30 of the Best Thriller Movies to Watch on Netflix
These films are bound to get your heart racing.
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Spooky season is officially here: The leaves are turning, the air is cool, and giant plastic skeletons are lurking around every corner. For the nights when you’re not romping around in your Halloween costume or new fall wardrobe, you can spend all those brisk evenings at home, getting cozy under a blanket, warming your hands in the popcorn bowl, and scaring yourself absolutely silly with a thriller on Netflix.
The streaming service has a huge collection of movies filled with jumps, bumps, and all kinds of horrors, from the latest hits to classic tales of terror. On the list of Netflix thrillers below, there is something for everyone. If you want to be scared with a side order of romance, family drama, politics, or sci-fi worlds, there’s something for you. Scroll though and then get ready for a cathartic watch that will inspire many more costumes for years to come.
Bird Box
The 2018 thriller, Bird Box, completely took over Netflix when it was released. Totaling about 89 million views, it became one of the streamer's most-watched original movies. The film stars Hollywood legend Sandra Bullock as a mother who desperately tries to bring her two children to safety in a post-apocalyptic world. Sarah Paulson, John Malkovich, Trevante Rhodes, and Machine Gun Kelly also appear in the film.
I Care a Lot
If you are looking for a jaw-dropping, suspenseful thriller that will leave you speechless, I Care a Lot is the one. The film follows a crooked legal guardian who defrauds her client for personal gain and traps them under her horrific care. But, a woman she tries to cross leads to major consequences. The film stars Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike and Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage.
The Mother
Starring Jennifer Lopez as a protective and resilient mother named Maria, The Mother follows as her world is turned upside down when her teenage son gets caught up in the criminal underworld. Maria takes matters into her own hands when his life is threatened, making difficult choices that challenge her morals and identity as a working class normie. Maria discovers the lengths she'll go to protect her family, hoping that that family can still exist when she gets to the end of her journey.
They Cloned Tyrone
A team of scientists accidentally uncover a covert government experiment involving the cloning of a man named Tyrone. The movie has an amazing cast (starring Jamie Foxx, John Boyega, and Teyonah Parris), and they're quickly embroiled in a conspiracy of confusion as they try to figure out who the mysterious Tyrone is and how deep this conspiracy goes. A great film for stylistic sci-fi fans.
Run Rabbit Run
Emily is a young woman with a traumatic past, who receives a series of cryptic messages from an anonymous source. Her paranoia escalates as the messages do. She is in a race against her own devolving mental health as she tries to find the tormentor who seems to be controlling her every move. As she figures out how they and her dark past are connected, Emily is forced to confront her demons and fight for survival.
The Gray Man
Led by Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas, The Gray Man follows the CIA's former “top asset,” a man named Court Gentry who is now working freelance as an every day killer. He attempts to expose company secrets, and ends up being chased as a target when his ex-colleague sends in the assassins to silence him.
The Good Nurse
Based on true events, The Good Nurse traces the story of Charles Cullen (played by Eddie Redmayne), a real-life serial killer and nurse who was found guilty of murdering patients. Jessica Chastain stars as Amy Loughren, the real-life nurse, and Cullen's former friend, who helped take him down.
The Tutor
A reclusive and enigmatic author picks a younger, struggling writer who shows a lot of talent as his live-in tutor, inviting him into his sprawling and eerie mansion. The tutor is excited by the promise of mentorship and literary success, but things quickly get weird as he begins to unearth unsettling facts about his employer's past, the house. The film explores the boundaries between creativity and madness, which are apparently very thin.
Army of Thieves
An action-packed prequel to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves follows Dieter as he's recruited by a mysterious crew to hack safes across Europe. Just like the follow-up film, it's equal parts thrills and laughs.
The Guilty
Equalizer and Training Day director Antoine Fuqua does not disappoint in this plot-twisting thriller. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, The Guilty follows a demoted police detective, Joe Baylor (Gyllenhaal), assigned to 911 operator duty. During a single morning, Baylor must try to save a caller who is in danger—but he soon discovers there is more to the story.
Awake
Jane The Virgin actress Gina Rodriguez leads the suspenseful thriller Awake, which is set after a global event wipes out society's ability to sleep. Rodriguez stars as a troubled ex-soldier who fights to save her family as the world spirals out of control.
Interceptor
Right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean sits a nuclear missile facility, and despite the safety protocols, villains have found a way to infiltrate the base. Elsa Pataky plays Captain JJ Collins, the woman in charge of the base who has to use her former military experience to stop the enemy forces from taking over and using these weapons to their own nefarious ends.
Operation Mincemeat
Starring Colin Firth, Operation Mincemeat is a historical thriller set during the year 1943, when much was hanging in the balance. The Allies wish to launch an all-out assault on a German fortress, but the logistics of getting around entrenched firepower look pretty complicated. Directed by John Madden, the film showcases action, suspenseful storytelling, and historical detail.
Spiderhead
This science fiction psychological thriller follows inmates who were experimented on with a mind-altering drug while locked up, and the man who administered the drugs, played by Chris Hemsworth. The real mystery of the film is who would do such a thing and to what purpose, but it makes the penitentiary a microcosm of the larger world and human relationships.
The Weekend Away
Beth, played by Leighton Meester, is heading to Croatia for a girl's weekend with her bestie, Kate. After one night out, she wakes to find Kate missing—and her friend recently revealed she's in a bad marriage. It turns out nothing about this trip is a simple fun getaway.
Intrusion
Intrusion is one of Netflix's newest thrillers starring Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto as Meera Parsons. The film explores a story of a husband and wife who move into a smaller town, but a home invasion leaves the wife traumatized about her surroundings in her new neighborhood.
Till Death
Megan Fox's comeback is in full force as she stars in the wintry survival thriller, Till Death. Fox plays Emma, who finds herself shackled to her dead husband as part of a revenge plot. Things quickly take a turn for the worse as two killers come after her to find the job.
Things Heard & Seen
Things Heard & Seen stars Amanda Seyfried and is based on the critically acclaimed novel All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. A woman and her family move into a quaint farmhouse, but she later discovers her husband and new home have sinister secrets.
There's Someone Inside Your House
Based on the same-name horror novel by Stephanie Perkins, There's Someone Inside Your House is a teenage film that follows Makani (Sydney Park) and her high school friends as they try to identify and catch a masked killer who is exposing students' deepest secrets.
A Fall From Grace
Brace yourself for plot twists on top of plot twists in Tyler Perry's A Fall From Grace, a suspenseful drama where a gentle, law-abiding citizen, Grace (Crystal R. Fox), confesses to killing her husband, Shannon (Mehcad Brooks). But a skeptical lawyer assigned to the case sets out to uncover what really happened. Phylicia Rashad and Cicely Tyson star in the suspenseful thriller as well.
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