Best Netflix thrillers in December 2024

For some, thrillers are THE way to switch off after a tough/boring day at work, and Netflix has their fair share of good ones. In December, Taron Egerton stars in Carry-On, where he must outwit a terrorist looking to cause devastation at an international airport. There's also Ryan Gosling's stuntman versus gangsters in Drive, and tense mother/daughter thriller Run. Read on for more.

Carry-On

Action | Thriller | Mystery

2024 | Jaume Collet-Serra | 119 mins | 15

Summary:Action-thriller starring Taron Egerton as Ethan, an airport security worker who is blackmailed into allowing a suspicious package onto a Christmas Eve flight by a mysterious stranger (Jason Bateman). With international security at risk, Ethan must face down the terrorist threat before it’s too late.

Why you should watch: Multi-award winning duo Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman are more than capable of making this a festive thriller worth watching. Director Jaume Collet-Serra even described the film as “a more grounded version of Die Hard [...] for a new generation”.

Available December 13

A History of Violence

Drama | Thriller | Crime

2005 | David Cronenberg | 96 mins | 18

Summary:Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is an unassuming, small-town diner owner who is forced to act when two criminals terrorise his business... However, when he expertly deals with the duo, he attracts the attention of Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris). Carl is a menacing stranger who is convinced that Tom is a mobster in hiding...

Why you should watch: Directed by David Cronenberg, who blew our minds with both The Fly and Eastern Promises, this portrait of a man's hidden layers "slams you like a body punch and then starts messing with your head" according to Rolling Stone. Boasting a William Hurt performance that tops any before or after, A History of Violence's deal-sweetening 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes should arguably be higher.

Available now

Fracture

Thriller

2007 | Gregory Hoblit | 113 mins | 15

Summary:Legal thriller starring Anthony Hopkins, and Ryan Gosling. Right as he's about to jump ship to a private law firm, ambitious prosecutor Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) comes across the case of Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) and his dead wife. This seemingly simple trial turns into one massive headache though, as the calculated Ted is more than a match for the hotshot.

Why you should watch: It’s Hopkins in Hannibal Lecter mode minus the cannibalism (thankfully), versus the ever-charismatic Gosling. Fracture follows a cat-and-mouse battle of wits that you can't afford to take your eyes off. Variety reviewer Justin Chang called it an "absorbing legal thriller that can't help but taste like exquisitely reheated leftovers", while Empire Magazine applauded the two lead actors going toe-to-toe.

Available now

Split

Horror | Thriller

2017 | M. Night Shyamalan | 117 mins | 15

Summary:Psychological thriller in which James McAvoy portrays a loner with 23 distinctive personalities. Yet there's another as yet unannounced presence waiting to dominate them all... When he abducts three teenagers (including Anya Taylor-Joy's Casey), they fight for their lives to make a dent in his nicer sides before it's too late.

Why you should watch: M. Night Shyamalan's sequel to the equally brilliant Unbreakable - which deconstructed superhero mythology - Split made a tasty $278 million at the box office. Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian described it as a "masterful blend of Hitchcock, horror and therapy session" in his four-star review. McAvoy was deservedly nominated for Best Actor in a Movie at the MTV Awards.

Available now

Calibre

Thriller | Drama

2018 | Matt Palmer | 101 mins

Summary:Childhood mates Vaughn (Slow Horses' Jack Lowden) and Marcus (Blue Lights' Martin McCann) drive up to the Scottish Highlands for a good old hunt... But the pair's bond is horrifically tested when confronted with a situation they never saw coming.

Why you should watch: Better known for their future parts in Apple TV+ spy series Slow Horses and BBC One's Blue Lights, Lowden and McCann are electric on screen together. Speaking about the film ahead of its release, Variety commented: "Matt Palmer's terrific, intensely terrifying Scottish twist on Deliverance has big-screen swagger." Believe the hype. This has a 95% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes with good reason.

