But, there’s a problem. They say, too many choices make it harder for one to decide, and that’s exactly what happens in case of Netflix. Despite facilitating easy browsing tabs by means of genres, categories, and several other filters, we often find ourselves torn between which title to pick. In fact, at times, I’ve even opened Netflix only to shut it down, thanks to all the hemming and hawing. Recently, we have also shared many movie streaming sites on our blog. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we simply had someone recommend the best movies to pick from? That’ll make things so much simpler! Well, we’ve attempted to do just that. Of course, it’s impossible to list down all the good movies here. In this article, we’ve targeted the highest rated “Thrillers” which range across sub-genres like Psychological, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Crime, etc. So if you love being on the edge of your seat and appreciate plot twists, here’s our handpicked list of thriller movies which are currently available on Netflix.
Top 14 Thriller Movies On Netflix
The Usual Suspects:
Release Year: 1995 Sub-Genre: Crime, Drama & Mystery IMDB Rating: 8.6 Most young millennials are well-conversant with Bryan Singer’s super-hit, superhero film series, X-Men. However, the old millennials will know that way before Wolverine hit the big screen, Bryan was hired to direct “The Usual Suspects”, a “neo-noir” film. The movie uses a flashback narrative approach in which a conman by the name Roger “Verbal” Kint, tells an interrogator, the layered tale of how he and his abettors ended up on a boat berthed at the Port of Los Angeles. The boat on which a ghastly massacre takes place, resulting in the demise of the majority of his partners in crime, except him and another crook.
The Prestige:
Release Year: 2006 Sub-Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi IMDB Rating: 8.5 Although not exactly a spine-chiller, The Prestige is a movie adaptation of Christopher Priest’s novel that goes by the same name. Set in 1800s in London, this film follows the story of two magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, who engage in a cutthroat contention against each other to conjure up the unmatchable illusion, ceding everything in the process. Directed by the legend, Christopher Nolan, you know its going to be awesome!
Memento:
Release Year: 2000 Sub-Genre: Mystery/Psychological Thriller IMDB Rating: 8.5 Another masterpiece from the house of Christopher Nolan, Memento’s plotline revolves around a man (Guy Pearce) who suffers from short term memory loss (anterograde amnesia to be more specific) as a consequence of a past agony that stemmed from a tragic incident, involving his wife’s murder. His condition makes it all the more difficult to track down his attackers and hence, he makes use of tattoos and polaroid photos to connect the dots.
Shutter Island:
Release Year: 2010 Sub-Genre: Mystery/Thriller IMDB Rating: 8.1 Set in 1954, Shutter Island narrates the story of U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels who is staking out a psychiatric aid on a remote island close to Boston, to figure out how a murderer escaped after a patient was reported to go missing from the facility. This movie is director Martin Scorsese’s second gem after “The Departed”. A distant island, roaring weather, brute cops, crazy scientists, and maniacal people, Shutter Island is sure to keep you enthralled.
No Country for Old Men:
Release Year: 2007 Sub-Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller IMDB Rating: 8.1 Its literally been a decade since this Coen brothers’ brilliant piece of work was released and yet, it will push you to bite your nails even today. The movie unravels the “cat-and-mouse” story of a Vietnamese veteran and a Texan welder in the West Texas of 1980s. A cryptic killer (Javier Bardem), a sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones), and another mysterious killer (Woody Harrelson) chase Llewelyn Moss after he steals the good from a failed drug deal FYI, “No Country for Old Men”, bagged the “Best Picture” and “Best Director” awards at the Oscars; in case you need an extra reason to watch this violence-filled film.
Mulholland Drive:
Release Year: 2001 Sub-Genre: Drama, Mystery, Psychological Thriller IMDB Rating: 8.0 Mulholland Drive, originally titled “Mulholland Dr.”, is set in the Hollywood capital Los Angeles. It surrounds the story of two women, a dewy-eyed Betty Elms (an aspiring actress) who is a fresh arrival in the glamorous city and Rita, a dark-haired woman who turns into an amnesiac post a tragic car-accident. Both the ladies befriend each other only to walk on an adventure-filled path entailing a legion of twists and turns, defying reality. David Lynch initially created the story as a follow-up to the popular series “Twin Peaks”, but ended up concluding it as a feature film; a great one at that.
