49 Of The Best Thriller Movies To Watch This Halloween
Thriller movies are reserved for the most fearless of movie fanatics.
Rather than the blood and gore of many horror films, thrillers are full of conflict, unexpected twists and tensions that have you on the edge of your seats. Better yet, the anxiety, terror and uncertainty inflicted on a viewer by thrillers can force them to question themselves, their close ones and even their own reality.
From the Zoë Kravitz's stunning directorial debut, Blink Twice featuring Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie, and other big hits of 2024, like Don't Move and Miller's Girl, there's a range of plot lines to keep you hooked.
That’s why we’ve rounded up a list of the best thriller movies to watch that are sure to have you biting your nails throughout.
Blink Twice (2024)
Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, Blink Twice, featuring Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie, will have you thinking twice about your next holiday destination.
The premise sees a Frida, a cocktail waitress being invited to a tech billionaire's private island (Slater King) and everything seems too good to be true when strange things start happening, which ultimately leads to Frida fighting for her survival.
Warning - this film contains strong scenes and themes of violence and sexual assault.
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No Country For Old Men (2007)
If you were left disturbed and unnerved by Javier Bardem's portrayal as José Menendez in Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story, then Bardem's award-winning performance in No Country For Old Men will no doubt leave you feeling the same.
The western thriller film follows the fallout of a grisly drug deal gone wrong. When hunter Llewelyn Moss comes across the cash left behind from the deal, the hunter becomes the hunted when a ruthless killer named Chigurh goes on a mission to kill Moss and retrieve the money.
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Don't Move (2024)
While grieving the loss of her son, Iris decides to visit the sight of her son's death in the countryside. Making the mistake of trusting a stranger named Richard, who attacks Iris with a stun device, leaving her just 20 minutes to run, fight and hide, until her body becomes completely paralysed. With her perseverance put to the test, Iris must do everything in her power to avoid a brutal fate.
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American Gangster (2007)
With a seriously starry cast, Ridley Scott-directed American Gangster is the nail-biting thriller that you need to add to your watch list. Starring Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington and Chiwetel Ejiofor, the film tells the story of chauffeur Frank Lucas, played by Washington, who works for one of Harlem's most notorious gangsters. After his boss dies, Lucas graduates from driver to crime lord, something that puts him on the radar of policeman, Richie Roberts, played by Russell Crowe. Without giving any spoilers away, the rest of the story has to be seen to be believed.
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The Guest (2014)
If you're looking for a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, The Guest is the one. The film tells the story of a soldier named David, played by Dan Stevens, who shows up at a family's house claiming to be their dead son's friend who fought with him in Afghanistan before his death. David is quickly welcomed into the Peterson's house, but suspicions rise for their teenage daughter Anna, played by Maika Monroe, who starts to get suspicious after a series of mysterious deaths rocks the family's sleepy town.
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Emily The Criminal (2022)
In a performance that planted her firmly on the map in the eyes of many, The White Lotus star Aubrey Plaza dazzled audiences and critics alike with her performance in Emily The Criminal. The film follows Plaza, who plays the titular Emily Benetto, a woman trying to pay back her student debt but struggling to do so thanks to her criminal record obstructing her ability to get a job. The result is that Emily's has to resort to rather more uncouth measures to pay off her debt.
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Miller's Girl (2024)
Jenna Ortega stars as Cairo Sweet, a young 18-year-old woman who schemes to have an affair with her much older teacher, Jonathan Miller (played by Martin Freeman) with the hopes of finally finding an interesting story for her university application.
Filled with tension, Miller's Girl examines the boundaries between student and teacher and the consequences of challenging power dynamics.
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The Killer (2023)
Based on the French graphic novel series of the same name by Alexis ‘Matz’ Nolent, The Killer tells the story of an assassin, played by Michael Fassbender, who embarks on an international vendetta after a hit goes wrong. If that isn't reason enough to tune into the thriller, the film also stars Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, so what're you waiting for?
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Road House (2024)
A remake of the 1989 movie starring Patrick Swayze, things are not all as they seem in this action thriller which sees Jake Gyllenhaal play a UFC fighter named Dalton who ends working as a bouncer in an unusual rough-and-tumble roadhouse in Florida.
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Saltburn (2023)
It's one of the most talked-about films of recent years, but if you still haven't seen Emerald Fennell's second film, Saltburn, which takes inspiration from Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, then mark it as one to watch – if not for that naked Sophie Ellis-Bextor soundtracked dance scene.
