Sometimes, you want a movie to make you anxious, to really sink its hooks into you and stress you out — but in a fun way! When you’re in that mood, you need a thriller. Luckily for you, Prime Video has a solid library of movies that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Whether you want to watch a political thriller or a psychological one, these eight movies are sure to scratch that itch. Plus, they’re all included with an Amazon Prime membership, so you don’t need any additional subscriptions in order to watch them.
Here, in no particular order, are the eight best thrillers on Prime Video.
1. Unbreakable
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It’s easy to overlook this fact, but M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable is actually an origin story for a reality-based superhero (and also his nemesis). Bruce Willis stars as a seemingly ordinary security guard whose life of consistently good health is thrown into question when he survives a deadly train crash with nary a scratch or bruise on him. Is Willis’s David Dunn really that healthy? Or is something more fantastical going on here? Also featuring strong performances from stars Samuel L. Jackson and Robin Wright Penn, Unbreakable ended up becoming the starting point for an eventual Shyamalan-helmed trilogy. — Adam Rosenberg, Senior Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Unbreakable is now streaming on Prime Video.
2. Casino Royale
Prime Video has every James Bond movie in its catalog, but if you’re looking for a true-blue thriller, it’s tough to top Daniel Craig’s inaugural 007 movie. Casino Royale ushered in the modern Bond era, giving us a grittier take on Ian Fleming’s iconic spy. In this installment, based on Fleming’s first Bond novel, James Bond has only recently earned the title of 007. His first mission will bring him face to face with the villainous Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) and the enigmatic Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). If you want grounded action, intense thrills, and a whole lot of gambling, Casino Royale is the James Bond movie for you. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Casino Royale is now streaming on Prime Video.
3. The Handmaiden
Park Chan-wook’s psycho-sexual thriller unfolds in three acts, each twisting and reframing what came before it. Set in Japan-occupied Korea in the early 20th century, the film follows Count Fujiwara’s (Ha Jung-woo) plan to con the wealthy Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) by infiltrating her household with handmaid Sook-Hee (Kim Tae-ri). Sook-Hee and Hideko begin a relationship while the Count attempts to woo the heiress, leading to one betrayal after another.
When it’s not wildly erotic and filled with deception, The Handmaiden feels almost like a fantasy movie, immersing you fully in Ryu Seong-hee’s production design and Jo Yeong-wook’s score. The cast manage to fool viewers as much as each other, and even the film’s quietest scenes thrum with energy. — Proma Khosla, Senior Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: The Handmaiden is now streaming on Prime Video.
4. To Catch A Thief
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You can’t have a “best thrillers” list without the master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. To Catch A Thief is Hitchcock at his breeziest — it’s not as frightening as Psycho, or as tightly contained as Rear Window, but it’s still a ton of fun. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly star in this thrilling caper along the gorgeous French Riviera. Grant plays a cat burglar trying to clear his name, and Kelly is the beautiful heiress who becomes tangled in his schemes. They’re the perfect match for this film, which is itself the perfect vacation thriller. — B.E.
How to watch: To Catch A Thief is now streaming on Prime Video.
5. The Report
The Report is a political thriller that is less interested in generating thrills than it is in taking a thorough look at its thorny subject matter: the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” conducted by Senate staffer Daniel Jones (Adam Driver). Writer and director Scott Z. Burns distills Jones’s investigation (and subsequent 7,000 page report) into a film that is gripping and horrifying in equal measures. Particularly upsetting are depictions of the CIA’s torture methods, as well as scenes in which United States government officials attempt to justify said torture. Strengthened by one of Driver’s best performances to date, The Report is an unflinching and meticulous examination of the process to uncover a serious injustice. — B.E.
How to watch: The Report is now streaming on Prime Video.
6. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Imagine a scenario where one of the top candidates in a U.S. presidential election is actually a brainwashed agent of forces working to undermine American interests. That’s the basic premise of The Manchurian Candidate, a 1959 novel and 1962 film that got a fresh and modernized update in 2004 from filmmaker Jonathan Demme. It stars Denzel Washington as Bennett Marco, an ex-soldier who suspects that one of his former squadmates-turned-candidate for Vice President, Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), is receiving orders from forces outside the U.S. chain of command. — A.R.
How to watch: The Manchurian Candidate is now streaming on Prime Video.
7. Blow The Man Down
Credit: Jeong Park
Directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, Blow The Man Down is an expectation-defying marvel. Set in a small fishing town in Maine, this darkly comedic thriller goes to some unbelievable places when teen sisters Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Pris (Sophie Lowe) are forced to cover up for a violent crime. Still, the film’s unrelenting atmosphere of realism will keep you hooked on the murder mystery at its center, never letting you distance yourself from the action.
Clever joke writing, stunning cinematography, and a fearless performance by Margo Martindale are obvious draws for this title, but it’s full of quieter moments that are just as memorable. A true hidden gem you’ll be recommending yourself if you see it, this is a good pick for when you want to impress someone with your impeccable taste in suspense. Or even just freak them out a little. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Blow The Man Down is now streaming on Prime Video.
8. Raazi
One of the best mainstream Indian films of the 2010s is Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi, starring Alia Bhatt as a spy during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Bhatt plays Sehmat Khan, who is married into a Pakistani family and tasked with spying on them by her dying father (Rajit Kapur).
Raazi contains familiar sequences from any spy movie; the training montage, tense surveillance, and brushes with death — but Bhatt’s performance grounds the toll of espionage in a way that few films do. Sehmat often breaks down after a high-stress encounter or upon seeing the consequences of her actions, the body count of a war purportedly greater than any of the individuals caught in its crossfire. Many Indian films succumb to blind nationalism, but it feels different through the eyes of a younger India and Pakistan, and through characters like Sehmat’s husband Iqbal (Vicky Kaushal) who are never villainized but made real and relatable. — P.K.
How to watch: Raazi is now streaming on Prime Video.
Source : 8 best thrillers on Prime Video to wreck your nerves