The Imitation Game:
Release Year: 2014 Sub-Genre: Biography, Period Drama, Thriller IMDB Rating: 8.0 The Imitation Game is Morten Tyldum’s humble, yet successful attempt at narrating the story of the superlative mathematician Alan Turing, loosely hinging on his biography, “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges. It is set during the World War 2, when Alan Turing helped the British government decrypt the German intelligence codes along with other mathematicians. Fun fact: Alan Turing is also known as the father of modern computer science and most people didn’t know about his contribution in the World War 2, but thanks to this movie, we all do now.
The Sixth Sense:
Release Year: 1999 Sub-Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery/Horror IMDB Rating: 8.1 If you’re intrigued by supernatural plots, this one’s definitely for you. The Sixth Sense unveils the story of a small boy who has the power to communicate with the dead, except, these souls don’t realize that they’re dead. He receives help from an accomplished child psychologist who unfortunately is going through problems in his own personal life. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is M. Night Shyamalan’s best work yet!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:
Release Year: 2011 Sub-Genre: Crime/Mystery/Psychological Thriller IMDB Rating: 7.8 Based on the famous novel by Stieg Larsson, this film centers around the life of a journalist named Mikael Blomkvist who investigates the disappearance of a woman (40 years later), belonging to a rich family, with some assistance from computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander. With Daniel Craig in the lead, you know this would be worth your time.
Zodiac:
Release Year: 2007 Sub-Genre: Historical thriller/Crime IMDB Rating: 7.7 Using the 1960s/70s San Francisco as the backdrop, David Fincher tells us the real-life story of a serial killer who likes to be called “Zodiac”. A cartoonist called Robert Graysmith is drawn to this unsolved case and turns into a detective, driven to sniff out this killer who is a menace to Northern California. Despite being obsessed with serial-killer plotlines; Fincher’s creations have always proven to be a hit!
The Machinist:
Release Year: 2004 Sub-Genre: Drama/Thriller IMDB Rating: 7.7 Want to witness a good example of method-acting? You ought to watch The Machinist! Christian Bale shed close to a whopping 28 kg for his role of an industrial worker who suffers from acute insomnia and hasn’t rested in a year. So severe is his condition that he starts to question his own sanity after a series of events, including a workplace accident, occur as a result of his psychological issues.
Nightcrawler:
Release Year: 2014 Sub-Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller IMDB Rating: 7.9 This Dan Gilroy movie isn’t categorized as a horror film but I’m sure that most of us would get cold feet just by watching Jake Gyllenhaal slip into the skin of the creepy character of Lou Bloom, a freelance journalist who documents destructive events taking place in Los Angeles, late in the night. He then sells the reports to a local TV News network, only to get fame, while showing the dark side of media. But is he simply recording the events or is he the one creating them to meet consumer demands? That’s for you to find out!
We Need to Talk About Kevin:
Release Year: 2011 Sub-Genre: Drama/Psychological Thriller IMDB Rating: 7.5 Imagine having a child with a psychological problem. If that isn’t challenging enough, Lynne Ramsay’s ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ features a boy with extremely perilous behaviors emerging from psychological issues. His mother, Tilda, tries to love and accept him with all his eccentricities but starts to get worried when he shows a rather evil side, resulting in brutality.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore:
Release Year: 2017 Sub-Genre: Comedy/Crime/Drama Thriller IMDB Rating: 7.0 A recent release, this movie follows the story of a nursing assistant named Ruth, whose house has been broken into, making her already difficult day, even more difficult, owing to the death of a patient earlier. She reports this to the cops but soon realizes that its all in vain and goes door-to-door in order to track down the thieves. However, this does not go well. This one is a Netflix original, so quality is guaranteed! You may also like:
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To Wrap-Up: You’ve perhaps noticed that a lot of the movies on this list are fairly old. However, they’re still some of the best ones that the new flicks have been unable to beat. Also, many of us haven’t had the chance to catch up on these classics so now would be a great time to do that! When you’re done marathon’ing on these, hopefully, we’d have another list ready with fairly newer movies!
