The best thriller movies on Netflix right now

The ideal thriller hits a certain sweet spot: hypnotic to watch, with compelling, stern-faced performances, fewer jump scares and gore than a horror movie, and more plot corkscrews than a traditional drama. When you're in the mood for the ultimate in cinema escapism, there's nothing better. With that in mind, we've curated a sampling of the best movies currently available on Netflix for your viewing pleasure, from high-profile original productions to character-driven adaptations and chilling indie fare that will likely absorb every iota of your attention. Here are the films currently streaming on the platform to get your blood pumping.

<i>Bird Box</i> (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. — Ilana Gordon

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

Related content: Bird Box author Josh Malerman on publishing a sequel during the end times

<i>Captain Phillips</i> (2013)

Inspired by the Maersk Alabama hijacking incident in 2009 where four Somali pirates seized a U.S. cargo ship sailing through the Indian Ocean, Captain Phillips features the expected tour de force performance from Tom Hanks, while also debuting an astonishing new face, and staying true to the story on which the film is based. Hanks takes on the role of Captain Richard Phillips, a man who squares off with pirates armed only with his thick Massachusetts accent. Meanwhile newcomer Barkhad Abdi, who plays the desperate pirate leading the raid on Phillips' ship, balances violence with vulnerability in an Oscar-nominated turn. The kind of film where you find yourself rooting for the heroes while still empathizing with the villains, Captain Phillips' performances and script are tough enough to navigate the most dangerous waters. — I.G.

Where to watch Captain Phillips: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Paul Greengrass 

Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi  

Related content: Captain Phillips: An Oscar deep dive

<i>Dragged Across Concrete</i> (2019)

As police brutality becomes an increasingly urgent topic of conversation, films and television shows have received criticism from viewers and the media for glamorizing law enforcement. Dragged Across Concrete does not have this issue. A thriller categorized by EW's Chris Nashawaty in his review as a long forgotten class of "nasty, nihilistic, nicotine-stained '70s death trips," Dragged Across Concrete stars Mel Gibson as Detective Brett Ridgeman, a racist cop who finds himself suspended from duty — along with his partner Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn) — after the pair assaults a suspect during an arrest. Pissed off and in need of quick cash, the detectives decide to rob a thief, only to discover that this criminal's propensity for brutality far outstrips their own. Dragged Across Concrete isn't for everyone, but if you're going to watch one lurid B movie with strong grindhouse vibes, let it be this one. — I.G.

Where to watch Dragged Across Concrete: Netflix

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Director: S. Craig Zahler 

Cast: Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White  

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<i>El Camino</i> (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 

Related content: Vince Gilligan pays tribute to Robert Forster and how he did big little things in El Camino

<i>Emily the Criminal</i> (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   

Related content: Aubrey Plaza on why her new thriller Emily the Criminal felt like pulling off a scam

<i>Everybody Knows</i> (2019)

Almost a decade into their marriage, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz put aside their real-life relationship to star opposite one another in the Spanish thriller Everybody Knows. Family squabbles and long-buried secrets take the forefront as Laura (Cruz) returns to her native Spain with her children to celebrate her sister's wedding. After Laura's teenage daughter Irene is kidnapped, Laura turns to her old friend Paco (Bardem) to help find her, but Paco soon learns that Laura's expectations for his involvement go far deeper than he could have anticipated.

Released in the United States shortly after the film debuted at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Everybody Knows is a solid foreign language thriller that greatly benefits from the performative strength of its two leads. An EW writer sums up Cruz's and Bardem's performances, writing, "Their chemistry, even years after their characters' relationship ended, is palpable and electric, even when it's shrouded in tragedy." — I.G.

Where to watch Everybody Knows: Netflix

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Director: Asghar Farhadi 

Cast: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández 

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<i>I Care A Lot</i> (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 Leah Greenblatt writes in her EW 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.  

Related content: Rosamund Pike compares her cunning antiheroines in I Care a Lot and Gone Girl

<i>I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore</i> (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 Clark Collis 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  

Related content: I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore wins top Sundance prize

<i>Lou</i> (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 

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<i>Operation Finale</i> (2018)

As World War II drew to a close and the horrors inflicted during the Holocaust become public knowledge overseas, Hitler and his most trusted lieutenants systematically committed suicide rather than face justice for their atrocities. Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley), Hitler's deadliest lieutenant and the man responsible for architecting the "final solution" survived, fleeing with his family to Argentina. Operation Finale picks up 15 years after the end of the war, as Mossad agent Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaac) is assigned to infiltrate Argentina and extract Eichmann, handing him over to the Israeli government to stand trial.

A psychological post-war thriller based on a true story, Operation Finale's chief strength lies in its leads, who spend the film engaging in a psychological duel. EW's critic writes that Isaac proves himself to be a "bona fide movie star" and that the film reminds viewers of Kingsley's "ability to curdle your blood and freeze your veins." As far as World War II thrillers and character studies go, this one is a must-watch. — I.G. 