The film tells the story of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) who befriends the beautiful, wealthy and aristocratic Felix Catton while studying at Oxford. When Catton invites Quick to his family's estate, deftly named Saltburn, things quickly start to unravel for Quick and the circle of people he's elbowed his way to the heart of.
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Foe (2023)
Set in a near-future world that has been baked by a climate apocalypse, Hen (Saoirse Ronan) and Junior (Paul Mescal) farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal.
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Fair Play (2023)
Bridgerton's Phoebe Dynevor stars in this moody thriller which follows the slow but sinister unravelling of a couple's relationship when Emily, played by Dynevor, receives an unexpected promotion at a hedge fund company instead of her boyfriend (Alden Ehrenreich).
The premise of the film spotlights themes of love, ambition, feminism and jealousy and the dynamics of power imbalances in modern day heterosexual relationships.
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I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (2020)
Charlie Kaufman, the 2005 winner of the the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is the brains behind one of Netflix’s most underrated thrillers.
Starring Jessie Buckley as Lucy, a young woman thinking about ending her relationship with her boyfriend Jake, played by Jesse Plemons, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things proves that nothing is ever really as it seems as the pair visit his parents on their secluded farm.
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Before I Wake (2016)
When foster parents Mark and Jessie, played by Jacob Tremblay and Kate Bosworth respectively, welcome eight-year-old Cody into their home, they’re unsurprised to learn that he’s terrified to fall asleep. They assume it’s like any natural fear that a child has, until suddenly their dead biological son suddenly appears in their living room.
The couple quickly learns that both Cody’s dreams and his nightmares can become real — and so begins their journey to uncover the truth behind his unusual ability.
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The Good Nurse (2022)
While battling a serious health condition, overstretched ICU nurse and mum Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) uncovers one of the most sinister serial killers of all time, Charles Cullen, in this unnerving mystery drama.
The film is based on the true story of Cullen, who, between the 1990s and 2000s, killed at least 29 people while being employed as a nurse, although authorities believe that number to be closer to 400.
While Loughren's new colleague (Cullen) appears selfless and a huge help to her at first, unexplained deaths lead the silent killer to his fate.
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Fall (2022)
Courage and strength come at a cost when two adventure-seeking friends fight for survival from 2,000 feet high in this gripping tale, starring Shazam!'s Grace Fulton and Halloween's Virginia Gardner.
It depicts emotionally fragile rock climber Becky almost a year after a life-altering accident scarred her for life. She hesitantly decides to join her friend on a risky climbing mission to reach the top of the forsaken B67 TV tower in the middle of the Mojave desert.
But, when the duo's daring move doesn't go according to plan, their chances of coming down alive get slimmer by the minute.
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The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
The Clovehitch Killer is inspired by the harrowing events caused by 'BTK Killer' Dennis Rader, who murdered 10 people between 1974 and 1991. The cases remained unsolved until 2005 when he unwittingly disclosed his identity to law enforcement.
In the movie, we see a teenager's perfect family - or so it would seem - ripped apart by the distressing reality of a serial killer lurking much too close to home.
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Get Out (2017)
This thriller earned Jordan Peele an Oscar for 'Best Original Screenplay'. Tackling prevalent issues, it centres around interracial couple Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose Armitage (Girls' Allison Williams). They visit her upstate family home, where her loved ones are overly accommodating, before increasingly shocking and unsettling revelations set alarm bells ringing.
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Scarface (1983)
Starring Oscar-winning Al Pacino, this classic follows a resilient Cuban-born criminal who acquires control of a drug cartel and surrenders to greed. The result? A life of compulsion, mania and cruelty, leading to menacing consequences.
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The Occupant (2020)
This Spanish thriller sees an unemployed advertising executive stalking the new tenants of his former home, which he can no longer afford to live in. His motives towards the new occupants turn sinister, and he torments the family, after downsizing his family from luxury living to a small apartment.
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Dressed To Kill (1980)
When a high-class prostitute accidentally witnesses a mysterious woman brutally murder a housewife, she finds herself in the midst of a very dangerous game – and the killer's new target. This New York City-based thriller is a distinctly Hitchcock-inspired classic that's filled with nail-biting suspense and some seriously stylish scenes to boot.