Available now

Run

Thriller | Horror | Drama

2020 | Aneesh Chaganty | 90 mins | 15

Summary:Wheelchair-bound teenager Chloe (Kiera Allen) needs around-the-clock medical care, and is kept in isolation by her over-protective mother Diane (Sarah Paulson). All is not as it seems, though, when Chloe decides to investigate what's really going on in her own house.

Why you should watch: Scoring an eye-catching 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, Run is an enjoyable descent into poisonous parenthood with Paulson on top psycho form. The New York Times found it to be a "nifty little thriller whose title pleads for an exclamation point" and The Hollywood Reporter liked that the film "keeps us guessing without seeming too thirsty to impress us with twists". It's a brilliantly-convincing performance from relative newcomer Kiera Allen, too, who is destined for big things.

Available now

Law Abiding Citizen

Drama | Crime | Thriller

2009 | F. Gary Gray | 109 mins | 18

Summary:The world shatters around family man Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) when his wife and daughter both die during a home invasion. When prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) fails Clyde by cutting a deal with one of the killers, the grieving widow becomes hell bent on revenge.

Why you should watch: From Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray, Law Abiding Citizen was not a critical success upon release, but don't let that put you off. The sheer outlandishness of its premise and action sequences – not to mention Butler's badass performance - makes this one well worth your time. Viola Davis, Regina Hall, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill and The Penguin's Michael Kelly make up the impressive supporting cast.

Available now

Fatal Attraction

Thriller | Drama | Romance

1987 | Adrian Lyne | 119 mins | 18

Summary:This steamy psychological thriller introduces New Yorker Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas), a happily married man and father. At first anyway. When he embarks on a steamy affair with book editor Alex (Glenn Close), Dan doesn't realise the magnitude of the can of worms he's opened. Alex wants him, or oblivion.

Why you should watch: This pioneering erotic thriller paved the way for future hits Sleeping with the Enemy, and Basic Instinct. It received six nominations at the 1988 Oscars, including Best Director for Adrian Lyne, Best Actress for Close and Best Picture. Although it left empty-handed on the night, Fatal Attraction remains one of THE best and most famous thrillers on the planet. And, of course, the film gave birth to the "bunny boiler’ tag. Needless to say perhaps, but Glenn Close and Michael Douglas are both masterful here.

Available now

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Thriller | Crime | Mystery

2011 | David Fincher | 158 mins | 18

Summary:Goth hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) and reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) team up to investigate a 40-year-old mystery. Who killed Harriet Vanger? Was she murdered by a member of her uber-rich family? Lisbeth and Mikael put their lives in danger to find out, in this film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's famous novel.

Why you should watch: Zodiac director David Fincher adapts the acclaimed Stieg Larsson book with his typically punishing and glacial eye. It's a no-brainer, isn't it? Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman felt Mara was a "revelation" in the part of a sexual abuse victim turned vigilante, and judging by its 86% Rotten Tomatoes score, so did many others. It's a crime thriller with a difference, and most definitely worth a watch.

Available now

Uncut Gems

Drama | Thriller | Crime

2019 | Josh Safdie | 136 mins | 15

Summary:Jeweller and gambling addict Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) tries to sell an Ethiopian gem to a basketball star... However, his multitude of dark distractions put the life-changing deal at risk in this gritty, crime thriller.

Why you should watch: Directing duo Benny and Josh Safdie followed up the Robert Pattinson thriller Good Time with Uncut Gens - a wilder feast of breathless anxiety. The film even bought actor Adam Sandler, formerly known as a comedian, into the Oscar conversation. "It's excruciating and exhilarating", says reviewer Roger Ebert, while Vogue found the film to be "gloriously unglamorous".

Available now

Munich

Drama | Action | History | Thriller

2005 | Steven Spielberg | 164 mins | 15

Summary:When 11 Israeli athletes and their coach are slaughtered by the Black September militant group during the 1972 Olympics, the government enlists Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana) to wreak clandestine vengeance. As the bodies increase, the agent's morals begin to surface.

