25 Thrillers on Netflix That Will Get Your Adrenaline Pumping
I love a good thriller. Give me some tension, some crime, some sexy costars, and I'm there. While we've thoroughly combed Netflix's catalog for the best horror movies, we haven't delved into the thrillers as much. It's a fine line, and truthfully, some movies belong in both categories. We've done our best to parse out the true thrillers from the horror and drama genres, and we've broken each selection even further. Read further to see what I mean.
Best Biographical Thriller: The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch plays mathematician Alan Turing in this dramatic wartime thriller.
Best Literary Thriller: The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code was all the rage when it came out in 2006. Based on Dan Brown's mega-bestseller, Tom Hanks stars as a professor out to uncover a historical conspiracy.
Best Crime Thriller: The Usual Suspects
Five strangers agree to come together to pull off the perfect heist, but one of them is playing his own game. If you haven't spoiled this movie for yourself, watch it before someone does it for you.
Best Cult Thriller: Colonia
Emma Watson stars as a woman attempting to free her boyfriend from a dangerous political cult in Chile in the 1970s.
Best Apocalyptic Thriller: The Road
If you love a good apocalypse movie but you want to skip around past all the initial destruction, try this movie. It will emotionally destroy you, and maybe that's what you're looking for.
Best Thriller Based on a True Story: All Good Things
Couldn't get enough of HBO's The Jinx? You need to see this thriller, starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, as characters inspired by Robert Durst and his late wife, Kathleen McCormack.
Creepiest Thriller: Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal plays the world's most unnerving roving reporter in this 2014 film. Technically, he's a video guy; he roams the streets at night looking for the bloodiest wreck possible to sell to the morning news.
Best Ashley Judd Thriller: Twisted
I can't be the only one obsessed with '90s Ashley Judd. A Time to Kill, Kiss the Girls, and Double Jeopardy are all classics. Twisted came along later in 2004, but it's every bit as great.
Best "I'm More Than Niles" Thriller: The Perfect Host
David Hyde Pierce strays as far from his buttoned-up role on Frasier as possible in this nail-biter.
Best Cheesy Thriller: Perfect Stranger
Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, and Giovanni Ribisi star in this chilling movie about a journalist who gets tangled up with a very dangerous man.
Best Psychological Thriller: The Guest
If you loved Dan Stevens in Downton Abbey (RIP Matthew Crawley), prepare to see him in a whole new light. He plays a soldier who returns from his tour of duty and shows up on the doorstep of his fallen comrade . . . or so he says.
Best Quentin Tarantino Thriller: Reservoir Dogs
Tarantino wrote, directed, and starred in this 1992 crime thriller about a group of criminals attempting to figure out which one of them is working with the police.
Best Harrison Ford Is the Man Thriller: Firewall
Whether you're in an airplane, on the lam, or tucked into a highly secure home being held at gunpoint by armed men, you can count on Harrison Ford to rescue you.
Best Pee Your Pants Thriller: Cape Fear
Martin Scorsese remade this ultradisturbing thriller in 1991, putting Robert De Niro in the role of psychotic ex-con Max Cady. Once Max gets out of prison, the first thing he does is stalk his former defense attorney's family to their vacation spot.
Sexiest Thriller: Basic Instinct
Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone are paired in this steamy flick about a detective and a mysterious writer. Yes, this is the one with the infamous leg-crossing scene.
Best Charlie Hunnam Thriller: Deadfall
Looking to get your Hunnam fix? Look no further than this suspenseful thriller about a brother and sister who fail to pull off a casino heist.
Best Naked Tom Hiddleston Thriller: High-Rise
Tom Hiddleston bares his booty in this 2015 thriller about a group of people living in a luxe skyscraper.
Best Worst Thriller: Passion
Just because a movie is certified Rotten doesn't mean it's not worth a watch! Such is the case for this revenge thriller, which stars Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace as partners in crime — and maybe more.
Best Low-Budget Thriller: Creep
Also known as that time Mark Duplass gave you goosebumps.
Most Traumatizing Thriller: The Invitation
This is about to become your new jam. After getting invited to a dinner party, a man comes to believe that his ex-wife and her new husband are plotting some sinister activities for their guests.
Best Vampire Thriller: From Dusk Till Dawn
George Clooney was still rocking his Caesar cut when he starred in Robert Rodriguez's iconic vampire movie.
Best Reminder to Lock Your Doors Thriller: Hush
One of the best horror films of the year so far, Hush is smart, gripping, and totally brilliant.
Best Seaside Thriller: Jaws
Relive all your horrible sea-based nightmares with all the Jaws movies! Summer is over, so it's probably safe now.
Best Space Thriller: Sphere
A secret government agency investigates the extraterrestrial when an alien spaceship is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Nic Cage at His Best Thriller: Snake Eyes
After attending a boxing match in Atlantic City, a corrupt police detective gets caught in the middle of a murder conspiracy. Pure Nic Cage goodness.