Tight scripts, simmering tension, and a ripped-from-the-headlines story. All of these elements can factor into a quality thriller, and Netflix has plenty of them.
From detective dramas in the Benicio del Toro-starring Reptile, to nail-biting heists in Spike Lee's Inside Man, these incredible Netflix thrillers will keep you hooked.
In this list we're showing you the most spine-tingling flicks you can catch on the streaming service, including recent releases and contemporary classics. Read on for 11 of the best thrillers on Netflix.
Best Netflix Thrillers 2025
Woman of the Hour
Based on a true story, Anna Kendrick plays the lonely singleton who signs up to a dating show. Unbeknownst to her, she's put herself in the midst of Rodney Alcala, a prolific serial killer who, by the time the show aired, had killed at least five women.
Reptile
A hard-nosed mystery drama oozing with bleakness, Reptile features a magnetic performance from Benicio del Toro as the detective digging for truth when a real estate agent is murdered. Also includes a surprisingly good Justin Timberlake.
Fair Play
If you like your thrillers more on the steamy side, check out this dark financial drama that sees engaged hedge fund analysts Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich get a little carried away with workplace rivalry. Sultry and seductive.
The Watcher
Things just go from bad to worse for Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, who star as the husband and wife threatened by an anonymous individual targeting their family. Just when you think they're at rock bottom, another rug is pulled from under their feet.
Inside Man
Spike Lee directs this nail-biting heist movie that pits Denzel Washington and Chiwetel Ejiofor's detectives against criminal ringleader Clive Owen. Innovative and intelligent, with Lee using every trick in his book.
10 Cloverfield Lane
Every thriller needs mystery, and few come more mysterious than this spiritual successor to 2008's Cloverfield. It takes place entirely in a bunker, with two strangers sheltering from what is (or what isn't) going on above.
The Platform
In this Spanish-language sci-fi thriller, prisoners are trapped in a huge tower, and can only eat from a platform which travels down through it. The trouble? They can only eat what's left over from the floor above.
Hold The Dark
Writer Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) is called to investigate the disappearance of three small children in a fictional Alaskan town. Was it wolves, or something altogether more savage? Hold the Dark is simmering with tension.
Bridge of Spies
Steven Spielberg's slow-burn spycraft noir casts Tom Hanks as the lawyer brought in to defend Mark Rylance's Soviet spy from a death sentence. Not the most action-packed thriller, but riveting all the same.
Zodiac
Robert Downey Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo attempt to unravel the real-life San Francisco Bay Zodiac murders in this sprawling crime epic. Like Gyllenhaal's increasingly obsessed Zodiac-hunter, you can't help but be swept up.
Prisoners
The film that put Dune and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve on the map explores the toxicity of retribution as a vengeful Hugh Jackman quests to find his child's kidnapper. Jackman's performance is at times almost too real - one scene with a hammer is difficult to watch.