Paramount+ doesn’t have a seemingly endless library of movies like many of its streaming rivals. But it does have a killer collection of thrillers.
Even after losing titles like No Country for Old Men and Fatal Attraction, Paramount+ still boasts some of the greatest thrillers ever put to film.
Red Eye and Black Rain may not be on the same level, but they’re both worthy additions to the streamer.
You can find those films below with the rest of the Watch With Us team’s picks for the must-watch thrillers to watch on Paramount+.
12 Must-Watch Movies on Paramount+ Right Now (August 2025)
‘Red Eye’ (2005)
Considering the trajectory of their careers over the last two decades, director Wes Craven caught lightning in a bottle when he cast Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy as the leads in Red Eye. Murphy is particularly like a cinematic chameleon, as his character, Jackson Rippner, is so kind and charming to Lisa Reisert (McAdams). He’s the kind of guy she’d take home to meet her father, Joe (Brian Cox) — if Jackson hadn’t already sent an assassin to kill him first.
Much to Lisa’s horror, she learns that Jackson plans to use her father’s life to blackmail her into helping him pull off an act of domestic terrorism. Lisa finds herself stuck on an overnight flight with this sociopath watching her every move. If Lisa can’t get out from under Jackson’s control, then she’ll be an accessory to murder. But if she defies him, there’s no way she can warn her dad about the danger he’s in.
Red Eye is streaming on Paramount+.
‘Black Rain’ (1989)
Director Ridley Scott‘s Black Rain has become a cult classic in the decades since its release. Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia star as NYPD detectives Nick Conklin and Charlie Vincent, the unlikely witnesses of a yakuza assassination. Although the pair manages to arrest the killer, Koki Sato (Yūsaku Matsuda), they’re also tasked with personally escorting him back to Japan.
10 Greatest Thrillers of the 1990s, Ranked
After Sato manages to escape from their custody through a deception, Nick and Charlie find themselves sliding into Japan’s dangerous criminal underworld. Local police Inspector Masahiro “Mas” Matsumoto (Ken Takakura) is one of the few allies that Nick and Charlie have. But he may not be enough to protect them from Sato and his band of killers.
Black Rain is streaming on Paramount+.
‘The Untouchables’ (1987)
Director Brian De Palma and screenwriter David Mamet may have taken a lot of liberties with the real story of Eliot Ness and Al Capone, but who can complain when The Untouchables is so wildly entertaining? A young Kevin Costner stars as Ness, a crusading Bureau of Prohibition agent who struggles to take down the criminal empire of Al Capone (Robert De Niro).
The late Sean Connery won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Jimmy Malone, a veteran police officer who helps Ness recruit honest cops to help them turn the tide against Capone. George Stone (Andy García) and Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) join their crusade, but all of them have underestimated just how far the corruption has set in among Chicago’s cops and the extent of Capone’s ability to hurt them for daring to cross him.
The Untouchables is streaming on Paramount+.
14 Must-Watch Thrillers on Netflix Right Now (August 2025)
‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ (1999)
Matt Damon was still early in his career when he was cast as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Despite the name of the movie, Tom’s only real talents lie in deception and in ingratiating himself among the rich and powerful. Tom even manages to convince Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) to send him to Europe to retrieve his wealthy and wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law).
Although Dickie has a beautiful American girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), it’s Dickie himself who catches Tom’s eye. And let’s just say that Tom isn’t the kind of man who accepts rejection well. Instead, Tom lines up the con of a lifetime, but it’s going to take a lot to convince everyone that he’s Dickie, especially when dealing with the people who know the truth.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is streaming on Paramount+.
‘Chinatown’ (1974)
Jack Nicholson was already a star before Chinatown, but this film helped cement him as a Hollywood icon. Nicholson portrays private investigator J. J. “Jake” Gittes as he takes on a simple case from Evelyn Cross-Mulwray (Diane Ladd) to spy on her husband, Hollis I. Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling).
3 Must-Watch Thrillers You Need to Stream in June 2025
When Hollis ends up murdered and disgraced, the real Evelyn Cross-Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) angrily berates Jake before reluctantly hiring him to investigate her husband’s death. That leads him to encounter Evelyn’s rich and powerful father, Noah Cross (John Huston), as well as a deadly conspiracy that goes further than Jake can imagine.
Chinatown is streaming on Paramount+.
‘Changing Lanes’ (2002)
Lawyer Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) and Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson) are strangers to each other in Changing Lanes, but a minor traffic accident changes the course of both of their lives. Gavin left Doyle stranded on the side of the road, which means that he arrives too late to stop the court from awarding his estranged wife, Valerie Gipson (Kim Staunton), from getting full custody of their kids.
However, Gavin accidentally left behind an important legal file at the scene of the accident, which Doyle now has in his possession. That leads to an escalating series of events as both Doyle and Gavin try to get revenge on each other. In the process, they may wind up destroying themselves.
Changing Lanes is streaming on Paramount+.
‘Basic Instinct’ (1992)
Over three decades ago, Basic Instinct took erotic thrillers to another level with Sharon Stone‘s showstopping turn as Catherine Tramell. She’s a successful crime novelist and also the prime suspect in the death of her rock star boyfriend. Catherine not only seems guilty as hell, but she also appears to delight in teasing the police about their inability to catch her.
26 Must-Watch Movies on Prime Video Right Now (August 2025)
SFPD Police Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) makes several bad decisions while working on this case. First, he allows Catherine to seduce him while he was already having an affair with his psychologist, Dr. Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn). But Nick’s potentially fatal mistake may be letting Catherine get close enough to either destroy his personal life or kill him.
Basic Instinct is streaming on Paramount+.
