The Best Thrillers on Amazon Prime Video Right Now (October 2024) (2024)

Prime Video has such a deep stable of thrillers in its library that choosing one to watch can be an overwhelming and daunting task. You may be in one mood when you start looking through their choices but be in a completely different mood by the time you finally select one. We here at Collider want make the task of selecting the right thriller a bit easier for you with our guide to finding the best thrillers on Prime Video. We’ve thumbed through the library and assembled a list of some of the best films currently available for streaming, from classics to hidden gems to new releases and everything in between.

For more recommendations, check out our list of the best movies on Prime Video or the best thrillers on Netflix or Hulu.

‘Sicario’ (2015)

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 7.7/10

Sicario

Drama

Crime

Action

Release Date

October 2, 2015

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Cast

Benicio Del Toro , Emily Blunt , Josh Brolin , Jeffrey Donovan , Jon Bernthal , Victor Garber

Runtime

121 Minutes

Directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Taylor Sheridan, Sicario is a 2015 neo-Western action thriller, the first of a planned trilogy. Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin, the film follows an FBI special agent, a CIA Officer, and an assassin with a complicated past as they work to bring down a powerful and brutal Mexican cartel boss. The movie also features Daniel Kaluuya, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, and more in key supporting roles. Sicario had its world premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. The film has received near-universal praise from critics for its performances, writing, direction, and action, not to mention Jóhann Jóhannsson’s musical score and the stellar cinematography by Roger Deakins. The movie went on to receive several accolades as well, including three Academy Award nominations. A sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, was released in 2018, and a third movie, Sicario: Capos, is currently in development.

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‘Winter’s Bone’ (2010)

Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 7.1/10

Winter's Bone

Drama

Documentary

Release Date

June 11, 2010

Director

Debra Granik

Cast

Jennifer Lawrence , John Hawkes , Kevin Breznahan , Dale Dickey , Garret Dillahunt , Shelley Waggener

Runtime

100 mins

Adapted from Daniel Woodrell’s eponymous 2006 novel, Winter's Bone is a coming-of-age drama directed by Debra Granik, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Anne Rosellini. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, the film follows a poverty-stricken teenage girl in the rural Ozarks of Missouri trying to find her missing father in order to protect her family from eviction. Besides Lawrence in the lead role, the movie also stars John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Sheryl Lee, and Tate Taylor. Winter's Bone premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim, winning the Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Film and the Best Screenplay Award. The movie also received several other accolades, including four Academy Award nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, and two Independent Spirit Awards out of seven nominations. Featuring a highly moving performance by Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone was also a commercial success, bringing in over $16 million on a budget of just $2 million.

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‘Skyfall’ (2012)

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 7.8/10

Skyfall

Action

Adventure

Thriller

James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Release Date

October 25, 2012

Director

Sam Mendes

Cast

Daniel Craig , judi dench , Javier Bardem , Ralph Fiennes , Naomie Harris , Berenice Marlohe

Runtime

143

Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan, Skyfall is a 2012 James Bond spy film, the third starring Daniel Craig as the iconic MI6 agent. The film follows Bond’s investigation into a series of data leaks and attacks against MI6 orchestrated by a former agent turned cyberterrorist. Besides Craig, the film also stars Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Bérénice Marlohe, and Albert Finney. Skyfall received glowing reviews from fans and critics at the time of its release, with praise for the direction, performances, action, cinematography, and music. A brilliant return to form after the middling Quantum of Solace, the film is arguably the best of Daniel Craig’s Bond films, with an engrossing story that honors the past and sets the stage for an exciting future. Skyfall was the second-highest-grossing movie of 2012 and received numerous accolades, including two Academy Award wins out of five nominations.

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'Nanny' (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% | IMDb: 5.2/10

Nanny

Psychological

Horror

Release Date

November 23, 2022

Director

Nikyatu Jusu

Cast

anna diop , Michelle Monaghan , Sinqua Walls

Runtime

1 hr 38 min

Read Our Review

Nanny is a suspense-filled drama written and directed by Nikyatu Jusu. Her feature directorial debut, Nanny follows Aisha (Anna Diop), a Senegalese immigrant who finds work taking care of a child for a wealthy Upper East Side family in New York City. Over the course of the movie, Aisha begins to hallucinate, having visions that are both influenced and influential on the journey of her life. Grounded by Diop’s haunting performance, Nanny also stars Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector as Aisha’s employers, with a rich performance from Sinqua Walls as her love interest, Malik. Nanny is a disquieting movie with a raw approach to revelations of the American Dream. – Yael Tygiel

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'Run Sweetheart Run' (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 62% | IMDb: 5.5/10

Run Sweetheart Run

Thriller

Horror

After what starts as a routine business dinner, a single mother finds herself on the run from a charming but dangerous man who hunts her through Los Angeles. As she fights for survival, she must confront her own fears and uncover the dark secrets of her pursuer.

