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Check out some of the best thriller movies on Netflix tonight
Netflix has a massive library of shows and movies, including original titles and third-party content. Sometimes it can be daunting to wade through the massive lists of entertainment, especially if the algorithm isn’t quite nailing your mood. So, if you’re looking for something to keep you on the edge of your seat, let’s narrow down your options. We’ve compiled a helpful list of the best thriller movies on Netflix.
See also: What to watch on Netflix
Below, you’ll find 26 titles, broken down into subgenres. Hopefully you’ll find just what you’re looking for. And if you aren’t already a member, you can sign up for Netflix by hitting the link below.
The best thriller movies on Netflix
The Perfection (2018)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-MA
- Runtime: 90 minutes
- Director/Creator: Richard Shepard
- Main cast: Allison Williams, Logan Browning, Steven Weber
- Genre: Horror/thriller
- Ratings: 6.2 – IMDB / 71% – Rotten Tomatoes
Another Netflix original horror film that didn’t get anywhere near enough attention, The Perfection is a haunting story of a musical prodigy who returns to her old school, where a new pupil has taken her place as the next rising star. What starts as a simple rivalry soon reveals grim, disturbing, and sinister truths hidden within the music academy.
The Perfection is full of clever twists that keep you guessing until the shocking final scene. Oversahdowed in the post-Get Out horror landscape, it’s a smart and original thriller that’s perfect for fans of movies like Cam, Suspiria, and The Blackcoat’s Daughter.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 99 minutes
- Director/Creator: Quentin Tarantino
- Main cast: Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi
- Genre: Crime/drama/thriller
- Ratings: 8.3 – IMDB / 90% – Rotten Tomatoes
Six strangers, each anonymous and identified with a pseudonym, are hired to carry out a bank robbery. While it’s going down, they’re ambushed by police. Now, those who made it out have to figure out who betrayed them, and fast.
Quentin Tarantino’s first feature, Reservoir Dogs is a tight crime thriller with a raw energy. It features terrific performances by a cast of actors at the top of their game. If you enjoy Tarantino’s later Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown or films like The Departed, The Usual Suspects, or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Margin Call (2011)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 107 minutes
- Director/Creator: J.C. Chandor
- Main cast: Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons
- Genre: Drama/thriller
- Ratings: 7.1 – IMDB / 87% – Rotten Tomatoes
On the eve of the 2008 financial crash, an analyst at an investment firm makes a shocking discovery that could bring the whole organization down. With top brass called in, a team of experts and newbies works through one fateful night to limit the damage, knowing everything is about to change.
It’s pretty hard to make the world of finance interesting, let alone suspenseful. That’s exactly what J.C. Chandor does with Margin Call, though, one of the best thriller movies on Netflix. If you enjoyed The Big Short, Money Monster, or Company Men, you’re in luck. Margin Call is the best of the lot.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
It Follows (2015)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Director/Creator: David Robert Mitchell
- Main cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi
- Genre: Horror
- Ratings: 6.8 – IMDB / 95% – Rotten Tomatoes
A teen girl finds herself haunted by figures who follow her everywhere after a strange sexual encounter. She’s the latest victim of a curse. A mysterious force that can take any shape follows her at a walking pace. If it catches her, she’ll die. The only way to get rid of it is to pass it on through another sexual encounter. If she dies, the person who passed it on to her in the first place is on the chopping block again.
A moving and terrifying commentary on consent and sexual trauma, It Follows is one of the best horror thrillers on Netflix. Beloved by critics, the film is smart, beautifully shot, and absolutely chilling.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
The Stranger (2022)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-MA
- Runtime: 117 minutes
- Director/Creator: Tom Wright
- Main cast: Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris
- Genre: Crime/drama/psychological thriller
- Ratings: 6.6 – IMDB / 91% – Rotten Tomatoes
In Australia, an undercover cop goes deep, getting close to a murder suspect to earn his trust and friendship and, hopefully, bring him to justice.
A slow, moody crime thriller, The Stranger lures you into its dark and layered story of trust and betrayal. Joel Edgerton and Sea Harris are brilliant opposite each other in this cat-and-mouse mystery, perfect for fans of Reservoir Dogs, Deep Cover, and Destroyer.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Side Effects (2013)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 106 minutes
- Director/Creator: Steven Soderbergh
- Main cast: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum
- Genre: Psychological thriller/drama
- Ratings: 7.1 – IMDB / 81% – Rotten Tomatoes
After waiting four years for her husband to get out of prison, Emily is ready to go back to her old life. But even with Martin back at home, something is missing. When a psychiatrist prescribes an experimental new drug, it looks like it could be the answer to her problems. Then things go horribly wrong, and Emily finds herself caught up in a battle with big pharma as her psychiatrist looks for an explanation to events that aren’t adding up.