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The Devil All The Time (2020)
Starring Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, this thriller sees menacing characters come across a young man committed to protecting his loved ones in a small town post World War II. Corruption and turbulence are at the core of this film, taking its viewers on one hell of a bumpy ride.
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The Voyeurs (2021)
A young couple (Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith) become obsessed with the sex lives of their neighbours who live opposite to them. They constantly peer through their window and fixate themselves on the pair's love life, before a range of incidents lead to a dark outcome.
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Woman In The Window (2021)
Amy Adams plays agoraphobic Dr. Anna Fox in this film and boy does she give a scene-stealing performance. Living alone in her large Manhattan house, Anna's life is turned upside down even further when she witnesses something from her window while spying on the new family who have moved in over the road. But, did she really see what she thinks she saw? Watch to find out.
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Run (2020)
Run is a spine-tingling thriller which explores the relationship between a teenager (Kiera Allen) and her overprotective mother (Sarah Paulson) who locks her away from the outside world. However, the teen soon starts to question why her mother is so hellbent on keeping her isolated and starts to investigate into her mother's web of dark secrets.
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The Revenant (2015)
The acting, combined with the location, combined with the soundtrack of consistent, building drumming that essentially runs through the entirety of this film means that you literally feel your heart is beating in time with the action. Suspense is an understatement when it comes to this 2015 film, which saw Leonardo Dicaprio finally win a Best Actor Oscar.
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Panic Room (2002)
See a young Jodie Foster and an even younger Kristen Stewart play a mother and daughter who move into a home which features an actual panic room. On one terrifying night they are forced to take refuge in the panic room, when three men (led by Forrest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam and Jared Leto) storm their home.
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Split (2016)
This is James McAvoy like you've never seen him. The Scottish actor plays Kevin who has been diagnosed with 23 personalities, which his psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley) is fully aware of. However, there appears to be one personality that is yet to emerge and is believed to dominate all of the others when it does. Things get pretty terrifying when McAvoy's character kidnaps three women who must escape before the 24th personality arrives on the scene.
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Widows (2018)
Steve McQueen's crime heist thriller documents three recently widowed women (played by Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki) who attempt to execute the heist their late husbands were planning. Also starring Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell and Daniel Kaluuya, this is not one to be missed.
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The Girl On The Train (2016)
Based on the bestselling book by Paula Hawkins, Emily Blunt plays Rachel, an alcoholic struggling with her divorce. On her daily commute every day (in the book it's into London, in the movie it's into New York City), she watches an attractive young couple who live next door to her ex-husband. Until one day, the woman she watches every day goes missing and Rachel ends up embroiled in the investigation.
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The Lovely Bones (2009)
Adapted from Alice Sebold's popular novel of the same name, The Lovely Bones tells the story of a 14-year-old girl (played by Saoirse Ronan) who is brutally raped and murdered by a neighbour – and whose spirit watches over her family attempting to reveal her killer's identity.
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Blood Diamond (2006)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connolly star in this devastating film about the effects of the mining of diamonds in conflict zones, otherwise known as 'blood diamonds'.
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Zodiac (2007)
A San Francisco cartoonist isn’t the first person you’d think of to delve into the amateur detective world but that’s what you can expect from this film.
Based on the 1986 non-fiction book of the same title by Robert Graysmith, Zodiac explores the story of the search for the Zodiac Killer - a serial murderer in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s and 1970s who haunted the public with cryptic messages and creepy phone calls.
The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr and scores a staggering 90 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes ‘tomatometer’.
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House At The End Of The Street (2012)
Don’t let the seemingly sweet title of this film fool you – it's made us scared of scrolling through Rightmove for at least a fortnight. After a mother and daughter arrive in a small town in search of a fresh start, they’re given a rude awakening when the area soon reveals its haunting past.
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, this film is certainly not one to watch when home alone.
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The Invitation (2015)
A man (Logan Marshall-Green) attends a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife. Sounds slightly complicated but not creepy, right?
That is until the man soon realises his ex (Tammy Blanchard) doesn’t exactly turn about to be the hostess with the moistest, thanks to the help of her new husband (Michiel Huisman) and the twisted fates they have planned for their guests.
This film is why we now think very carefully before posting an RSVP to a wedding – just saying.
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The Platform (2019)
The Platform (El Hoyo) is a Spanish thriller based on the story of a vertical prison with two ‘prisoners’ situated on each level.