Release Date

January 27, 2020

Director

Shana Feste

Cast

Ella Balinska , Pilou Asbæk , Clark Gregg , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Dayo Okeniyi

Runtime

103 Minutes

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Ella Balinska (Charlie’s Angels) stars as Cherie in Run Sweetheart Run, directed by Shana Feste, who co-wrote the screenplay with Keith Josef Adkins and Kellee Terrell. With a simple plot of a date gone wrong, Run Sweetheart Run reveals how Cherie escapes her sadistic terrorizer, played gruesomely by Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones). Run Sweetheart Run is overflowing with blood, gore, and incredible talent, including Clark Gregg (Agents of SHIELD) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse), but the true standout of this movie is how, even with such exaggerated circumstances, the danger itself is horrifyingly relatable. – Yael Tygiel

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'Goodnight Mommy' (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 37% | IMDb: 5.7/10

Goodnight Mommy

Crime

Drama

Horror

Release Date

September 16, 2022

Director

Matt Sobel

Cast

Naomi Watts , Cameron Crovetti , Nicholas Crovetti , Peter Hermann , Crystal Lucas-Perry , Jeremy Bobb

Runtime

Read Our Review

Goodnight Mommy is a nerve-wracking psychological horror film that centers on twins Elias (Cameron Crovetti) and Lukas (Nicholas Crovetti) who, after living with their father since their parents’ divorce, return to their mother’s (Naomi Watts) custody. Their mother, who has just had cosmetic surgery and wears a full bandage on her head, acts erratically, often drinking, getting angry, and refusing to bond with her children, which makes them suspect she may have been switched with an imposter. Though not as acclaimed as the Austrian version on which it’s based, there’s no doubt Goodnight Mommy is a chilling story that will keep suspense fans hooked. – Taylor Gates

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'Emergency' (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 7.9/10

Emergency

Comedy

Thriller

Drama

Release Date

May 20, 2022

Director

Carey Williams

Cast

RJ Cyler , Donald Elise Watkins , Diego Abraham , Sebastian Chacon , Madison Thompson , Sabrina Carpenter , Maddie Nichols

Runtime

105 minutes

Read Our Review

Critically acclaimed Emergency premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was hailed as a refreshing perspective on the college party night and road trip tropes, billing it as an instant classic. When three Black and Latinx college boys (RJ Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins, and Sebastian Chacon) face the unexpected situation of finding an unconscious white woman mysteriously appearing in their house, they are forced to decide the best way to resolve the situation. With an inherently suspenseful plot, festival favorite Carey Williams’ directed a heart-pumping story crafted on K.D. Dávila’s page. Emergency holds up a mirror to systemic injustices plaguing modern America, addressing societal discussions peppered in levity, making it a brilliant blend of Dope meets Superbad. – Yael Tygiel

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'Coyote Lake' (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 5.4/10

Coyote Lake

Psychological

Thriller

Drama

Release Date

August 19, 2019

Cast

Camila Mendes , Charlie Weber , Adriana Barraza , Neil Sandilands , Manny Perez

Runtime

1 hr 33 min

Camila Mendes (Riverdale) stars in a fast-paced thriller about a mother-daughter murdering team whose way of life is threatened when two drug dealers appear on their doorstep, threatening their lives while also seeking their help. In her feature directorial debut, Sara Seligman, who co-wrote the film with Thomas James Bond, expertly builds suspense, slowly peeling back layers of the characters and the secrets held within each of them while gingerly illuminating relevant issues facing people who live on the US/Mexico border. Cinematography Matthias Schubert unequivocally tackles nighttime filmmaking, adding textures to the landscape without distracting or detracting from the narrative. Mendes’ ability to breathtakingly break away from her vapid Riverdale persona, grounding a hostage story with compassion and authenticity, is both impressive and award-worthy. – Yael Tygiel

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'The Neon Demon' (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes: 59% | IMDb: 6.1/10

Neon Demon

Horror

Mystery

Thriller

Release Date

June 8, 2016

Director

Nicolas Winding Refn

Cast

Elle Fanning , Karl Glusman , Jena Malone , Bella Heathcote , Abbey Lee , Desmond Harrington

