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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
