Got a hankering for a great thriller? Tony Stamp has you covered, with this formidable list of the best thrillers available on NEON.
See also
* Best new movies & TV series on NEON
* All new streaming movies & series
All the Money in the World (2017)
Most famous for being the movie where Ridley Scott, then in his late 70s, reshot all of Kevin Spacey’s scenes, replacing him with Christopher Plummer (following allegations against the former) in just eight days, but there’s more to recommend here, including Scott’s famously lush visual sense, and a pleasingly convoluted (based in real life) storyline. Mark Wahlberg is a plank of wood but Michelle Williams is excellent as always.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Doug Liman’s original instalment of the Bourne franchise cemented Matt Damon as an action star, and filmed action scenes in such a way that the Bond franchise had to correct course. Having director Tony Gilroy adapting Robert Ludlum means the script is a cut above the action dross of the time, giving a certain blockbuster British spy a run for his money.
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Coen brothers’ CIA-themed farce was thought to be on the lower side of their output on release, but in hindsight this thoroughly nihilistic snapshot of an incompetent agency seems about right, if not prescient. The film satirises spy thrillers with glee, supported by wonderfully buffoonish turns from Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Frances McDormand.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)
The final film from legendary director William Friedkin is a pressure cooker legal thriller exploring the mental acuity of Keifer Sutherland’s Commander Queeg. It’s intentionally stagey, with heightened performances and deliberately vague character motivations. Friedkin was a master of human observation.
Chinatown (1974)
The preeminent daylight noir, Chinatown shows director Roman Polanski and star Jack Nicholson at the absolute peak of their powers, sending gumshoe Jake Gittes to solve a mystery that leads from California water reservoirs to some morally murky revelations. Rightly remembered for its shocking conclusion, the movie is compelling from the word go.
Civil War (2023)
Subject to relentless discourse about its believability upon release, Alex Garland’s fourth film as director asks its audience to forget about sides, and look instead at the human cost of conflict. Kirsten Dunst gets a welcomely textured role, and Jesse Plemons turns up to steal the whole movie in a single scene. It’s a frequently tense trip through a fractured America, and if you’re left wondering what the point was, well, that’s the point.
Collateral (2004)
This film features one of Tom Cruise’s best performances (please play a villain again, Tom!), and one of Jamie Foxx’s too. Not to mention the appearance by a scene-stealing Jada Pinkett-Smith. That’s Michael Mann for you, deploying typically muscular filmmaking to bolster a no-nonsense story about a hapless hero who meets a hitman.
Equalizer 3 (2023)
The most surprising thing about the third instalment of Denzel Washington’s action-thriller franchise, once again helmed by Antoine Fuqua, is how gorgeous it often looks, thanks in part to its location in the Italian countryside. The second is that it might be the series’ best entry, turning on a dime from wholesome tranquillity to borderline horror movie thrills whenever Denzel is required to equalise some dudes.
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2023)
Eric Bana brings the sort of soulful gravitas you expect from his dramatic roles to this sequel to 2020’s The Dry, playing a detective investigating a case tied to his past. That’s not an uncommon setup for a mystery, but director Robert Connolly keeps things unpredictable.
Get Out (2017)
Tight as a drum all the way though, from concept to script to screen, Jordan Peele’s debut was an instant sensation, thanks largely to the way it conveys a tricky idea through massively entertaining (and often terrifying) storytelling. The director knew exactly what he wanted to say, and after honing his chops through years of sketch comedy, delivered it with verve.
Gravity (2012)
Alfonso Cuarón’s thrill ride through space pairs his love of immersive long takes with meticulous visual effects, resulting in a truly white knuckle movie. Much of the film features Sandra Bullock’s astronaut being flung around the atmosphere like a rag doll, but the moments when Cuarón gets intimate, sometimes placing his camera inside her helmet, are the ones that stick.
In the Line of Fire (1993)
Clint Eastwood’s secret service agent is pitted against a maniacally unhinged John Malkovich, who toys with old mate Clinty after announcing his plan to assassinate the president. Action and suspense sequences are directed with aplomb, and the performances are intensely entertaining, sprinkled with salty dialogue.
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
Documentarian Alex Gibney has helmed many great examples of the form, fixing his lens on tricky topics like scientology and Enron, and for this 2019 film tackled the improbable story of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. Following the downfall of her empire, The Inventor unfolds with the pulse of a thriller, and provides a look into the psychology of committing fraud on an enormous scale.
John Wick (2014)
The sequels are superb but the original is still the best: a compact actioner that remade Keanu into a grizzled killing machine and provided tantalising hints of the worldbuilding to come. He’d been practising martial arts onscreen for years but this really upped the ante, combining his lanky athleticism with about a million perfectly executed headshots.
Juror #2 (2024)
This courtroom thriller from Clint Eastwood is straightforward on its face, but home to a thought-provoking dilemma. The veteran actor is a notoriously unfussy director, but he gets good performances all round, particularly from an increasingly sweaty Matthew Hoult. It’s a contemplative film that’s always engrossing and never condescending.
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)
The absolute high point of Tom Cruise’s partnership with writer-director Chris McQuarrie, and the Mission Impossible films in general. The pair mastered their stunts-first, story-second approach, concocting a dizzyingly propulsive chainlink of set-pieces: HALO drop into Paris; nightclub-bathroom fight, foot chase across London, before a series of double, triple, and quadruple crosses propels the team to Kashmir, and an ensuing helicopter chase through scenic New Zealand vistas.
No Country For Old Men (2008)
Joel and Ethan Coen stripped away their usual quirks to honour Cormac McCarthy’s brutal vision of the modern West, winning a Best Picture Oscar in the process. This is a lean, extremely mean vehicle for a series of chase sequences, gripping for each second of its runtime. One of many genius touches by the Coens is a complete lack of music.
The Pelican Brief (1993)
Alan J Pakula made three titans of 70s paranoia movies: Klute, The Parallax View, and All the President’s Men. Here he adapts a book by genre great John Grisham. Add Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington as the leads, and you have a high pedigree of talent on both sides of the camera.
The Prestige (2007)
This story of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman’s duelling magicians ripples out in a myriad of unexpected ways (including a cameo from David Bowie as Nikola Tesla!). Christopher Nolan lay out the movie’s tricksy structure at its start, and it’s one applicable to all his work—a revealing look at the master storyteller’s approach.
River Wild (2023)
A remake of the pretty-good 1994 original which shuffles the parts while retaining its “rafting trip gone wrong” premise. This time the stakes are more personal, subbing in an estranged brother and sister instead of a married couple, and adding a childhood friend to the mix. Real life partners Adam Brody and Leighton Meester are compelling leads, but the most surprising turn comes from former Saturday Night Live cast member Taran Killam, heavily bearded and fully dramatic.
Sicario (2015)
Denis Villeneuve’s Hollywood debut applies his slightly austere treatment to the story of an FBI agent drawn into a war on a Mexican drug cartel. The director apparently fought the studio to include a female lead, and Blunt is terrific—a grounding presence amongst the shady likes of Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro. Moral grey areas and frantic set pieces ensue.
The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)
The sunkissed Italian coast provided a beautifully scenic background for this Patricia Highsmith adaptation, helmed by Anthony Minghella in his typically handsome style. Matt Damon has never been better at playing schemers than here, worming his way into Jude law and Gwyneth Paltrow’s good graces—then wreaking havoc.
This guide is regularly updated to reflect changes in NEON’s catalogue. For a list of capsule reviews that have been removed from this page because they are no longer available on the platform, visit here.