Runtime

104

Read Our Review

A masterful work of the macabre, The Neon Demon is a vibrant and visceral work that makes for a scrumptious meal if you are able to stomach it. It follows a haunting Elle Fanning as Jesse, an aspiring model who has come to Los Angeles in the hopes of making it in a rather harsh and cruel industry. Directed by the enigmatic Nicolas Winding Refn, most known for Drive and Only God Forgives, it is an experience all its own that peels back the layers of beauty to reveal something far uglier underneath the polite face we put on the world. It is not a film that you can undertake lightly, as it constantly pushes into darker places that are as thematically dour as they are visually arresting. There also is a sinister sense of humor under it all, making the conclusion both a fitting and oddly funny way to end it all that hits home without missing a beat. - Chase Hutchinson

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'We Need to Talk About Kevin' (2011)

Rotten Tomatoes: 75% | IMDb: 7.5/10

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Drama

Thriller

Release Date

September 28, 2011

Director

Lynne Ramsay

Cast

Tilda Swinton , John C. Reilly , Ezra Miller , Jasper Newell , Rock Duer , Ashley Gerasimovich

Runtime

112 minutes

Read Our Review

A fortuitous film about how horrifying it would be to have Ezra Miller as your child, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a bleak yet incisive work from Lynne Ramsay that never pulls any punches in its devastating vision of violence. The story is that Tilda Swinton’s Eva is struggling to raise her child Kevin (Miller), who seems to loathe her. As they grow more aggressive, the film becomes about the horrors of what it means to have your offspring turn into someone you can’t recognize and whether you could have done anything to stop it. Swinton is outstanding, bringing a sense of the tragedy that permeates the existence of her character at every single turn. It is a film that abandons any sense of optimism to instead focus on the cold, hard reality of parenthood and the violence that is bubbling just underneath the surface. No matter how much we would like to pretend it doesn’t exist, it is there and just waiting to burst free — whether we are ready for it or not. - Chase Hutchinson

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'The Handmaiden' (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% | IMDb: 8.1/10

The Handmaiden

Drama

Romance

Thriller

Release Date

June 1, 2016

Director

Chan-wook Park

Cast

Min-hie Kim , Tae Ri Kim , Jung-woo Ha , Jin-woong Jo , Hae-suk Kim , So-ri Moon

Runtime

145 minutes

Read Our Review

The Handmaiden is the most downright gorgeous erotic thriller ever made. Liberally inspired by Sarah Waters‘ British melodrama, Chan-wook Park gives the source material a cultural transplant to 1930s Japan-occupied Korea where Sook-Hee (Tae-ri Kim) takes a job as a handmaiden to the mysterious, troubled Lady Hideko (Min-hee Kim), sparking a passionate affair that reshapes their lives. Our entry point to the twisted tale is through Sook-Hee, a thief by trade and family tradition who is in fact teaming with a fake count Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo) in a scheme to defraud Lady Hideko of her fortune, but when Sook-Hee falls for her mark, the fiendish plan is thrown for a loop as new layers of deception and manipulation are uncovered at every turn. - Haleigh Foutch

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'Triangle' (2009)

Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | IMDb: 6.9/10

Triangle

Mystery

Horror

Thriller

This psychological thriller follows a group of friends stranded on a yacht in the Bermuda Triangle, where they board a passing ship only to experience terrifying temporal distortions and duplications of themselves.

Release Date

October 16, 2009

Director

Christopher Smith

Cast

Melissa George , Michael Dorman , Rachael Carpani , Henry Nixon , Emma Lung , Liam Hemsworth , Joshua McIvor , Bryan Probets

Runtime

99 Minutes

After putting a delightfully cheeky spin on the backwoods slasher genre with his 2006 film Severance, writer-director Christopher Smith got even more creative with his next film, the time loop mind-bender Triangle. Centered on Melissa George‘s Jess, a woman with an undisclosed source of agony behind her surface-level calm, Triangle sees a group of friends on a yachting trip through the Bermuda Triangle, where they escape to a passing ocean liner in the midst of a terrible storm. Once aboard, they find that the massive ship is abandoned, and what’s worse, they’re being stalked by a hooded murderous figure who appears to be the only other inhabitant on the vessel.

