Netflix is host to a virtual library of first-rate suspense thrillers. We’ve rounded up the very best. On this list, we’ve included everything from suspenseful political yarns to thrilling action pics to thrillers with elements of horror. Get ready for a heart-pounding experience. Here are our picks of the best, most suspenseful thriller films you can watch right now on Netflix. This list is regularly updated as films come and go from Netflix’s library.
Best thrillers on Netflix right now
1. Under the Shadow (2016)
An exquisitely crafted and thoroughly unnerving chiller, writer/director Babak Anvari’s feature debut blurs the line between supernatural terror and the horrors of the real world like few films you’ll ever see. Set in 1980’s Tehran during The War of the Cities—the backdrop of Anvari’s own fear-ridden childhood—Narges Rashidi stars as medical student Shideh who is barred from her studies because of her involvement in revolutionary politics. When her husband departs for the front, Shideh is tasked with protecting their young daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) as the fighting and bombings escalate around them. It doesn’t look like things can get any bleaker, and that’s when Shideh and Dorsa are haunted by an evil genie. The performances are powerful, and the filmmaking here is impeccable, evoking a war-torn Iran that is almost suffocating to watch. Anvari grew up in a culture where VCR’s and VHS tapes were illegal, and his debut is made with the kind of passion for film that you can’t put a price tag on. The supernatural scares work, but they’re never quite as frightening as Shideh’s reality, which seems to be Anvari’s point. Esteemed British film critic Mark Kermode named this small-scale powerhouse the best film of 2016, and it is not to be missed.
2. Cam (2018)
Directed by Daniel Goldhaber, this Netflix original is about an adult webcam performer who discovers a sinister presence has taken her place on the internet. Cam has some truly frightening moments, and it examines the subject matter of sex work with appropriate care and thought. Most notably, it showcases a head-turning lead performance by The Handmaid‘s Tale‘s Madeline Brewer, often playing multiple entities on-screen at the same time. Thanks to a perceptive script by real-life former cam girl Isa Mazzei, Cam is often an examination of fractured identity, something that’s definitely not limited to the world of adult entertainment. Cam stumbles a bit at the ending, but it’s full of provocative ideas, and Brewer just floors you. Netflix
3. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
A year after she, frankly, stunned us with her turn as a Scottish bad girl-turned country singer in Wild Rose, Jessie Buckley starred in Charlie Kaufman’s darkly comic, psychological thriller. Based on a 2016 novel of the same name, I’m Thinking of Ending Things follows a young couple on a road trip, a seemingly unrelated The film is arguably a little too smart for its own good, but it’s an intriguing puzzle film that’s well worth a watch.
4. Gerald’s Game (2017)
A career-high performance from the always-good Carla Gugino is front-and-center in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix original, a Stephen King adaptation about a woman who ends up handcuffed to a bed in the middle of nowhere when her husband drops dead. This is pure, high-concept psychological terror, not spooky, but gripping—and the ick factor is high.
5. Hush (2016)
A Netflix original film, Hush is a surprisingly suspenseful and effective slasher about a deaf author (Kate Siegel) who is terrorized by a masked home intruder (John Gallagher Jr.). Hush owes a great deal to John Carpenter‘s Halloween [so many of the best horror films these days do] and even more to the 1967 Audrey Hepburn flick Wait Until Dark, but Mike Flanagan‘s taut direction and knack for suspense are enough to make Hush stand on its own. It’s a nail-biting thriller that really delivers what you’re hoping for in a movie like this. Netflix Following well-received mirror-themed horror flick Oculus and the way-better-than-anyone-expected Ouija: Origin of Evil, Flanagan gained attention as a force in popular horror.
6. His House (2020)
Remi Weekes’ acclaimed supernatural horror debut follows South Sudanese refugees adjusting to a perilous life in small-town Europe. Like The Babadook or Under the Shadow, this is horror as dramatic art rather than a series of things that jump out and go boo. The real-world subject matter is twisted and devastating, all strikingly performed by leads Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu. Review: Mandy Is Nicolas Cage at His Very Best
7-8. The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Before Annabelle and The Nun, there was James Wan’s hair-raising, superbly acted thriller about a witch who terrorizes a Rhode Island family in 1971. By summer 2013, horror had earned a bad rap. The torture films like Saw had dominated for a decade, and if there ever even was a point to those it had long fizzled out. The Conjuring was marketed as “based on the true case files of” Ed and Lorraine Warren, prominent paranormal investigators, played here by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. This box office behemoth brought back the classy, high-production-values terror of thrillers like The Exorcist and Poltergeist. Its success spawned the first highly successful cinematic universe outside of the MCU. The immediate sequel, The Conjuring 2, saw a similarly strong reception. A third Conjuring film hit theaters and streaming in 2021.
9. The Gift (2015)
Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Joel Edgerton (who wrote, directed and co-produced the film) star in a superior, ominous thriller about a hotshot executive facing crisis when the past comes back to haunt him. The Gift was a modest box-office success, and received universal critical acclaim.