Why you should watch: In 2017, The New York Times described director Steven Spielberg's Munich as the "16th Best Film of the 21st Century So Far". Reelviews writer James Berardinelli described it as "a motion picture that asks difficult questions, presents well-developed characters, and keeps us white-knuckled throughout". Although Munich is not a true story, it IS based on real events and people. And Eric Bana is always watchable.

Available now

The Good Nurse

Drama | Crime | Mystery

2022 | Tobias Lindholm | 121 mins

Summary:Parkfield Memorial Hospital nurse Amy Lough (Jessica Chastain) unknowingly works with one of America's most prolific serial killers, Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne). The real life serial killer, working as a nurse, evaded capture for 16 years thanks to despicable institutional failings. Until Amy came along...

Why you should watch: Redmayne's demeanour gives Cullen, who is currently serving 18 consecutive life sentences, an unnervingly removed quality that's perfect for this chilling thriller. The British actor was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, British Academy Film Award, SAG Award and Satellite Award. Chastain, meanwhile, blends "vulnerability and guts to portray a woman who is neither total dupe nor all-powerful superhero", says Empire Magazine. Unlike the often distastefully glamorous depictions like The Staircase, or Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, this keeps it real.

Available now

Parasite

Comedy | Thriller | Drama

2019 | Bong Joon-ho | 133 mins | 15

Summary:Out in Seoul, the impoverished Kims go full-cockroach when son Ki-woo lands a job as an English-language tutor for the wealthy Park family. Before long, the whole clan are working at the same slick mansion, but how many lines have they crossed to get there?

Why you should watch: South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho well and truly mopped up at the Oscars with this ground-breaking film, which is both black comedy, drama, and thriller. It also won the Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Palm d'Or. Expect inventive twists and gnarly set pieces with this jaw-droppingly good film. "The kind of smart, generous, aesthetically-energised movie that obliterates the tired distinctions between art films and popcorn movies," opined The New York Times reviewer A. O. Scott, while Parasite deservedly rates 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Available now

Drive

Drama | Thriller | Crime

2011 | Nicolas Winding Refn | 100 mins

Summary:Ryan Gosling's scorpion-jacketed Driver is a Hollywood stuntman moonlighting as a getaway guy for thieves. When his neighbour Irene's husband returns home from prison, a job they're on together goes fatally south and Driver must then protect those he holds dearest at all costs. Director by Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson).

Why you should watch: This radiant adaptation of the 2005 novel of the same name was a film festival darling at the time of its release. Come for the acting - Albert Brooks as the villainous Bernie Rose is terrifying - and stay for the untouchable electronica soundtrack. There's also the building tension between Ryan Gosling, and Carey Mulligan in what could arguably be called a love story as well as a thriller. Drive was ranked the best film of the year by Rolling Stone, Empire Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out New York, BoxOffice and The Oregonian.

Available now

The Devil All the Time

Crime | Drama | Thriller

2020 | Antonio Campos | 138 mins | 18

Summary:An ominous, dark thriller, The Devil All the Time is a Netflix Original which throws together an ensemble of twisted and magnetic characters. Coasting sinisterly through the Second World War to the 1960s, there's Tom Holland as manual worker Arvin, Robert Pattinson's slithering reverend Preston Teagartin, Jason Clarke and Riley Keogh's serial killers Carl and Sandy Henderson, and Bill Skarsgård's war veteran Willard... Together they cause a whole lot of trouble in a backwoods town teeming with corruption and brutality.

Why you should watch: Directed by Antonio Campos, known for The Sinner, The Staircase, and The Punisher, you're in good hands with this dark thriller. For The Guardian, Mark Kermode enjoyed this "deliciously ripe gothic melodrama" enough to award it four stars, with The Diamondback giving it the "calculated masterpiece" sticker and commending The Devil All the Time's "lingering darkness" that forces viewers to "remain on edge" throughout.