A Hitchcockian thriller with plenty of twists, exploring a fascinating political field, Side Effects is rarely discussed amongst Steven Soderbergh’s best work, but it deserves a lot more attention. It’s certainly among the best thriller movies on Netflix, and a good choice if you enjoy films like Stoker, Kimi, Gone Girl, or Michael Clayton.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Play Misty for Me (1971)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Director/Creator: Clint Eastwood
- Main cast: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills
- Genre: Crime/thriller/classic
- Ratings: 6.9 – IMDB / 84% – Rotten Tomatoes
A radio DJ growing restless in his relationship enjoys a one-night-stand after a chance encounter with a mysterious woman he meets at a bar one night. But it wasn’t chance encounter at all, he soon learns. The woman is an obsessed fan, and before long the man is in over his head as she digs deeper into his life.
Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut is a clear precursor to the erotic thrillers of the 80s and 90s, and it’s a terrifically dark tale of adultery. If you enjoyed Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, Body Heat, or Unfaithful, you’ll want to add this to your watchlist.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Creep (2014)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 82 minutes
- Director/Creator: Patrick Brice
- Main cast: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice
- Genre: Horror
- Ratings: 6.3 – IMDB / 90% – Rotten Tomatoes
Part of the mumblecore movement, or more specifically “mumblegore,” Creep follows a man who responds to a cryptic ad online. He travels to a remote home where he’ll film a stranger for a project he plans to show his unborn child. But as the day goes on, his behavior becomes increasingly erotic, and he realizes she may have made a big mistake.
Fans of other mumblegore titles like House of the Devil and You’re Next are the most likely audience for this low-budget thriller that will surely leave you uneasy.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
The Beguiled (2017)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 94 minutes
- Director/Creator: Sofia Coppola
- Main cast: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning
- Genre: Western/drama/thriller
- Ratings: 6.3 – IMDB / 78% – Rotten Tomatoes
An injured Union soldier seeks refuge at an all-female Southern boarding school after deserting. Soon, students and faculty alike are tending to him and competing for his affection as the sexual tension rises.
Sofia Coppola combines lush period drama with wartime suspense in The Beguiled, a terrific thriller on Netflix starring Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and Colin Farrell. Check it out if you like Cold Mountain, Picnic at Hanging Rock, or the 1971 film The Beguiled on which Coppola’s film is based.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
The Pale Blue Eye (2023)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 130 minutes
- Director/Creator: Scott Cooper
- Main cast: Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson
- Genre: Mystery/thriller
- Ratings: 6.7 – IMDB / 64% – Rotten Tomatoes
A string of grisley murders pulls a decorated detective out of retirement to investigate. To get to the bottom of the mystery, he recruits a promising young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe to help in the investigation.
Fans of historical crime fiction like From Hell and The Alienist will likely enjoy this gritty, smart, slow-burn Netflix thriller. Director Scott Cooper last collaborated with Christian Bale in 2017’s Hostiles and the criminally underrated Out of the Furnace in 2013, and The Pale Blue Eye shows that the partnership is still strong.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Emily the Criminal (2022)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 96 minutes
- Director/Creator:
- Main cast: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Gina Gershon
- Genre: Crime/drama/thriller
- Ratings: 6.7 – IMDB / 94% – Rotten Tomatoes
A young woman deep in student debt hustles hard to get back on her feet, trying to put a criminal record behind her as she applies for work. Hitting dead end after dead end, Emily get involved in a credit card scam ring, seeing her chance at a prosperous future and seizing it.
Not just one of the best thriller movies on Netflix, Emily the Criminal is also one of the best films of 2022. Abrey Plaza is at her best, drawing a rich, nuanced character dealing with the realities of millennial life in a collapsing economy and job market.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 113 minutes
- Director/Creator: Dan Gilroy
- Main cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, Zawe Ashton
- Genre: Horror/drama/psychological thriller
- Ratings: 5.7 – IMDB / 61% – Rotten Tomatoes
When work from an unknown artist becomes the talk of the town, Morf works to secure a big payday, but mysterious tragedies start stacking up, and Morf realizes he may have hitched his wagon to the wrong horse.
