mystery. You can stream Fractured here.
Emily the Criminal (2022)
Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is a deeply relatable character: She went to an expensive school, and finds herself saddled with a mountain of debt. A relatively minor criminal record has made it hard for her to get a good-paying job. When given a chance to learn all about credit card fraud, the potential benefits are too good to turn down—which is approximately when things go wrong, and get violent. And then we find out exactly what Emily is capable of. Plaza is so brilliant here as the anti-hero that it’s a little hard not to cheer her on. You can stream Emily the Criminal here.
The Paramedic (2020)
Mario Casas stars here as Ángel, the title’s paramedic—not the greatest guy, really, and one who takes souvenirs from the people he helps, either to sell or to keep. An accident sees him lose the use of his legs, and his turmoil and rage don’t turn him into a better person, but instead sees him letting loose on a world he blames for pretty much everything. In particular danger is the girlfriend who left him. It’s a standard horror/thriller setup, but Casas is impressively compelling in his transformation from run-of-the-mill jerk to complete monster. You can stream The Paramedic here.
The Gray Man (2022)
The Russo brothers took a break from Avengers movies for this other blockbuster—at a cost of around $200m, it’s not like they decided to do a quiet indie drama. Ryan Gosling plays spy Sierra Six, whose latest mission involves taking out a fellow agent. He’s soon on the run from a corrupt agency boss (played by Regé-Jean Page), and helped and hindered by a supporting cast including Billy Bob Thornton, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, and Alfre Woodard. Sierra Six doesn’t make much of an impression as a character, but the Russos know how to craft an action spectacle, and this one kicks up the action early on, and never really slows down. You can stream The Gray Man here.
I Care a Lot (2020)
Rosamund Pike’s Marla Grayson might be the worst character on this list, which is saying a lot. She’s a con artist who specializes in convincing courts to grant her guardianship of old people who, she says, can’t take care of themselves. She then drains their bank accounts at her leisure. It’s all going great (for her) until she fucks with the wrong senior: in this case, Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), who looks like the ultimate score. It turns out that she’s the mom of a scary Russian mobster (Peter Dinklage), and things escalate from there. The tone here is satirical to the point of comedy, but it’s both tense and satisfying to see the screws turn on Marla. You can stream I Care a Lot here.
Hold the Dark (2018)
Jeffrey Wright plays Russell Core, a writer and wolf expert summoned by Riley Keogh's Medora Slone to investigate the disappearance of three small kids in rural Alaska. Not all the locals are convinced that wolves are to blame—or, at least, that it was just wolves. The return of Medora's husband (Alexander Skarsgård) from Iraq only complicates the mystery further. If you've seen director Jeremy Saulnier's previous feature Green Room, you'll have a sense of the dark tone and grimy aesthetic in store for you. You can stream Hold the Dark here.
The Occupant (2020)
Advertising executive Javier Muñoz (Javier Gutiérrez) once lived with his family in an ultra-posh apartment, but they simply couldn't afford it once he lost his job. Reduced circumstances have them in a tiny rental in a less-than-coveted neighborhood of Barcelona—but there's this set of spare keys, you see, and Javier can't help but go and scope out his old home and the new family that lives there. His interest quickly turns to an obsession with getting his old place back—though in fairness, none of his actions seem all that wild given today's real estate market. You can stream The Occupant here.
Carry-On (2024)
Action thriller Carry-On starts off at the airport (naturally) and on Christmas Eve—I'm already tense. Taron Edgerton is TSA agent Ethan Kopek, who's blackmailed into allowing Jason Bateman to smuggle a very dangerous package onto a flight (and yet I can't get through with my belt). Having allowed the package through, Kopek is determined to stop the man (known only as The Traveller) from carrying out his plan. You can stream Carry-On on here.
A Simple Favor (2018)
The darkly comedic tone makes this one bit lighter than many of the other films on this list, but it's all the more twisted for it. It all starts when mommy blogger Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) makes friends with, and unwisely confides in, Emily (Blake Lively), a PR director and mother of her son's schoolmate. Then Emily disappears, Stephanie sleeps with Emily's husband (Henry Golding), and the lurid secrets that Stephanie spilled start to come to light under shocking circumstances. It's all lot of fun, and boasts some genuinely wild twists. You can stream A Simple Favor here.
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