Many of the best movies on Netflix are also thrillers. What’s even better: Some of the best thrillers ever made are also on Netflix. Thrillers, as a category, are a bit hard to define, in part because a thriller can also have other genre constraints that it is working within.
We’ve pulled together a list of eight great thrillers that are all available on Netflix, many of which were created as Netflix Original movies. If you’re looking for the perfect thriller to cozy up with, then we’ve got you covered.
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Emily the Criminal (2022)
97m
Genre
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Stars
Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke
Directed by
John Patton Ford
Watch on Netflix
Despite sharing the same name as the lead character of Netflix’s Emily in Paris, Emily the Criminal has nothing to do with that show. Instead, it’s a story about Emily Benetto (Aubrey Plaza), a young woman who is drowning in debt, like so many other people in Los Angeles. Unlike everyone else, Emily is willing to get her hands dirty to make some quick money. Youcef Haddad (Theo Rossi) brings Emily into his credit card fraud ring, and she develops a taste for a life of crime. Emily learns the tricks of the trade so well that she may soon surpass her mentor.
Oldboy (2003)
120m
Genre
Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Action
Stars
Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung
Directed by
Park Chan-wook
Watch on Netflix
Long before South Korean films and TV shows became worldwide hits, Oldboy got the attention of Hollywood by delivering an action thriller that easily outshines most of the American movies in the genre. Even Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake can’t compare to the original by Park Chan-wook, which is based on the Old Boy manga. Choi Min-sik stars as Oh Dae-su, a businessman who is kidnapped and forced into captivity. During his 15 years locked away from the world, Dae-su learns that his wife has been murdered and he is the lead suspect. Dae-Su is also kept in the dark about who did this to him and why before he is mysteriously released. That’s when Dae-su goes out for his revenge as well as answers
1922 (2017)
102m
Genre
Horror, Crime, Drama
Stars
Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmid
Directed by
Zak Hilditch
Watch on Netflix
Netflix has a handful of Stephen King adaptations, and 1922 reunites the author with Thomas Jane, who starred in the film version of The Mist. In this film, Jane plays Wilfred “Wilf” Leland James, a farmer who is so opposed to his wife, Arlette (Molly Parker), and her plans to sell the family farm that he decides to kill her. And then he blackmails their son, Henry (Dylan Schmid), to help him do it. That’s when the horror begins, as Henry abandons Wilf while the house starts crumbling around him. Wilf is either going insane, or his dead wife is haunting him. Or possibly both.
I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
96m
Genre
Thriller, Drama, Crime, Comedy
Stars
Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, David Yow
Directed by
Macon Blair
Watch on Netflix
There aren’t a lot of comedy thrillers, but that’s the best way to describe I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. Melanie Lynskey plays Ruth Kimke, a woman whose home is robbed, and the police are less than helpful. Tony (Elijah Wood), one of Ruth’s neighbors, is outraged by the crime, and he agrees to accompany her as she attempts to track down her missing property. The problem with taking the law into their own hands is that Ruth and Tony are attracting too much of the wrong kind of attention. And that just leads danger back to their neighborhood.
Upgrade (2018)
100m
Genre
Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
Stars
Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson
Directed by
Leigh Whannell
Watch on Netflix
Upgrade is a sci-fi thriller that doubles as a revenge thriller. Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) has revenge on his mind when he is left a paraplegic by the same attackers who murdered his wife, Asha Trace (Melanie Vallejo). Billionaire Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson) offers Grey the chance to walk again with a cybernetic implant called STEM. Grey soon discovers that STEM is much more than just an implant. STEM is an A.I. that has self-awareness, and it offers Grey the chance to get his vengeance if he turns over full control of his body.
Reptile (2023)
136m
Genre
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Stars
Benicio del Toro, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Silverstone
Directed by
Grant Singer
Watch on Netflix
Reptile puts Benicio del Toro in the lead as Detective Tom Nichols, the lead investigator in the brutal murder of Summer Elswick (Matilda Lutz). Was Summer’s killer her boyfriend, Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), her ex-husband, Sam Gifford (Karl Glusman), or a vengeful stranger, Eli Phillips (Michael Carmen Pitt)? Tom is able to use his wife, Judy Nichols (Alicia Silverstone), as a sounding board for theories and clues. But there’s something about this case that hits closer to home for Tom. And the truth behind Summer’s death may be bigger than he’s prepared to deal with.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
142m
Genre
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Stars
Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali
Directed by
Sam Esmail
Watch on Netflix
Who can you trust during the end of the world? Leave the World Behind attempts to answer that question as the vacation of Amanda, played by Julia Roberts and Clay Sandford, played by Ethan Hawke, as well as their kids, is disrupted by something that may mean the downfall of civilization as we know it. The owner of the Sanfords’ rental home, G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali), and his daughter, Ruth (Myha’la), arrive soon after mysterious things happen around them. But the more answers that the Sandfords and Scotts get, the more it looks like there’s no turning back for any of them. Now, there are two questions at hand: What’s really happening? And who will survive?
Fair Play (2023)
113m
Genre
Drama, Thriller, Romance
Stars
Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan
Directed by
Chloe Domont
Watch on Netflix
A brutal thriller about the way romance can turn sour, Fair Play follows a couple who work at the same bank and are secretly engaged to one another. As their careers take different trajectories, though, their romantic relationship starts to feel more and more untenable. Anchored by memorable central performances from Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor, Fair Play is about all the ways that power matters in a relationship, even if we would like to think that love is what actually rules our hearts.