This dark satire of the art world stars Jake Gyllenhaal as art critic Morf Vandewalt, reteaming with his Nightcrawler director Dan Gilroy. If you enjoyed Nightcrawler or Netflix’s own The Perfection and Brand New Cherry Flavor, you’ll want to give this one a try.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Under the Shadow (2016)
What you need to know:
- Rating: PG-13
- Runtime: 84 minutes
- Director/Creator: Babak Anvari
- Main cast: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Ray Haratian, Arash Marandi
- Genre: Horror/thriller
- Ratings: 6.8 – IMDB / 99% – Rotten Tomatoes
In 1980s Tehran, a mother and daughter survive a bombing during the Iran-Iraq war. But the threat may not be gone, as a superstitious neighbour believes they were hit by a cursed missile carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits. Now, they’re being haunted.
Under the Shadow calls to mind Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone and The Babadook. Its thoughtful treatment of heavy subject matter and chilling central ghost story make it a great choice overall.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Synchronic (2015)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Director/Creator: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
- Main cast: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan
- Genre: Psychological thriller/horror/sci-fi
- Ratings: 6.2 – IMDB / 79% – Rotten Tomatoes
Starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan, Synchronic sees a New Orleans paramedic losing his grip on reality and time itself as he looks for his partner’s daughter and digs into a new mystery drug that has been causing gruesome deaths all over town.
A dark and bizarre bit of cosmic horror, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s Synchronic is one of the best psychological thrillers on Netflix. If you like trippy sci-fi like Donnie Darko or cosmic horror like Annihilation or Color Out of Space, Synchonic will probably be up your alley.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Cam (2018)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-MA
- Runtime: 94 minutes
- Director/Creator: Daniel Goldhaber
- Main cast: Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters, Devin Druid
- Genre: Horror
- Ratings: 5.9 – IMDB / 93% – Rotten Tomatoes
When a camgirl is locked out of her channels, replaced by a mysterious doppelganger, she has to find out who is pulling the strings and how to regain control of her identity and livelihood.
One of the most underrated Netflix originals and a terrific horror movie, Cam is also among the best thriller movies on Netflix. Isa Mazzei’s screenplay is brimming with compassion for its protagonist, offering a much more thoughtful look at sex work than your average movie.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Prisoners (2013)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 153 minutes
- Director/Creator: Denis Villeneuve
- Main cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano
- Genre: Thriller
- Ratings: 8.1 – IMDB / 81% – Rotten Tomatoes
When two young girls go missing, the police begin a search for a kidnapper. After the police arrest and release a suspect, one of the girls’ fathers gets restless, worrying the police are moving too slowly to bring his daughter home safe. He takes matters into his own hands, and things escalate quickly.
Before directing blockbusters like Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, Québecois director Denis Villeneuve made a string of well-received, albeit much smaller thrillers including Incendies, Enemy, and Sicario. Among those was Prisoners, a tight, devastating thriller about loss, power, and violence.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Shutter Island (2010)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 138 minutes
- Director/Creator: Martin Scorsese
- Main cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer
- Genre: Mystery/neo-noir/pshychological thriller
- Ratings: 8.2 – IMDB / 68% – Rotten Tomatoes
A U.S. Marshall and his new partner are sent to an asylum for the criminally insane when a woman mysteriously disappears from a locked room. Once onsite, the detective has to confront his own troubled past as he slowly loses his grip on reality.
Often considered one of Martin Scorsese’s lesser films, Shutter Island is nonetheless one of the best thriller movies on Netflix, and a fun puzzle to watch, as the pieces move and surprise you until the very end. If you like mind-benders like Memento, Vanilla Sky, Inception, and Jacob’s Ladder, you’ll want to be sure to add this to your watchlist.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Spiderhead (2022)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 107 minutes
- Director/Creator: Joseph Kosinski
- Main cast: Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett
- Genre: Psychological thriller
- Ratings: 5.4 – IMDB / 39% – Rotten Tomatoes
It follows the inmates of an experimental prison, where a billionaire offers an uncommon level of freedom in exchange for conducting experiments with mind-expanding drugs on his patient-inmates.
From the director of Top Gun: Maverick, Spiderhead is a fresh new psychological thriller on Netflix starring Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett. it didn’t get a ton of attention on release. It also got largely negative reviews, but it’s a clever, fresh genre film, and it’s worth a look.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Oxygen (2021)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-14
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Director/Creator: Alexandre Aja
- Main cast: Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi
- Genre: Sci-fi/psychological thriller
- Ratings: 6.5 – IMDB / 88% – Rotten Tomatoes
Oxygen is a science-fiction film about a woman who wakes up in a small pod, not remembering who she is or how she got there. Now, with the help of a built-in AI, she needs to figure out how to free herself before she runs out of air.