Where to watch Operation Finale: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Chris Weitz

Talent: Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley, Mélanie Laurent, Lior Raz, Nick Kroll, Haley Lu Richardson

Related reading: Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley on the unbelievable true story of Operation Finale

<i>Nocturnal Animals</i> (2016)

Tom Ford's second feature unfurls a topsy-turvy plot within a plot. Wealthy Susan (Amy Adams), stuck in an unhappy marriage, receives the manuscript for a novel written by her first husband, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), which is dedicated to her. That tale, also called Nocturnal Animals, tells the story of Tony (Gyllenhaal again), who goes on an ill-fated trip with his wife (Adams look-alike Isla Fisher) and daughter. Meanwhile, flashbacks depict what happened in Susan and Edward's relationship, offering some unexpected parallels to Tony's plight. The bleak noir offers some astonishing performances (especially Michael Shannon as a small-town cop who helps Tony), as well as so much food for thought it's tough to shake once it's over. EW's Leah Greenblatt calls Nocturnal Animals "a fantastic beast of a film, intoxicating and strange." — G.I.

Where to watch Nocturnal Animals: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Tom Ford  

Cast: Amy Adams, Isla Fisher, Michael Shannon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Aaron Taylor-Johnson  

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<i>Prisoners</i> (2013)

A modern thriller that examines parenting, morality, justice, and vengeance through the prism of prisons, Prisoners is a modern thriller with a premise made all the more terrifying by its relatability. Hugh Jackman stars as Pennsylvania father Keller Dover, whose 6-year-old daughter goes missing along with another neighborhood girl. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is assigned to investigate the case, but after the justice system requires him to spring the arrested suspect (Paul Dano), the girls' trail goes cold. Unwilling to give up on his daughter, Dover kidnaps the suspect and vows to find the kids himself — but his quest for answers and vengeance forces Dover into a different kind of prison. Jackman perfectly encapsulates the desperate father racing against time, raging against a flawed justice system, and struggling with whether to prioritize his desperation or moral compass. — I.G.

Where to watch Prisoners: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Denis Villeneuve  

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis

Related content: The 15 best Jake Gyllenhaal performances

<i>Psycho</i> (1960)

As one of Alfred Hitchcock's finest films, Psycho broke cinematic and cultural barriers when it premiered in 1960. Considered the genesis of the slasher film genre, Psycho follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a Phoenix secretary and embezzler, whose crimes lead her to check into a remote motel run by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), an eccentric proprietor with a strange relationship with his mother. Pushing the acceptability limits in the areas of sexuality and violence, Hitchcock's work on Psycho paved the way for other influential directors within the genre and inspired three sequels, a remake helmed by Gus Van Sant, and Bates Motel, a series that aired for five seasons on A&E. Chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry, Psycho is a genre-defining thriller directed by a cinematic pioneer. — I.G.

Where to watch Psycho: Netflix

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam

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<i>Reservoir Dogs</i> (1992)

Eight gangsters walk into a Los Angeles diner and argue over appropriate tipping etiquette. So begins Quentin Tarantino's debut feature film, Reservoir Dogs, one of the all-time great independent movies and a film student favorite. The thriller follows eight gangsters who pull a diamond heist, only for the job to go sideways. With some members of the crew missing, and some presumed dead, the remaining thieves must determine whether or not they were set up — and which of their number betrayed them.

Even with Tarantino's career still in its infancy, his gifts as a writer and director are on full display here. Also visible in their inchoate form are Tarantino's dexterity with dialogue and subversive delight in folding comedic nuggets into even the most violent of scenes. While the settings and production value give a slight nod to the film's low budget, the high concept premise and impressive execution make it a must-see, even for the Tarantino averse. — I.G.  

Where to watch Reservoir Dogs: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Quentin Tarantino 

Cast: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Edward Bunker, Quentin Tarantino

Related content: Reservoir Dogs soundtrack

<i>Savages</i> (2012)

A crime drama from director Oliver Stone, Savages leads with violence but still has the narrative to back it up. Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star as Chon and Ben, two Laguna Beach weed growers who have developed a reputation for distributing some of the most potent pot on the planet. When the cartel — led by Salma Hayek — comes calling, insisting on a partnership, Chon and Ben find themselves backed into a corner. And their fortunes do not improve after the cartel kidnaps Ophelia (Blake Lively), the girl both men are simultaneously dating. An EW critic describes Savages as, "a jacked-up Miami Vice told from the point of view of the criminals." Sensitive stomachs, be advised: Savages' gore factor is excessive enough to merit a trigger warning, but if you can handle the violence, you'll love what Stone has in store. — I.G.

Where to watch Savages: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Oliver Stone 

Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Salma Hayek, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta   

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<i>The Devil All The Time</i> (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 Leah Greenblatt 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

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<i>The Good Nurse</i> (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

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<i>The Weekend Away</i> (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 

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