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.

The Departed

2251. The Departed

Drama Thriller Crime Organized Crime Political Thriller
8.5

20062h 31min

Hong Kong SAR China, United States

Director: Martin Scorsese

A young Boston cop goes undercover and infiltrates a mob crew led by crime boss Frank Costello. At the same time, Costello plants his own man in the police to uncover the “rat.”

Themes

Deception and betrayal, Dual loyalties under pressure, Identity and role conflict, Police-mob power struggle, Trust under scrutiny, Undercover risk and exposure

Available on

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

Blood Tea and Red String

2252. Blood Tea and Red String

Animation Fantasy Thriller
7.0

20061h 10min

Director: Christiane Cegavske

The aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak battle over the doll of their hearts' desire.


When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it and recover it before damage is done: Paprika.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Power and responsibility, Ethics of dream therapy, Deception within science, Control of dreams, Boundary between dream and reality

Available on

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

Children of Men

2254. Children of Men

Drama Action Thriller Science Fiction Dystopian Sci-Fi
7.9

20061h 49min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Survival and loyalty, State oppression, Refugee crisis, Infertility-driven conflict, Birth as political instrument

Available on

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

Black Book

2255. Black Book

Drama Thriller War World War II Historical Drama
7.7

20062h 25min

Belgium, Germany

Director: Paul Verhoeven

In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.

Themes

Power dynamics and coercion, Survival under occupation, Identity through disguise, Loyalty versus betrayal, Resistance and deception, Moral ambiguity in war

Available on

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

Crank

2256. Crank

Action Thriller Crime One-Person Army Narcotics Crime
6.9

20061h 28min

United States

Director: Brian Taylor

Chev Chelios, a hit man wanting to go straight, lets his latest target slip away. Then he awakes the next morning to a phone call that informs him he has been poisoned and has only an hour to live unless he keeps adrenaline coursing through his body while he searches for an antidote.

Themes

Betrayal and loyalty, Survival through risk, Pursuit and retaliation, Adrenaline under pressure, Organized crime dynamics, Surveillance and deception

Available on

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

The Illusionist

2257. The Illusionist

Fantasy Drama Thriller Romance Supernatural Fantasy
7.5

20061h 50min

United States

Director: Neil Burger

With his eye on a lovely aristocrat, a gifted illusionist named Eisenheim uses his powers to win her away from her betrothed, a crown prince. But Eisenheim's scheme creates tumult within the monarchy and ignites the suspicion of a dogged inspector.

Themes

Class inequality, Loyalty under pressure, Deception and illusion, Performative spectacle, Forbidden romance, Power and legitimacy

Available on

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

A Scanner Darkly

2258. A Scanner Darkly

Animation Science Fiction Thriller Dystopian Sci-Fi Mindfuck Thriller
7.0

20061h 40min

United States

Director: Richard Linklater

An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.

Themes

Deception and betrayal, Corporate influence on justice, Surveillance society, Ethics of undercover policing, Addiction and decline, Dystopian social order

Available on

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

Light Yagami finds the "Death Note," a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to create a Utopia by killing the world's criminals, and soon the world's greatest detective, "L," is hired to find the mysterious murderer. An all out battle between the two greatest minds on earth begins and the winner will control the world.

Themes

Moral ambiguity, Murder as justice proxy, Battle of wits, Criminal accountability, Fbi police dynamic, Death vs law

Available on

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

The Da Vinci Code

2260. The Da Vinci Code

Thriller Mystery Investigation Mystery Investigation Suspense
6.6

20062h 29min

United States

Director: Ron Howard

A murder in Paris’ Louvre Museum and cryptic clues in some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery. For 2,000 years a secret society closely guards information that — should it come to light — could rock the very foundations of Christianity.

Themes

Ancient orders and relics, Secrecy and power, Religion vs science, Symbolic interpretation, Institutional distrust, Hidden histories and descendants

Available on

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