Not for the claustrophobic viewer, Oxygen is a tense and suspenseful thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat as you try to guess what’s really going on. It’s a terrific choice for fans of Voyagers, Stowaway, Gravity, and Buried.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
The Platform (2019)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-MA
- Runtime: 94 minutes
- Director/Creator: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
- Main cast: Iván Massagué, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor, Emilio Buale, Alexandra Masangkay
- Genre: Horror/thriller
- Ratings: 7 – IMDB / 79% – Rotten Tomatoes
In a dystopian future, prisoners are housed in a vertical prison with multiple levels. Food is served first on the top level before making its way down level by level until the bottom level gets whatever is left. The arrangement leads to conflict and massive inequality in this evocative sci-fi thriller, a Spanish Netflix original.
If you like your sci-fi and horror thrillers to come with a heavy dose of social commentary — think Snowpiercer, Okja, and Squid Game — don’t miss The Platform.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
The Guilty (2021)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 90 minutes
- Director/Creator: Antoine Fuqua
- Main cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard
- Genre: Crime/thriller
- Ratings: 6.3 – IMDB / 74% – Rotten Tomatoes
A 911 operator demoted from his job as a detective struggles to help a distressed woman on the phone over one chaotic night. But as it gets later and later, he realizes he may have read the situation wrong.
This remake of the Danish film of the same name is directed by Antoine Fuqua and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, and it’s one of the best crime thrillers on Netflix.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-MA
- Runtime: 122 minutes
- Director/Creator: Vince Gilligan
- Main cast: Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemons, Krysten Ritter, Robert Forster
- Genre: Crime/drama
- Ratings: 7.3 – IMDB / 92% – Rotten Tomatoes
This sequel to AMC fan-favorite series Breaking Bad follows Jesse as he reacclimates to life as a free man after the events of the series finale. It’s a terrific afterword to Breaking Bad and one of the best thriller movies on Netflix.
Breaking Bad had a fantastic run of five seasons from 2008 to 2013. Its success was even bolstered by Netflix when tons of new viewers could get caught up via streaming. It seemed like there’d be no need to continue the story, but the Netflix original film El Camino proved there was more story to tell.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-MA
- Runtime: 96 minutes
- Director/Creator: Macon Blair
- Main cast: Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, David Yow, Jane Levy, Devon Graye
- Genre: Crime/drama
- Ratings: 6.9 – IMDB / 89% – Rotten Tomatoes
When a depressed woman is burglarized, she decides she’s had it and teams up with her weird neighbor to get her stuff back. That means standing up to some scary criminals though.
This comedy thriller stars Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood and is among the best thriller movies you’ll find on Netflix.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Triple Frontier (2019)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 125 minutes
- Director/Creator: J.C. Chandor
- Main cast: Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, Pedro Pascal
- Genre: Action/thriller/heist
- Ratings: 6.4 – IMDB / 70% – Rotten Tomatoes
A former special ops squad reunites when a chance to take down a South American drug lord presents itself. With their skillset, they can get in and out undetected and get away with tons of cash. But when things go south, they have to get home safely without starting an international incident.
J.C. Chandor directs this gripping heist thriller, one of the best Netflix original movies you can stream. A good choice for fans of Netflix’s Extraction or Chandor’s own Margin Call and A Most Violent Year.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Blackhat (2015)
What you need to know:
- Rating: R
- Runtime: 133 minutes
- Director/Creator: Michael Mann
- Main cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis, Ritchie Coster, Holt McCallany
- Genre: Action/thriller/crime
- Ratings: 5.4 – IMDB / 33% – Rotten Tomatoes
After some major international hacking incidents, America and China work together on finding the criminals responsible. To do so, they enlist the help of a convicted hacker, releasing him from prison to join the team. Things quickly escalate, as the hackers reveal their true motives.
An often-dismissed Michael Mann action thriller, Blackhat never got the same kind of love as films like Collateral and Heat. With a cool 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s a truly underrated gem.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
What you need to know:
- Rating: TV-MA
- Runtime: 103 minutes
- Director/Creator: Mike Flanagan
- Main cast: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Carel Struycken, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel
- Genre: Horror/thriller/survival
- Ratings: 6.5 – IMDB / 91% – Rotten Tomatoes
A couple on a romantic getaway are trying something new in the bedroom, but when the husband suddenly dies, leaving his wife handcuffed to the bed, things get scary fast, if she can’t get free, she’ll surely die, but that’s not all she has to worry about as demons from her past begin visiting her.
Before wowing audiences and critics with Netflix miniseries like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, Mike Flanagan directed this Stephen King adaptation. It established him as a terrific new horror voice. The film hits all the right notes, with a killer lead performance by Gugino, often acting on her own onscreen.
Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Netflix.
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