Thriller backdrop

Thriller movies

Edge-of-your-seat suspense and psychological tension that keeps your heart racing from start to finish.

Subgenres include: Mind Game Thriller, Domestic Thriller, Cover-Up Thriller.

After his wife and daughter are murdered in a home invasion, a widower named John now finds himself up against an army of Universal Soldiers in relentless pursuit, led by a mysterious leader who promises to set UniSols free from their conditioning.

Themes

Clone ethics, Memory manipulation, Identity fragmentation, Autonomy vs control, Implanted memories, Loyalty under influence

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

A serial killer kidnaps a young boy after murdering his mother, then raises him to be his accomplice. After years in captivity, the boy must choose between escaping or following in his captor's bloody footprints.

Themes

Childhood trauma, Family manipulation, Intergenerational abuse, Traumatic bonding, Abusive control, Isolation and captivity

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Taken 2

1983. Taken 2

Action Crime Thriller One-Person Army Kidnapping & Captivity Thriller
6.2

20121h 31min

France, Türkiye

Director: Olivier Megaton

In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Family under siege, Survival through improvisation, Revenge-driven pursuit, Loyalty vs expedience, Coercion and retaliation

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Looper

1984. Looper

Action Thriller Science Fiction Time Travel Sci-Fi Mind Game Thriller
7.4

20121h 58min

United States

Director: Rian Johnson

In a future where time travel has been invented, a criminal organization gets rid of unwanted people by sending them into the past, where killers are already waiting for them. Joe is one of those assassins, but one day, instead of his next target, he is confronted with his future self.

Themes

Time travel burden, Organized crime pressure, Hired gun tension, Fractured timelines, Protection under threat, Addiction consequences

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

In the House

1985. In the House

Comedy Drama Mystery Thriller Coming-of-Age Drama
7.3

20121h 45min

France

Director: François Ozon

A sixteen-year-old boy insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student from his literature class and writes about it in essays for his French teacher. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his work, but the boy’s intrusion will unleash a series of uncontrollable events.

Themes

Coming of age pressures, Power dynamics in education, Writing as intrusion, Lgbt visibility, Secrecy and manipulation, Teacher student boundary

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

House at the End of the Street

1986. House at the End of the Street

Horror Thriller Psychological Horror Mind Game Thriller
5.5

20121h 41min

United States, Canada

Director: Mark Tonderai

A mother and daughter move to a new town and find themselves living next door to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. When the daughter befriends the surviving son, she learns the story is far from over.

Themes

Parent child relationship, Father son conflict, Cross dressing, Survival and escape, Secret rooms and captivity, Child hero, Suburban danger

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

End of Watch

1987. End of Watch

Crime Drama Thriller Police Procedural Investigation Suspense
7.6

20121h 49min

United States

Director: David Ayer

Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel during a routine traffic stop.

Themes

Loyalty under threat, Trauma and memory, Trust under surveillance, Duty vs family, Police power under threat, State power vs criminal networks

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Lore

1988. Lore

Drama War Thriller Historical Drama World War II
7.1

20121h 49min

Australia, Germany

Director: Cate Shortland

After being abandoned by their Nazi parents at the end of World War II, five German siblings embark on a harrowing journey across their war-torn country. Led by the eldest, 14 year-old Lore, the children are forced to confront their parents’ actions and the reality of a new world.

Themes

World war ii legacy, Sibling relationship pressure, Nazi memory burden, Mother daughter relationship tension, Children in wartime resilience, Displacement and family survival

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Arbitrage

1989. Arbitrage

Drama Thriller Professional Drama Cover-Up Thriller
6.6

20121h 40min

United States

Director: Nicholas Jarecki

A troubled hedge fund magnate, desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire, makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.

Themes

Deception under pressure, Secrecy and exposure, Financial manipulation, Hedge fund ethics, Personal betrayal, Risk and consequences

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Paperboy

1990. The Paperboy

Thriller Drama Mystery Investigation Suspense Psychological Drama
5.7

20121h 47min

United States

Director: Lee Daniels

A reporter returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Moral ambiguity in justice, Deception and identity, Procedural injustice, Media exposure accountability, Racism and abuse

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.