The thriller genre is always good for a nail-biting surprise or two, with plenty of flicks keeping our eyes glued to the screen for hours at a time. It’s the kind of addictive cinema we all crave now and then, and there are plenty of excellent titles on Amazon Prime Video to choose from. The only drawback is just how many thriller films the streaming platform is home to.
One could scroll endlessly to try and find something new and exciting to indulge in, which is why we’ve put together this rotating roundup of Prime Video’s best heart-pounders. We aim to highlight an equal blend of classics and fresh releases, so be sure to check back next month to see what’s new!
Amazon Prime may have a robust catalog, but it doesn’t have everything. Luckily, we’ve also curated roundups of the best thrillers on Netflix and the best thrillers on Hulu.
Mad Max (1979)
The Descent (2005)
Foe (2023)
Saltburn (2023)
What hells may wealth bring? This is the question posed and explored in writer-director Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn. Barry Keoghan stars as Oxford student Oliver Quick, who is unmoored and disillusioned in his studies. That is until he strikes up a friendship with devil-may-care aristocrat Felix Catton (Priscilla‘s Jacob Elordi). After accepting an invitation to spend the summer at Felix’s luxurious family estate, he becomes immersed in a whirlwind world of socialites. Keoghan delivers an excellent performance in Fennell’s kaleidoscopic follow-up to Promising Young Woman.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
In Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaws, F&F alums Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham (The Beekeeper) reprise their roles as the titular characters for another crazy adventure. This one just happens to find the unlikely duo going toe-to-toe with Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a technologically focused cyberterrorist who’s hell-bent on spreading a world-ending virus across the globe. If you’re a fan of the Fast films, you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. First-time viewers of the franchise can expect never-ending, action-packed sequences, as well as a few big laughs.
Us (2019)
Dark Nature (2023)
Wrecked (2010)
It’s a classic setup from the start. In director Michael Greenspan’s Wrecked, Adrian Brody (Asteroid City) stars as our man-with-no-name. Well, he probably has a name, but his car-crash-rattled brain is taking his faculties on vacation. Waking up at the bottom of a ditch with a firearm, a bunch of cash, and a duo of dead guys, Mr. No Name must free himself from the wreckage, while contending with a wilderness that’s hellbent on keeping him perilously pinned. A solid directorial debut from Greenspan, Wrecked is working with some familiar plot threads and tropes, but what really keeps the wheels turning is Brody’s arresting one-man show. From desperation to determination, he packs it all in, and it’s at least half the reason why the movie is so good.
The Wall (2012)
What would you do if you were cut off from the rest of civilization by an invisible wall? Short of panicking, most of us would have no clue, but these are the cards dealt to our main character in writer-director Julian Pölsler’s 2012 film The Wall. Starring Martina Gedeck as the unnamed protagonist, when our hero discovers the titular barrier between her and the rest of the world, the woman and her dog Lynx are forced into survival mode as nature starts taking over. Will she succumb to the unmovable façade, or will she perish? Watching The Wall may be a bit of a slow-going experience at times, but if you’re willing to go along with the nearly two-hour runtime, you’ll be privy to quite an amazing performance from Gedeck.
M.O.M. Mothers of Monsters (2020)
The Swerve (2018)
Once in a blue moon, a solid psychological thriller comes along that truly dips its toes into the world of disturbed and narratively unreliable psyches. Sure, there are plenty of films that try to dive deep into mental hellscapes, but when you see how brilliantly this type of conflict is pulled off by movies like The Swerve, you realize how many other flicks simply miss the mark. Starring Azura Skye as Holly, a high-school teacher, wife, and mother of two, Holly’s life is seemingly good on the surface. That is until a series of strange and hallucinatory events start unfolding around her. Compounded by the many stresses of daily life, including her rebellious children and an unusual student, Holly’s façade begins to crumble as past demons rear their heads. An excellent story of a methodically-paced breakdown, The Swerve is steered by an emotionally arresting lead performance from Skye.
Inside (2023)
But after attending her funeral, Ben enters into conversation with the woman’s brother (Boyd Holbrook), a man who swears revenge on whoever took his sister’s life. And it just so happens that Ben is going to tag along on this quest for vengeance. A dark and funny mystery flick, Vengeance is the kind of movie that combines a well-thought-out mystery with plenty of laughs to lead us down the seemingly never-ending trail of breadcrumbs.[/dt_media]
Frozen (2010)
After the tragic death, OJ and Em are forced to sell off some horses to a local theme park, but when the sudden emergence of an extraterrestrial life form starts wreaking havoc on the desert community, the brother and sister go all-in on trying to capture evidence of the near-invisible UFO. Delivering another powerhouse picture that proudly pays homage to titans of the genre like Steven Spielberg, Nope is further proof that Peele is an undeniable auteur of modern genre cinema.[/dt_media]
Horror in the High Desert (2021)
Shot in a faux found-footage style, Horror in the High Desert is written and directed by Dutch Marich and focuses on the fictional disappearance of wilderness explorer Gary Hinge (played by Eric Mencis). The disappearance took place in 2017, and the film picks up a few years later, focusing on Hinge’s family and friends, as well as authorities, and the horrific bits of evidence they’ve unearthed.
Filmed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marich shot all the talking-head segments of the film using Zoom footage. And whether it was a necessity or not, the format certainly adds to the cold and clinical feel of this chilling and atmospheric exploration of the shocking and vile. Oh, and if you like what you see, you may want to check out the sequel.
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Thirteen Lives (2022)
In director Ron Howard’s harrowing and emotional Thirteen Lives, is the real-life story of the Wild Boars, a Thai soccer team made up of twelve players and their coach. When the team ventures off into the Tham Luang cave, heavy rains flood the cavern, trapping them inside. After the parents of the boys alert authorities, a globalized rescue effort, comprised of professional divers and other emergency responders, must race against the clock to save the Wild Boars before it’s too late. Dialing in the dramatized strengths from other Howard-honed pictures like Apollo 13, there’s plenty at stake in Thirteen Lives, and the longtime auteur deftly tackles the many anxiety-inducing feats of one of the world’s most death-defying search-and-rescue efforts.
All the Old Knives (2022)
Jungle (2017)
No Time to Die (2021)
Lansky (2021)
The Courier (2021)
Blow the Man Down (2019)
The Handmaiden (2016)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
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