As the weekend draws closer, more and more of you get the “What to watch this weekend” syndrome – Since most of the country is not getting out of the house due to the second wave of the coronavirus, third waves in some cases. With most people self-quarantining out of necessity, we are quite sure boredom is going to strike quick and fast. Luckily, this listicle is about 50 best thriller films currently streaming across multiple OTT platforms (in case you have only one subscription… or multiple). These are not the best thrillers of all time, mind you, but they are still some of the best thrillers currently available for streaming within India. So check out these films down below, if you are in for some thrillers:
50. Collateral (2004) – Netflix
We kick this list off with this Tom Cruise starring thriller. Although the current generation knows Tom Cruise as an action megastar (which he rightly deserves), many people forget that Tom Cruise is a brilliant actor. Just because he is now doing movies that gets his adrenaline pumping, doesn’t mean that this guy isn’t a three time Academy Award nominated actor. We see a different side to Tom Cruise in this movie, who plays Vincent, an assassin on a mission to kill specific targets. He forces a cab driver, Max, to drive him around Los Angeles to find and kill these targets.
49. Train to Busan (2016) – Amazon Prime Video
The first International and zombie thriller to be on this list (granted, we are only at two); follow Seok-woo and his daughter who are on a train to Busan to meet their wife/mother. However, this journey quickly turns into a nightmare when they are trapped inside a zombie outbreak in South Korea.
48. The Others (2001) – Netflix
The first movie on this list was a dark action thriller featuring Tom Cruise, the second one is a supernatural, psychological thriller starring another brilliant actor – Nicole Kidman. We see her playing a mother of two, Grace, who has just moved into a new home in Jersey. After a series of supernatural things occur, Grace starts to believe that her house is haunted.
47. Saw (2004) – Amazon Prime Video
We now go to our first small budget film which became a cult classic overnight. The film starts off with two men who are tied up at the opposite corners of the room, slowly waking up. Once fully awake, they notice a dead body between them. A few moments later, they are given instructions to kill each other or face dire consequences. Let the game begin.
46. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) – Disney+ Hotstar
It has been a long time since a spy movie thrilled us, but this 2014 released spy action comedy did exactly that. Gary “Eggsy” Unwin has to face several challenges when he goes up against many highly trained recruits to be fight for a spot in the Kingsman Secret Service. Meanwhile, Richmond Valentine, a billionaire plots to bring about the end to the Western Civilization (as well as the rest of the World) as we know it.
45. Man on Fire (2004) – Amazon Prime Video
Follow Denzel Washington in this action thriller as John, an ex-CIA officer who becomes a bodyguard for a young girl. When she gets kidnapped, John does everything he can to get her back.
44. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – Amazon Prime Video
There are all kinds of thrillers – the horror kind, the gory kind, the supernatural kind, the action kind, even the funny kind but rarely do you see a good heist thriller. That brings us to the multi-starrer, ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. We follow Danny Ocean as he assembles a group of 11 people to pull off the heist of the century – steal the money from three popular casinos in Las Vegas – the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand casinos, all owned by the ruthless Terry Benedict.
43. Gravity (2013) – Amazon Prime Video
This space thriller follows Dr. Ryan Stone, an engineer who is on her very first space mission. During a spacewalk, both she and her team leader, Lt. Matt Kowalski get hit by high-speed space debris. As the situation continues to deteriorate, Ryan rises to the occasion.
42. Zodiac (2007) – Netflix
The thriller film that makes it on any top 50 list (top 10 in some cases), we follow the manhunt for the infamous Zodiac killer in the 1960s and 70s from the perspective of a cartoonist, Ryan Graysmith. Graysmith starts to obsess about the Zodiac killer, going as far to use his immense puzzle solving skills to try and find the real killer.
41. Nightcrawler (2014) – Netflix
Back-to-back Jake Gyllenhall starrers; we follow Louis Bloom, a petty thief who finds his calling as a stringer, a photographer who makes money by capturing footage of real crime scenes and selling it to news channels. Eventually Bloom starts resorting to extreme tactics to get his crime footage.
