In the dead of winter, who doesn’t love watching a good thriller movie?
If you’re like us, you love throwing on a twisty suspense story or a hardboiled crime drama that’s as fittingly chilly as the weather outside.
Thankfully, streaming platforms offer a wide selection of high-quality films to choose from.
Watch With Us recommends streaming these five great, Rotten Tomatoes-approved thrillers across platforms like Netflix and Prime Video.
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5. ‘After the Hunt’ (2025) — Amazon Prime Video
Rotten Tomatoes score: 37 percent
When college professor Alma (Julia Roberts) discovers that her colleague, Hank (Andrew Garfield), has been accused of sexual assault by her top PhD student, Maggie (Ayo Edibiri), she finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads. While Hank insists to Alma that he didn’t do what he’s being accused of, both Hank and Maggie confide in Alma for support. Meanwhile, Alma’s unwitting involvement in the situation threatens to expose a dark secret from her past.
Luca Guadagnino’s psychological thriller tackles some timely and difficult subject matter, though it received very mixed reviews from critics. However, the movie isn’t without its shooters (including us). In addition to a particularly superb showing from Roberts — which some critics have hailed as the actress’ best performance in years — After the Hunt is a tense, moody and, above all, very mature look at sexual abuse allegations and cancel culture that refuses to hold anyone’s hand.
4. ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ (2005) — HBO Max
Rotten Tomatoes score: 54 percent
After the events immediately following director Rob Zombie’s previous film, House of 1000 Corpses, Zombie does a complete tonal 180, shifting from B-movie, exploitation horror homage to gritty crime thriller with his follow-up, The Devil’s Rejects. On the run from the law after their house of horrors was uncovered by the police, the Firefly family — made up of Baby (Sherri Moon Zombie), Otis (Bill Moseley) and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) — goes on the lam, but not without accumulating more victims on the way.
As a director, Zombie has always been deeply polarizing to critics. But he’s achieved a passionate fan following that has turned a number of his films into cult classics, including The Devil’s Rejects. A compelling drama-thriller hybrid that places the villains squarely in the protagonists’ seats, The Devil’s Rejects forces discomfort from its audience in its aim to observe the causes and effects of violence while implicating viewers. More intelligent and nuanced than it might seem on the surface, The Devil’s Rejects is also a bloody good time.
3. ‘Saltburn’ (2023) — Amazon Prime Video
Rotten Tomatoes score: 72 percent
After meeting at Oxford University, wealthy student Felix (Jacob Elordi) invites his less fortunate classmate Oliver (Barry Keoghan) to stay with him at his family’s vast country estate, Saltburn, over the summer holiday. However, the meeting between Felix and Oliver was no chance encounter — Oliver became fixated on the handsome aristocrat and maneuvered his way into meeting him. Felix comes to realize that Oliver has intentional (and dangerous) intentions for him and his family — but will it be too late?
Visually sumptuous and carried by two dynamite performances from Elordi and Keoghan, Saltburn is a riveting (and often very funny) satire of obsession, excess and social class. The film is a lurid, debauched and pulpy, with a plotline full of twists and turns that both shock and surprise. In particular, fans of movies like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cruel Intention and Barry Lyndon will find a lot to love in this social-climber thriller.
2. ‘Black Swan’ (2010) — Hulu
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85 percent
Passionate but obsessive ballerina Nine (Natalie Portman) centers her entire life around her work at the New York City Ballet. When her company’s artistic director forces his prima ballerina into retirement, Nina auditions and winds up snagging the lead part for their upcoming performance of Swan Lake. However, Nina finds herself increasingly undone by a new dancer who looks similar to her, Nina (Mila Kunis), and as the two women form a twisted friendship, Nina’s reality and dreams begin to blur.
For her role as Nina, Portman clinched the Academy Award for Best Actress, with Black Swan having received five overall nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Darren Aronofsky. Despite rave reviews and awards nods, Black Swan is nevertheless a very difficult watch — but it’s this very darkness that makes it such a masterful work. Alternating between riveting and unnerving, Black Swan is a must-see for fans of Portman and a classic of modern doppelgänger cinema.
1. ‘Green Room’ (2015) — Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90 percent
After witnessing a murder at a remote club they’d been scheduled to play at, punk rock band the Ain’t Rights find themselves targeted by the Nazi skinheads who committed the crime. Pat (Anton Yelchin), Amber (Imogen Poots), Sam (Alia Shawkat), Reece (Joe Cole) and Tiger (Callum Turner) find themselves trapped in the green room of the club and cornered by the terrifying Darcy (Patrick Stewart), who wants to get rid of any witnesses. Will the band make it through the night, or become the next victims?
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Led by a group of powerhouse performances by its central cast, Green Room is a gripping genre thriller that is as intelligent as it is entertaining. Combining gore with claustrophobia and survivalism, director Jeremy Saulnier displays a masterful command of suspense and adrenaline, knowing exactly when to pull back and when to go for broke. But the movie isn’t all dour doom and gloom — black humor shines through the bloody mess, causing some critics to favorably compare the film to John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13.
