These 22 Netflix Movies Will Have You on the Edge of Your Seat
Apart from actually throwing yourself into an exhilarating experience, secondhand scaries are the next best option. That’s where movies come in. If the craziest action you’re getting right now comes from spotting a dog outside your window or timing how fast you can run up your apartment stairs, take a breather from those wild pursuits and check out one of these movies instead. Bonus: You can experience all of them while wearing your comfiest sweats in bed via Netflix.
6 Underground (2019)
Faking your death may mean no more criminal records or a solid excuse not to go to another wedding or finally escaping your ex…but the best part? The freedom, especially the kind that allows you to fight injustice. In 6 Underground, a tech billionaire (Ryan Reynolds) fakes his death, then gets others—who want to erase their pasts in favor of a greater mission—to do the same. What’s the mission? Take down a brutal dictator.
Chloe (2009)
A woman who suspects her husband is cheating on her takes the only logical action she can to find out the truth: hire a prostitute to tempt him. Unfortunately, that kind of backfires, and the relationship among all three of them heats up. Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried star in this tangled web of an erotic thriller.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
This thriller set in the 1950s follows Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, a men’s room attendant/pianist in New York City whose real talent is an identity theft. When he’s mistaken for a Princeton student and offered $1,000 to convince one rich man’s son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), to come back to America from Italy, he can’t help but accept. He soon finds that he’d rather become Dickie and live his life instead. Oh, and Gwyneth Paltrow is in it. My compliments to the casting director!
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
At the height of the Cold War, a British spy who was forced into retirement is rehired to uncover the identity of a double agent working for the Soviets. From Colin Firth to Benedict Cumberbatch, you’ll recognize a ton of faces in this award-winning espionage thriller.
Bird Box (2018)
If you’ve seen A Quiet Place, this film is similar, but instead of being silent to survive, you can’t use your eyesight. Fives years after a mysterious presence drives most of society to commit suicide, a mom decides to take her children to a place where they might be safe. They have to go through the woods and down a river totally blind to get there. I’m not confident I could walk to my kitchen blindfolded, so…that’s quite the journey.
You Get Me (2017)
After being dumped by his girlfriend, a high school student has a one-night stand that turns into a complete nightmare. When the girl he slept with finds out he got back together with his girlfriend, the girl becomes dangerously obsessive by transferring to his school and worming her way into his friend group.
Inception (2010)
Imagine being able to enter people’s dreams. Well, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a guy who can do that in this psychological thriller. He uses his skill for corporate espionage, which costs him everything until he gets one seemingly impossible shot at redemption: plant an idea in someone’s head. If he can pull it off, it’ll be the ultimate crime. TBH, any movie with Leo is thrilling!
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Post–Civil War, eight strangers take shelter from a blizzard at a stagecoach stopover. Bounty hunters, a fugitive prisoner, and travelers who may not be who they claim to be do more than cross paths in this western drama from Quentin Tarantino.
Under the Skin (2013)
If you’re looking for a super-eerie sci-fi thriller that leaves some parts to the imagination, this is it. Scarlett Johansson plays a seductive alien that takes the form of a woman to trap unsuspecting men. She lures them into her van and sends them into a liquid pool that leads to who-knows-where. It’s creepy, to say the least.
47 Meters Down (2017)
Two sisters who go shark diving in Mexico for the first time find themselves plummeting to the ocean floor when the rope connected to their protective cage breaks. To make it worse, they have a limited supply of oxygen. If survival movies are up your alley, you’ll want to watch this one.
Drive (2011)
In this independent thriller, Ryan Gosling stars as a Hollywood stuntman who becomes a getaway driver in a million-dollar heist to protect his pretty neighbor and her son. When the crime goes wrong, he puts himself in more danger to keep them safe. Ryan Gosling AND a noble purpose? We love to see it.
Secret Obsession (2019)
When a woman (Brenda Song) wakes up with amnesia after getting hit by a car, her husband takes her to a secluded home to care for her. She soon realizes something is off and discovers he isn’t actually her husband at all but a man who was obsessed with her for years. Yup, having amnesia and then being told lies definitely makes my worst fears list.
Good Time (2017)
Before diving into the world of Batman, Robert Pattinson was on the opposite side of crime as a bank robber in Good Time. When he robs a bank with his developmentally disabled brother, his brother is caught and thrown in prison. His brother won’t survive there, so he immerses himself in New York’s dangerous criminal world to get the money to bail him out.
Limitless (2011)
Bradley Cooper plays a struggling writer who starts taking a pill that allows him to access 100 percent of his brain in this sci-fi thriller. While on the pill, he finishes his book in four days and becomes a financial genius. Apart from the brutal side effects of the drug, he attracts the attention of dangerous people who are willing to do anything to get their hands on his stash of pills—as well as the police investigating him.
The Roommate (2011)
Leighton Meester ditches Blair Waldorf for the unstable college freshman Rebecca who becomes wildly obsessed with her roommate, Sara, in this psychological thriller. The two become close, but when Sara branches out to make new friends and even a boyfriend, Rebecca’s actions take a violent turn. Think Gossip Girl but the characters are murderous and it’s based in Los Angeles.
The Occupant (Hogar) (2020)
This Spanish film follows a recently unemployed advertising exec who is forced to sell his apartment. He grieves the loss of his dream home by stalking its current tenants, and sure enough, he still has the keys to the place. Acceptance and moving on don’t seem to be in the cards for this guy.
Self/less (2015)
In Self/less, a billionaire with cancer has his consciousness transplanted into the body of a young, healthy man (Ryan Reynolds) to stay alive. He realizes he was blindsided by the organization spearheading the radical procedure as he learns where the body he took over really came from. The body-switching concept isn’t new, but it has Ryan Reynolds in it, so A+ for that.
Secret in Their Eyes (2015)
This remake of the Oscar-winning Argentine film of the same name centers on the federal investigation of a brutal murder. When a former FBI agent finds a new lead, he reopens the case 13 years later in an effort to make the criminal pay. It stars some of the best, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julia Roberts, and Nicole Kidman.
Minority Report (2002)
Set in Washington, D.C. in 2054, this action-packed thriller from Steven Spielberg presents a world where psychic technology can predict crimes before they’re committed and is used to arrest murderers before they act. Tom Cruise plays the head of the “precrime” unit at a police department. That is, until the tech accuses him of the future murder of someone he’s never even met.
The Gift (2015)
This film reiterates the age-old saying that your past will always catch up with you. Jason Bateman plays a man whose former classmate he runs into 20 years later turns out to be holding a murderous grudge. The fact that the man leaves mysterious gifts adds a special element of creepiness to the whole scenario.
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
All the artists out there will appreciate the idea behind this one. The horror-thriller involves paintings that hold deadly supernatural forces in them and exact revenge on those who value profit over art. Greed will never get you anywhere!
Outbreak (1995)
What would a thriller roundup be without a film that hits way too close to home? Featuring Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman, Outbreak pretty much captures our current situation: a team of doctors racing to stop the spread of a virus and find a vaccine. If you want a movie that’ll help you escape reality, keep looking, because this is not it!
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