It’s difficult to talk about Triangle without giving away its many clever twists and turns, but a vicious time loop repeatedly thrusts the group into the nightmare scenario where Jess emerges at the heart of a mystery that might just hold the key to their escape. Smith makes the most of his twisty concept with an intricately designed narrative of overlapping timelines, and a number of striking and creative that showcase the horror of being stuck in a hellish time loop. - Haleigh Foutch

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'The Deep House' (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes: 74% | IMDb: 5.3/10

The Deep House

Horror

Thriller

Release Date

June 30, 2021

Director

Julien Maury

Cast

James Jagger , Camille Rowe , Eric Savin , Carolina Massey , Alexis Servaes , Anne Claessens , Marie Caffier , Marie Bernard

Runtime

85 minutes

A film that makes the most of its unique premise, The Deep House follows a young influencer couple who go for a dive to explore a submerged house and end up getting more than they bargained for. With oxygen steadily depleting and terrors beginning to take hold in the house, the duo will have to race against the clock in order to escape in one piece. Patient yet completely petrifying at the same time, the sluggishness at which the divers move through the water only makes it all the more terrifying when they need to move quickly when in danger. As the house and all that is in it begins to turn against them, the way everything is framed to maximize the claustrophobia gets so overwhelming that you yourself feel as though you can’t breathe. It is a film where its setting becomes a central part of the story, washing over you with each subsequent development until you are permanently stuck on the edge of your seat. - Chase Hutchinson

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'The Report' (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 7.2/10

The Report

Drama

The Report is a political drama directed by Scott Z. Burns. Adam Driver stars as Daniel J. Jones, a Senate staffer tasked with investigating the CIA's use of torture after 9/11. Annette Bening co-stars as Senator Dianne Feinstein, who oversees Jones's work.

Release Date

November 15, 2019

Director

Scott Z. Burns

Cast

Corey Stoll , Alexander Chaplin , Jon Hamm , Linda Powell , Tim Blake Nelson , Guy Boyd , Ted Levine , Adam Driver , Maura Tierney , Victor Slezak , Michael C. Hall , Annette Bening , John Rothman

Runtime

118 minutes

Read Our Review

Noted screenwriter and producer Scott Z. Burns made his feature film directorial debut with The Report. A real life tale about the CIA's attempts to cover up a report detailing their disturbing torture methods deployed on captive prisoners after 9/11. The Report stars Adam Driver as Daniel Jones, an idealistic Senate staffer who is assigned by Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) to lead an investigation into the CIA's post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program. Jones is initially hesitant to take on the task, but is soon consumed by his charge and becomes dogged and determined to issue this report despite the protestations of the CIA and other Senators in Congress. Burns, who also wrote the screenplay, does a masterful job of jumping back and forth in time throughout the film. He shows us the pressures and influences that led to the creating go this program, the consequences it led to in the future and why two administrations sought to cover it up for the supposed good of the country. It's a topical film for our times and one that speaks volumes about the top levels of power in this country and what measures they are willing to take to bury information that reflects negatively on their abilities to protect our country. - John Rocha

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'You Were Never Really Here' (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 6.7/10

You Were Never Really Here

Mystery

Thriller

Drama

You Were Never Really Here is a psychological thriller directed by Lynne Ramsay and starring Joaquin Phoenix. The film follows Joe, a traumatized veteran who makes a living tracking down missing girls. As he becomes entangled in a conspiracy, Joe's brutal methods and personal demons threaten to consume him. Adapted from Jonathan Ames' novella, the movie delves deeply into themes of violence and redemption.

Release Date

April 6, 2018

Director

Lynne Ramsay

Cast

Judith Roberts , Alessandro Nivola , Vinicius Damasceno , Ekaterina Samsonov , John Doman , Alex Manette , Frank Pando , Joaquin Phoenix

Runtime

95 minutes

Read Our Review

Director Lynne Ramsay directs this powerhouse of a film that features Joaquin Phoenix as Joe, a grizzled veteran of the Gulf War who's lost in a world of hallucinations brought on by a tormented past. The fact that he is a hired hitman who delivers death in the most brutal of ways adds an unsettled and electric energy to this film. You're not really sure if anything is actually happening or isn't? While handing out deaths by hammer, Joe is also taking care of his elderly mother (Judith Roberts) and trying to remember to take his medicine. Joe gets hired to find Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov), a 13-year-old innocent daughter of a New York senator who is about to be sold into teen sexual slavery...or is she? He makes it a personal mission to find her and to make those responsible for her kidnapping pay...even those who may have hired him to do the job. But is it all real or another one of his hallucinations? You'll have to decide during a brilliantly confusing end scene. - John Rocha

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