10. It Follows (2015)
A cold-blooded nightmare that could inspire an adult to sleep with a nightlight, David Robert Mitchell‘s supernatural thriller about a shapeshifting killer passed around like a curse exudes a blistering, downright oppressive atmosphere of menace. Mitchell throws you off balance from the very beginning in ways you might not even notice: this film is set in no discernible time period, or even a particular season, and certain details in the production design and in character’s actions just don’t make any sense. This is not unlike the method Stanley Kubrick used to make us uneasy throughout The Shining. There is a quietness, a stillness in It Follows that you won’t find anywhere in contemporary horror hits like Annabelle or It, which rely heavily on loud banging noises and jump scares to shake an audience. As artful as it is frightening, It Follows is patient, rewarding perceptive viewers with a uniquely, richly disturbing experience. Right now, we are living in a golden age of horror. It Follows is an essential part of that discussion.
11. Unfriended (2014)
Universal’s trashy, undeniably frightening and ingenious found-footage thriller—centered on teens haunted by a vengeful spirit as they chat over Skype—was hugely profitable, grossing $64 million against a $1 million budget. The screen-based form of found-footage storytelling, also used in Open Windows, has been polished in years since, with Searching and Host receiving critical acclaim. In 2018, Unfriended was followed by a darker, arguably superior sequel Unfriended: Dark Web.
12. Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
An box-office hit and sign of good things to come from Mike Flanagan, Origin of Evil is about a million times better than predecessor Ouija, and about ten times better than you’d expect a movie called Ouija: Origin of Evil to be. The supernatural thriller is about a widow, her family’s fake seance business, and a malevolent spirit that attaches itself to her daughter.
13. Berlin Syndrome (2017)
You might think you’ve seen enough women-in-captivity movies for at least one or two lifetimes. And who could blame you? eOne, Netflix So abundant we might as well make them their own genre, movies about kidnapped females generally go one of two ways: It’s either all about the suspense, figuring out how and if she will get out—or there’s the nastier route, when some movies focus on a woman’s torture and humiliation, turning it into a spectacle. Though Australian director Cate Shortland‘s adaptation of Melanie Joosten‘s novel about a tourist imprisoned by a handsome teacher after a passionate one-night-stand is a thriller (quite heart-pounding at times), and much of the woman’s mistreatment is extremely hard to watch, this highly absorbing psychological drama stands out because it’s all about the characters and what’s going on in their heads. Aussie-born Teresa Palmer of Hacksaw Ridge fame delivers a ripper of a performance as a victim suffering in stages not unlike the stages of grieving. German Max Riemelt (Sense8) keeps up every step of the way as her chilling and multifaceted captor, but this is Palmer’s film, and it gave the dynamite actress long-relegated to playing love-interest side characters a serious calling-card in Hollywood. As for Shortland, she directed the upcoming Marvel tentpole Black Widow.
14. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)
One of the greatest television shows in history recently got a worthy coda, when three-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul returned as interminably suffering drug kingpin Jesse Pinkman in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. The highly anticipated follow-up to Vince Gilligan‘s crime saga Breaking Bad is a Netflix original. Netflix On one hand, there’s undeniably fan service at play here. Also, this is fan service from masters of the medium. It’s hard to imagine any Breaking Bad fans not being satisfied with this suspenseful, raw, even darkly hilarious follow-up. Paul is, of course, a million shades of riveting.
15. Apostle (2018)
The Raid director Gareth Evans’ horror/action freakout rewards a deliberate buildup with some stomach-turning violence and gore in the final act. The turn-of-the-20th-century period piece stars Dan Stevens as an Englishman who infiltrates a remote cult to rescue his sister.
16-17. Creep (2014) and Creep 2 (2017)
One of the best found-footage films that followed in the wake of Paranormal Activity‘s enormous success, Patrick Brice‘s psychological thriller follows a videographer assigned to record an eccentric, probably insane client (Mark Duplass). Following a hit premiere at South by Southwest and a theatrical run, Creep found success on streaming. A sequel arrived in 2017, and a third installment is in the works.
18. Nocturnal Animals (2016)
As brutal as it is sad—and it’s both—Tom Ford‘s second feature twists the blade in the corpse of a toxic, failed relationship. Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Golden Globe winner for his work here) and Michael Shannon (Oscar nominee for his work here) are uniformly sensational in dark, sumptuously realized parallel storylines (about half of the film is a fictional book within the narrative). Gobsmacking visually and disturbing thematically, Nocturnal Animals is something like a masterpiece.
19. The Guilty (2021)
Shot during lockdown in 11 days, Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the acclaimed 2018 thriller of the same name stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a 911 dispatcher faced with a distressing call. Co-starring Riley Keough, Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano, Peter Sarsgaard and Bill Burr.
20. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Rian Johnson’s follow-up to box-office leviathan Knives Out can’t quite match the airtight thriller storytelling that was one of that masterpiece’s most striking attributes, but it’s arguably even more entertaining. An ensemble cast headlined by a returning Daniel Craig are uniformly excellent, though Janelle Monáe is really the star here, and she delivers the best performance of an already remarkable acting career. Netflix
21. Crimson Peak (2015)
Gorgeous Gothic visuals, strong performances and retro-inspired chills run throughout an underrated Guillermo del Toro romantic ghost story set in Victorian-era England, starring Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain.
22. The Good Nurse (2022)
An intimate and brilliantly acted crime film, The Good Nurse stars Oscar winners Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain in the chilling true story of Charlie Cullen, a serial killer who murdered patients while working as a nurse. The Good Nurse premiered in fall 2022 to positive critical notices.
23. Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
From Delia Owens’ hybrid of murder mystery and bildungsroman comes a film produced by Reese Witherspoon that divided critics, but turned a profit at the box office. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Harris Dickinson star in a swampy drama about a North Carolina love triangle and a mysterious death. Sony
24. Rebecca (2020)
Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas star in Ben Wheatley’s glossy, soapy take on Daphne du Maurier’s novel about a simple woman who charms a wealthy widower, to the chagrin of a mysterious housekeeper. Netflix It’s absolutely no match for Hitchcock’s 1940 Oscar-winning masterwork of the same name, but it’s a passable diversion thanks to the strength of the source material.
25. Bird Box (2018)
Sandra Bullock stars in Bird Box as expectant mother Malorie, who’s forced to become a survivalist when supernatural forces decimate the world’s population. One look at these creatures—who we never see—causes your eyes to glaze over and moisten, then you go insane and commit suicide, by whatever means is handy. After surviving a chaotic early set piece of carnage and destruction on a massive scale, Malorie and her unborn child make it to a house where several strangers who’ve also evaded the outbreak have found shelter. Bird Box broke Netflix records and remains one of the streaming giant’s biggest hits ever.
26. Shutter Island (2010)
Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio in a neo-noir about a U.S. Marshal investigating an isolated psychiatric facility after a patient disappears. The third-act twist isn’t surprising, but handsome craft and terrific performances (the supporting cast includes Michelle Williams, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow) make Shutter Island entertaining and worthwhile. Based on Dennis Lehane‘s novel. Paramount Pictures
27. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The first Tom Clancy adaptation to hit the big screen is still the best. This is the big-screen debut of Jack Ryan, and Sean Connery plays a rogue Soviet submarine captain who abandons orders and defects to the United States. It’s up to Ryan to bridge communications on the high seas to prevent an all-out nuclear war. A patient, highly technical thriller that’s never less than gripping, The Hunt for Red October is easily the picture that best represents Clancy’s strengths and appeal as a creator.
28. Bullet Train (2022)
After a modestly successful theatrical run, kinetic Brad Pitt action comedy vehicle Bullet Train arrived on Netflix. The picture, about an assassin who crosses paths with numerous adversaries on the world’s fastest train, quickly became a huge hit on the service. Directed by John Wick and Atomic Blonde helmer David Leitch, Bullet Train is lightweight, quirky and lightly morbid enough to provide just about anyone with a breezy diversion. Sony
29. Skyfall (2012)
This is not how it’s supposed to work. Conventional wisdom tells us a movie franchise surely won’t be better–much less more intimate—than ever, a full half-century into its run. But that’s what happened with Bond in Skyfall. In 2012, James Bond steps into our modern world, where enemies aren’t as easy to see, and the fight is in the shadows. Skyfall is frightening, fun, deeply funny at times, and touching. This is an entertainment that’s confident, sophisticated and wise enough to know that hearing Judi Dench recite Tennyson in a courtroom can be just as stirring as watching James rip open a train car with a Caterpillar digger. Sam Mendes’s direction is crystalline; he knows he has us in the palm of his hand every step of the way.
30. The Highwaymen (2019)
John Lee Hancock’s true crime thriller has a tantalizing premise indeed: it’s the story of the 1930s Bonnie and Clyde manhunt, from the perspective of law enforcement. Kevin Costner co-stars with Woody Harrelson, both as Texas Rangers. The Highwaymen is surely not as gripping as Bonnie & Clyde (scarcely few films are) but it’s slick, well-acted period entertainment.
31. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
It’s tempting to call Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs the ultimate independent film: it’s a heist movie, only due to budgetary concerns, we never actually see the heist, mostly just the aftermath. The film is actually stronger for that. It’s all about the process, not the payoff. The process is the payoff. Miramax
32. Minority Report (2002)
Top-tier Spielberg. Tom Cruise is at his most riveting, screen-commanding as a cop of the future fighting to clear his name in an electrifying adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s book about the ethics of fighting crime before it happens. Minority Report is a Hitchcockian “wrong man” yarn, a Philip K. Dick fable, with Spielberg’s stamp and lively touch all over it. This is what we so rarely get but always hope for when we go to the movies. 20th Century Fox Next, Funny Comedies on Netflix
