There aren’t many days left in September, but there’s still enough time to catch a handful of thrillers before the end of the month.
The Watch With Us team has chosen a trio of underrated thrillers on Netflix, HBO Max and Prime Video that should close out your movie nights for the month.
Two of our picks are celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2025, and they couldn’t be more different from each other.
Our final pick is a film that really should have done better in theaters. But now it can find the audience it deserves.
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‘Copycat’ (1995)
Copycat revolves around Dr. Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver), a woman who thought she understood the minds of serial killers. One near-fatal encounter with an actual serial killer, Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr.), was more than enough to convince Helen to never leave her apartment again.
Cullum may be in prison, but a new serial killer is stalking the streets who is emulating some of the most famous murderers in American history. Inspector Mary Jane “M.J.” Monahan (Holly Hunter) approaches Helen about working on the case and ending her isolation. However, the copycat killer welcomes her involvement in the chase and proves that he can get to her at any time. Even consulting with Cullum himself may not be enough to end this reign of terror.
Copycat is streaming on Netflix until September 30.
‘Crimson Tide’ (1995)
Crimson Tide boasts an incredible cast, including Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini and Rocky Carroll. The late Tony Scott directed the film, and Quentin Tarantino devotees will surely recognize the dialogue he contributed to Michael Schiffer‘s script.
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Washington plays Lieutenant Commander Ronald “Ron” Hunter, the new executive officer for Captain Franklin “Frank” Ramsey (Hackman) on the USS Alabama. During a crisis, this nuclear submarine is called upon to launch an attack. Hunter and Ramsey’s disagreement over whether to follow through on that order splits the crew and leads to a mutiny. And if the crew can’t stop fighting themselves, they may perish at the hands of an enemy vessel.
Crimson Tide is streaming on Prime Video until September 30.
‘Criminal’ (2016)
Criminal may remind some movie lovers of Face/Off, although it doesn’t go so far as to let Kevin Costner and Ryan Reynolds play each other’s characters. Reynolds plays CIA agent Bill Pope, the only man standing between America’s adversaries gaining a program created by Jan Strook (Michael Pitt) that can override control of any nuclear weapon in the world.
When Pope is killed in action, his superior, Quaker Wells (Gary Oldman), turns to Dr. Franks (Tommy Lee Jones) for an experimental procedure to implant Pope’s memories into a dangerous criminal, Jerico Stewart (Costner). Jerico was a sociopath before the procedure, but Pope’s feelings for his wife, Jill (Gal Gadot), and their daughter trigger a newfound humanity. The fate of the world may come down to what Jerico decides to do next.
Criminal is streaming on HBO Max until September 30.