Available now

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Drama | Thriller | Mystery

2011 | Tomas Alfredson | 127 mins | 15

Summary:1970s England. The top dog at MI6 sends Mark Strong's Jim Prideaux off to Budapest to retrieve the name of a Russian mole embedded in their ranks. When the mission falls flat on its face, master spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is brought out of retirement to sniff out the enemy himself. Directed by filmmaker Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In).

Why you should watch: The inimitable Gary Oldman earned his first-ever Oscar nod for playing Smiley in this excellent spy thriller (way before he stopped washing to play cynical Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses). But, it's arguably the edgy supporting party of Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, Stephen Graham, and Kathy Burke that truly sets Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy apart from other espionage thrillers. Rolling Stone fancied it as "a tale of loneliness and desperation among men who can never disclose their secret hearts, even to themselves. It's easily one of the year's best films".

Available now

American Psycho

Thriller | Drama | Crime

2000 | Mary Harron | 102 mins | 18

Summary:Christian Bale is horribly chilling as Patrick Bateman, a Phil Collins-loving New York City investment banker leading a double life as a crazed murderer in the late '80s.

Why you should watch: Bringing Bret Easton Ellis' satirical book to the big screen, director Mary Harron injects chainsaw-wielding horror into this yuppie culture and consumerist mickey-take. Initially polarising audiences, it's now considered a cult classic, which announced Bale as a one-of-a-kind talent. Bloody Disgusting said: "At its best, the film reflects our own narcissism and the shallow American culture it was spawned from, with piercing effectiveness." Be warned, though, this is gruesome and bloody, bordering on horror.

Available now

Source Code

Thriller | Science Fiction | Mystery

2011 | Duncan Jones | 94 mins | 12A

Summary:US Army captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) leads a secret military investigation into a terrorist attack on a commuter-train. Utilising mind-link capsule technology, he's able to relive (à la Groundhog Day) the eight minutes right before the explosion went off.

Why you should watch: Marking just the second feature-film outing for director Duncan Jones – the son of David Bowie – Source Code sits handsomely on a 92% Rotten Tomatoes result. CNN was complimentary of its structure in particular, expressing how it's "as authoritative an exercise in fractured storytelling as Christopher Nolan's Memento". Den of Geek called it "a rare example of a film that wisely underplays the strength of its hand".

Available now

The Nightingale

Drama | Thriller | Horror | Western

2018 | Jennifer Kent | 136 mins | 18

Summary:The Nightingale takes us to Van Diemen's Land in 1825. As the Black War kicks off, Irish convict Clare Carroll sets out on the tail of Lieutenant Hawkins and his Colonial forces after they raped her and killed her young family. She's joined by a Tasmanian Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who also seeks violent compensation for his own wrongs.

Why you should watch: The Fall actress Aisling Franciosi proves more than a match for Sam Claflin's merciless officer and went on to take home an AACTA Award for her efforts. You won't be able to keep your eyes off Baykali Ganambarr as Billy, either, who dishes out charismatic retribution. After premiering at the Venice International Film Festival, The Nightingale earned the Special Jury Prize. This rage-story is violent, thrilling, and emotional all at once, but it won't be for everybody.

Available now

'71

Thriller | Action | Drama | War

2014 | Yann Demange | 99 mins

Summary:Young British soldier Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) fights for his life after being accidentally abandoned by his unit on the intimidating streets of Belfast.

Why you should watch: It's every sane person's worst nightmare - being alone and alienated in hostile territory. And former Skins actor Jack O'Connell is all-too convincing as the young and disorientated soldier. Expanding on the film's sky-high 96% rating, the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus reads: "Powerfully directed and acted, '71 stays true to its fact-based origins while remaining as gripping as any solidly crafted action thriller."

Available now

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