40. Apocalypto (2006) – Amazon Prime Video
This historical adventure epic is set around 1500 AD, during the height of the Mayan Kingdom, which is where most of the story takes place. However, with the foundations of the massive empire now crumbling, the leaders believe that they have to sacrifice more people for prosperity or all of them will die. We follow a young hunter, Jaguar Paw, who is captured with the rest of his village by the kingdom in a raid and they are now scheduled for a massive ritual sacrifice.
39. The Raid 2 (2014) – Amazon Prime Video
This brilliant thriller is actually the sequel to one of the best gore-involved fighting horror thrillers of the century – ‘The Raid: Redemption’. And still somehow, the second part is better. Both movies are best when seen in order and they are both available on the same aforementioned OTT platform. In this heart-pumping sequel, we follow Rama who is forced to go undercover as Yuda to expose the corrupt cops who are on the payroll of the city’s crime syndicate.
38. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – Netflix
Another sequel but this time not by choice. It is not necessary to watch the sequel, but the original is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of the 20th century (If only we can find where the movie is streaming in India). We follow K, an officer of the LAPD, who unearths a huge secret that could plunge the world into chaos. He goes hunting for a blade runner who has been missing for thirty years.
37. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) – Netflix
Another franchise film, but this time it is the third film in the Matt Damon starring spy thriller series. The film franchise has five films, but we recommend the original trilogy, all streaming on Netflix. In this third outing as Bourne, follow Damon’s on-screen persona as he tries to track down a CIA official while trying to retain his memories of his forgotten past.
36. Black Swan (2010) – Disney+ Hotstar
Follow Nina, a ballerina, who gets the chance to play the coveted role of White Swan, Princess Odette. But she starts to become mentally unstable when Thomas, the artistic director, decides that Lily might fit the role better.
35. The Imitation Game (2014) – Netflix
Another spy thriller, this time set in during World War II; follow Alan Turing, a British mathematician, as he and his colleagues try to decrypt the German enigma code. With the help of his fellow mathematicians, he builds the world’s first “computer” to crack these “uncrackable” codes.
34. Infernal Affairs (2002) – Netflix
This Hong Kong action thriller follows police cadet Chan Wing-Yan who is recruited to go undercover as a member of the criminal Triad society. In the same cadet class, crime boss Hon Sam installs new Triad member Lau Kin Ming to become a long-term mole for the gang. Sounds similar? That’s because this is the plotline for Martin Scorcese’s ‘The Departed’. Both films have made it on this list, with the latter somehow being rated higher than the original, but hey, the Hollywood version is quite good as well. The original has gone one to spawn two sequels, with the third part also streaming on Netflix.
33. Donnie Darko (2001) – Amazon Prime Video
This cult classic is a brilliant sci-fi, psychological, coming-of-age thriller that follows awkward teenager Donnie Darko. He befriends Frank, a figure in a bunny costume only he can see, who tells him that the world is ending in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. Also starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
32. Kahaani (2012) – Netflix
Our first Indian film on this list; follow Vidya Balan’s character, Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman who travels from London to Kolkata, searching for her missing husband. When all clues lead to dead-ends, she realises there is something else happening behind the scenes.
31. Wild Tales (2014) – Amazon Prime Video
Our first anthology to make it on this list, has six standalone short films, all of which are thrilling in their own right. Filled with violence, vengeance and mayhem, this Argentinian black comedy anthology film is written and directed by Damián Szifron, who wrote all six stories.
30. Amores Perros (2000) – Amazon Prime Video
Back-to-back International anthology films; ‘Amores Perros’ is a three-part film, all of which was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. The crime dark comedy thrillers are set in Mexico and they are all centred around a car accident that takes place in Mexico city.
29. The Invisible Guest (2016) – Netflix
Another International film (not an anthology this time however); we follow a young businessman who wakes up in a locked hotel room next to the body of his dead lover. He hires a renowned lawyer to defend him and the client-lawyer duo work together to find out what happened, in one night.
28. The Sixth Sense (1999) – Disney+ Hotstar
This supernatural psychological thriller follows Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who starts treating a boy who believes that he can talk to ghosts. After some time, Malcolm starts to suspect that his young client might not be delusional after all.
