Best Thriller Movies on Netflix

Thriller movies are placed at the fascinating intersection of other genres. Do you want unexpected twists and some tension but without gore? Thriller movies. Maybe you need a little romance but also goosebumps? Thriller movies. You love action but you want it to be a part of a larger narrative? Thriller movies. No matter what vibe you’re looking for, here are the best thriller movies on Netflix that will fulfil your craving.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

You know those movies that tick all the boxes despite having many opportunities where they could have fallen short? The Talented Mr. Ripley — with outstanding performances, a great soundtrack, evocative cinematography, and gorgeous storytelling — is one of those movies.

The film is set in the late Fifties in New York City. After being mistaken as a Princeton rich kid, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is enlisted to go to Italy and bring Dickie (Jude Law) home, for which the latter’s father Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) is paying a generous sum. This seems like the chance of a lifetime for a man struggling to make ends meet.

What happens when they reach Italy is a chain reaction of unexpected connection, convoluted schemes, forgery, and murders— and a laundry list of crimes that make this film so compelling.

Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett) play strong supporting roles, making the dynamic between the two men even more enticing. Jude Law and Matt Damon are a formidable combination that will make you want to revisit this thriller movie again and again.

Gone Girl (2014)

This movie is based on Gillian Flynn's 2012 novel of the same name. This is a thriller movie on Netflix that will make you appreciate your partner for the bare minimum, i.e., not murder you.

The psychological thriller film is directed by David Fincher, the man behind The Killer (2023) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011). Amy (Rosamund Pike) and Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) are the perfect couple…perfectly toxic, that is. Amy goes missing, and all everyone sees is the smiling husband in press conferences, so obviously, he is the one who made her disappear, right?

With a powerful lawyer, Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), by his side, Nick tries to find his wife and some sympathy amongst those who think he is behind his wife’s disappearance.

Gone Girl is a peek into a modern marriage as a dish served with a side of infidelity, murder, mystery and gender perceptions. Even if you have read the book, this thriller film has translated so well on screen that you will feel spellbound.

The Guilty (2021)

This crime thriller is a remake of a Danish film of the same name that came out in 2018. The movie is 90 minutes long, but the anxiety, stress and utter suspense this film generates will stay with you for way longer than that.

Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a disgraced LAPD officer assigned to a 911 call centre while court proceedings about his professional conduct are still ongoing. He gets a distress call from Emily Lighton (Riley Keough), an abducted woman. Through a series of back-and-forth calls, Joe discovers she’s in a white van somewhere on the highway, and her six-year-old daughter is at home with a toddler.

Baylor is a cop, so this is way above (or so he believes) his usual pay grade. He’s dealing with restricted resources and is limited to a single phone line, but he needs to help Emily.

The highlight of this movie is that the plot unfolds purely through phone calls. You see Baylor at his desk, in another room of the 911 quarters, and that’s all. There are no intense car chases, no physical fights, no blood—none of it. Just phone calls, inserts of the white van Emily describes, and shots of the forest fire blazing through the area being broadcast at the 911 centre.

To build intensity without the support of provocative visuals is reason enough to watch this, and Gyllenhaal’s performance takes it up a notch.

Emily the Criminal (2022)

You probably know at least one person who has been a victim of a credit card scam. But did that lead to more crimes? Well, for Emily (Aubrey Plaza), it did. When in deep debt, like Emily is, earning money through a credit card fraud ring seems profitable enough.

This is not an underdog story, and whether you root for Emily or not will not change the fact that the narrative is compelling, and you will feel the tension throughout. Box cutters, romance, tasers, dog abductions, and a natural flair for scamming — this thriller movie has it all.

Plus, watching this will give you an intriguing glimpse into credit card scams.

Merry Christmas (2024)

Christmas-themed thrillers are a genre of their own. But this Hindi-Tamil mystery thriller takes the cake with an ultra-detailed narrative painstakingly put together and executed by Sriram Raghavan.

It’s a thriller movie, yes, but at the same time, it’s a love story between Maria (Katrina Kaif), a mother tired of her partner’s misbehaviour, and Albert (Vijay Sethupathi), who is back in his ancestral home in Mumbai because his mother passed away.

Merry Christmas is set in the Eighties when Mumbai was still Bombay. It’s Christmas Eve and Maria and Albert have the perfect meet-cute, encountering each other multiple times in a single evening.

Since this is a relatively new movie, we don’t want to spoil too much. Give it a shot if you like slow-burn romance thrillers with vintage vibes, atmospheric music and great performances.