In the middle is hole where a platform comes down with food that is the remains of the upper levels’ dining. The higher you go, the more food you have to eat. But is that the true moral of this film?
Warning: This film might put you off your dinner.
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American Psycho (2000)
Starring Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon and Justin Theroux, American Psycho explores the dark interests of Patrick Bateman (Bale) – a Wall Street businessman who is also a psychotic killer who appears to have a love of raping, killing and dismembering his victims.
This is as dark and creepy as it is a magnificent thriller.
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Leave the World Behind (2023)
Nothing says 'thriller' quite like a film that is close to the bone. Enter one of 2023's most spine tingling films, Leave the World Behind, which stars Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali as holiday makers who are faced with a life-or-death conundrum as an apocalyptic event sweeps the world.
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Bird Box (2018)
If you’re scared of the dark, you might want to give this film a miss. Bird Box experiments with the idea of an invisible monster taking over the world and exterminating humanity. Well, it's invisible unless you look straight at it, that is, in which case, then you end up dead.
Malorie, played by Sandra Bullock, finds herself caring for her two children and having to undertake a two-day journey while blindfolded down a dangerous river.
Starring Trevante Rhodes, Sarah Paulson and John Malkovich, this is a must-watch thriller.
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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Directed by David Fincher, this film – based on the first book in a trilogy by Stieg Larsson – stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.
It follows a journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) who investigates the disappearance of a wealthy industrialist’s niece from 40 years ago who is believed to have been killed. He’s helped in his investigation by a tattooed computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Mara).
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Parasite (2019)
It’ll come as no surprise to film fans that this scooped the 'Best Picture' award at the 2020 Oscars.
The film sees the Kim family infiltrate the lives of the affluent Park family as their driver, tutor, art therapist and house maid. Perfectly exploring issues of servitude, poverty, greed and power, this film is a must-see.
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Gerald’s Game (2017)
Handcuffed to the bed in a lake house without a soul in close proximity is not how we’d like to spend a Saturday morning.
As it turns out, neither does Jessie (Carla Gugino), who is left in such a sorry state after her husband’s sex game goes topsy turvy. Based on Stephen King’s novel Gerald's Game, Jessie must figure out a way to escape her situation and her mind playing tricks on her.
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Shutter Island (2010)
Film duo Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio come together in his dramatic thriller. It sees DiCaprio’s character, federal marshall Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) head to Shutter Island – the location of a mental hospital for the criminally insane.
Through their investigations of a patient named Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer), Teddy begins to struggle with the memory of his wife’s murder at the hands of an arsonist who is on the island and is forced to question his own mental state.
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Black Swan (2010)
Earning Natalie Portman an Oscar for her lead performance in this psychological thriller, the film sees her play Nina – a ballet dancer obsessed with her career to the point of mental health deterioration. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), replaces prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for Nina in the upcoming production of Swan Lake, things soon turn ugly.
Things get even worse when ballerina Lily (Mila Kunis) enters the picture. As Nina and Lily’s friendship intensifies, the new ‘prima’ finds herself turning to the dark side.
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Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
The only reason we don’t like fava beans and chianti is thanks to this multi-Oscar winning thriller starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.
In the film, Foster’s character Clairce Sterling is an FBI student who goes to interview Dr Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins), who is a psychiatrist and psychopath serving time for murder and cannibalism. In exchange for his thoughts on a high-profile case, Lecter asks to be moved to a more comfortable facility and begins to dig into Sterling’s past, making her a prime target for his wicked ways.
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Nightcrawler (2014)
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, this film is set in Los Angeles, primarily at night.
Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) becomes fascinated with crime journalism and develops an interest in nightcrawling – filming scenes of crimes and selling to news outlets for a profit.
However, little does Bloom realise that his love of the cut-throat nightcrawling world would lead him to becoming a victim of a crime, too.
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Gone Girl (2014)
Based on the bestseller of the same name by Gillian Flynn, this film proves why you should never trust the ‘cool girl’ façade.
Five years into his marriage, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) is missing. But as the media and police close in on their seemingly picture-perfect lifestyle, it appears that the world he thought he lived in with his wife is far from ideal.
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Layer Cake (2004)
Before he took on the role of Bond, Daniel Craig starred in this stylised crime thriller. He plays a London drug dealer who plans to leave criminal life before being drawn back into a pair of complicated final jobs. Sienna Miller also stars.
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