27. Jurassic Park (1993) – Netflix
This brilliant sci-fi thriller that went on to spawn a multiple-billion dollar film franchise follows Jon Hammond, who plans to open a theme park on an island, containing cloned dinosaurs. A security breach however, causes the creatures to escape and create chaos.
26. Prisoners (2013) – Lionsgate Play
Again, Jake Gyllenhaal. When Keller Dover’s daughter and friend go missing and the police start running out of clues, he decides to search for them himself. His desperation leads him close to the truth, but it also comes close to killing him.
25. Room (2015) – Netflix
After being held captive in an isolated shed for years, Joy and her son, Jack manage to escape their kidnapper and gain their freedom. This drama thriller is shown from the perspective of the young boy.
24. Logan (2017) – Disney+ Hotstar
The first Superhero film to make it on this list, check out Hugh Jackman’s last outing as Wolverine in this dramatic, gory thriller. We follow Logan, who comes out of retirement to escort a young mutant, Laura, to safety. While running away from an evil corporation who want Laura for their personal gain, they encounter other mutants along the way – some new faces, some old.
23. Gone Girl (2014) – Amazon Prime Video
Based on the 2012 novel of the same name, we follow Nick Dunne, whose wife mysteriously disappears on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary. With some evidence pointing towards domestic abuse and him possibly murdering her, the entire media focuses on Dunne.
22. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – Amazon Prime Video
An action thriller like no other; follow drifter Max and the Imperator Furiosa as they unwillingly join forces to escape the army of the tyrant, Immortan Joe. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this action thriller has some crazy epic visuals.
21. No Country For Old Men (2007) – Netflix
Set in 1980 Texas, this neo-Western thriller follows a hunter whose life takes a huge turn for the better when he discovers two million dollars in the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong. He is immediately pursued by a psychotic killer who wants the money for himself.
20. Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) – Netflix
The second Indian movie to make it on this list, this 5 hour Anurag Kashyap gangster crime thriller epic is revered by filmmakers around the world. Follow a gangster as he clashes with the ruthless, coal-mining kingpin who killed his father.
19. Sholay (1975) – Amazon Prime Video
Considered by many as the greatest Indian movie ever made, follow Jai and Veeru, two ex-convicts in this action-adventure thriller. They are hired by Thakur Baldev Singh, a retired policeman, to help him nab Gabbar Singh, a violent robber, who has spread havoc in the village of Ramgarh with the help of his goons.
18. Heat (1995) – Amazon Prime Video
This brilliant crime thriller follows Lt. Hanna, a detective, who tries to catch an experienced criminal, McCauley, who is planning to pull off one last job before he retires for good.
17. L.A. Confidential (1997) – Amazon Prime Video
We follow three very different detectives from the LAPD who are investigating multiple murders. While chasing out various leads and sifting through evidence, their cases collide into one giant conspiracy which leads back to their own police department.
16. Shutter Island (2010) – Netflix
This psychological thriller film follows US marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, who are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient. During their investigation, Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about himself and the asylum.
15. Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (2016) – Disney+ Hotstar
The first non-Hindi Indian thriller to make on this list, follow Inspector Deepak who is assigned a mysterious murder case. However, during the investigation, he loses his leg in a confrontation, which ends his career.
14. Reservoir Dogs (1992) – Amazon Prime Video
Like most lists featuring Hollywood movies, they will usually have a Quentin Tarantino movie – just like this one. This brilliant crime thriller follows six criminals who were hired to steal diamonds. The heist goes horribly wrong and the police ambush them. Due to the early response time, the criminals believe that one among them is an undercover cop.
13. Vikram Vedha (2017) – Disney+ Hotstar
Vikram, a no-nonsense cop and his partner Simon are searching for the criminal Vedha. When Vedha voluntarily surrenders and tells Vikram his side of the story, Vikram’s perfect life takes a turn for the worse.
12. Alien (1979) – Disney+ Hotstar
Pretty much every movie from this point on is a must-watch. Of course all movies on this list are “must-watches”, but these 12 are even more so. This Ridley Scott space thriller follows a crew of the spacecraft, Nostromo, who intercept a distress signal from a planet and set out to investigate it. But to their horror, they are attacked by an alien which later starts to kill off crew members one by one.
