The long Memorial Day weekend is over, and chances are, you took a well-deserved vacation. That usually costs money, though, so if you’re on a budget or just want to stay home and see a good movie, Watch With Us is here to help.
Thrillers are always reliably entertaining, and we’ve selected three of the very best that are streaming on Paramount+, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, respectively.
The first is one of the ‘90s best thrillers, the second is a tense Jake Gyllenhaal movie and the third selection is so scary, you’ll never talk to a stranger ever again.
‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ (1999)
Everybody trusts Tom Ripley (Matt Damon). It’s hard not to due to his friendly demeanor and need to please. But nobody knows he covets what isn’t his — the life of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), a spoiled rich kid he’s been hired to lure back home from the sun-baked shores of Italy. Gradually, Tom starts to take over Dickie’s life by wearing the same clothes and adopting his mannerisms. When Dickie suddenly disappears, Margie (Gwyneth Paltrow) suspects Tom had something to do with it. Is she right? And if so, what will Tom do to her if she finds out the truth?
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There’s no better thriller to watch in the summer than The Talented Mr. Ripley. Why? Well, its exotic locations (the film was shot in Rome, Venice and Naples) and starry cast (Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman also show up) give you plenty of pretty and interesting things to look at. But it’s also just an incredibly good thriller about a man whose chameleon-like ability to imitate those around him makes him the perfect con artist — and possibly a killer. When the movie reaches its heartbreaking climax, you realize just how talented Ripley really is — and how lonely he will always be.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is streaming on Paramount+.
‘The Guilty’ (2021)
Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a bored LAPD officer working the night shift at a 911 call center when an unexpected call changes his life forever. The caller, Emily Lighton (Riley Keough), has been abducted, but before she can tell Joe where she is, the call is disconnected. The mystery deepens as Joe finds out that her husband drives a white van and has a criminal record.
If you think you know what happens next, you’re probably wrong, since The Guilty’s thriller plot has its fair share of twists and turns. It all makes sense, though, and that’s due to Antoine Fuqua’s tight direction and Gyllenhaal’s magnetic performance. The actor is on screen almost all the time, and he holds your attention even when it’s revealed that Joe isn’t as innocent as he seems.
The Guilty is streaming on Netflix.
‘Speak No Evil’ (2024)
Longtime married couple Ben and Louise Dalton (Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis) are on vacation in England with their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) when they befriend Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), who live on a nearby farm with their mute son Ant (Dan Hough). Ben, Louise and Agnes soon visit the farm, but their vacation quickly turns into a nightmare as their new friends turn out to be their worst nightmare.
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Based on the equally excellent 2022 Danish film of the same name, Speak No Evil’s primary pleasure is slowly discovering what it really is — a thriller about the fatal impulse of not offending people you’ve just met, even if you think you may be in danger. The less said about the plot, the better, but what can be said is that Speak No Evil is incredibly tense and features a cathartic — if violent — conclusion. Everyone in the cast shines, but it’s McAvoy who steals the show as an alpha male who makes Andrew Tate seem relatively tame in comparison.
Speak No Evil is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