11. Ratsasan (2018) – MX Player (Malayalam Dub on Disney+ Hotstar)
In this psychological crime thriller, follow Arun, who gave up his dream of becoming a filmmaker and became a police officer after his father’s death. He now attempts to track down an unstable killer who targets schoolgirls.
10. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Netflix
This brilliant sci-fi thriller is actually the sequel to another sci-fi thriller. However, this one is even better. A terminator is sent on a mission to kill Sarah’s son, John Connor, back in 1991. However, another cyborg, who once tried to kill Sarah, has come back in time to protect her son.
9. The Departed (2006) – Amazon Prime Video
The film that was influenced by the Hong Kong ‘Infernal Affairs’, which is also on this list (as mentioned earlier). But this movie also deserves its place for its brilliant adaptation, slick editing, acting and pretty much everything else. Follow an undercover Boston cop in the Irish mob and an Irish mob mole in the police department as they try to expose each other to the other side.
8. The Prestige (2006) – Netflix
Similar to Tarantino, no list (well… almost most lists) is complete without a Christopher Nolan film. And this list has three of them, including this one. We follow two magicians in this dramatic thriller, who become bitter rivals after a sudden catastrophe. As they devote more of themselves into this rivalry, they make sacrifices that bring them fame and misfortune.
7. Se7en (1995) – Netflix
In this neo-noir psychological thriller follow two cops – one, young, new to the city, the other, old and experienced, reaching retirement age. They are assigned the task of apprehending a serial killer who is murdering people according to the seven deadly sins.
6. Parasite (2019) – Amazon Prime Video
This Black comedy thriller follows the struggling Kim family, who sees an opportunity when their son starts to work for the wealthy Park family. Eventually, all of them find a way to work within the same household and start to live a parasitic life.
5. Drishyam 2 (2021) – Amazon Prime Video
The last Indian movie on this list is also a sequel to one of the best thrillers ever made in Indian cinema. The movie prequel to this movie has been made in multiple Indian languages as well as two foreign ones as well. But somehow the sequel is more highly rated than its predecessor. This movie can be watched without seeing the prequel, but if you do want to watch the first part, check it out on Disney+ Hotstar. As for this movie, follow Georgekutty, a cinema hall owner, whose business is thriving. However, when he and his family get entangled in a criminal investigation, he must protect them from the legal institution yet again.
4. The Matrix (1999) – Amazon Prime Video
One of the greatest movies of the 20th century (and possibly ever made), follow Thomas Anderson, a computer programmer, who is led to fight an underground war against powerful computers. In this sci-fi action thriller, Anderson faces many “Agents” who stand in his way from joining the war and discovering the truth.
3. Fight Club (1999) – Amazon Prime Video
One of the most randomest, epic thrillers of all time, we follow the narrator, a white-collared insomniac, who forms an underground fight club with Tyler Durden, a carefree soap salesman. The club soon spirals out of control.
2. Inception (2010)
Christopher Nolan proved his mettle as a story teller with this complex, beautiful film. This sci-fi thriller follows Cobb, an information extraction expert who takes information from his targets using their dreams. A Japanese businessman, Saito offers to wipe clean Cobb’s criminal history if he can plant an idea in the mind of his competitor’s son.
1. The Dark Knight (2008)
Surprisingly, the best thriller currently available for streaming in India is a Batman movie. Usually that means this list is bad, or the film is just that good. The film was directed by Christopher Nolan, so make a wild guess. This movie has pretty much everything – one of the best depictions of a superhero on the silver screen, one of the greatest on screen villains of all time, some of the most memorable dialogues of all time, music, action sequences, and so on and so forth. And of course, IT IS a Batman movie… so there are definitely “thrills”. Another Christopher Nolan movie by the way.
The film follows the exploits of The Batman as he cleans up Gotham and terrorizes the city’s various crime organizations. With the help of Gordon and the new District Attorney Harvey Dent, they have managed to create a revolution for justice in Gotham. This forces the mob to hire Joker, a psychopathic criminal mastermind, who takes on Batman and forces the entire city to fall at his feet.
P.S: This movie is the second part in a trilogy of films. All three films could have made this list, but we didn’t want more than one film per franchise on this list. So check out all three films.
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