Nothing compares to a good thriller – watching ordinary people confront high-stakes problems, usually within a tight timeframe, is a guaranteed recipe for exhilarating entertainment.
Thrillers come in a number of varieties, but they all have one thing in common: the characters in a thriller are always fighting for survival against all odds – either for their own life or that of someone they care about, which makes it very easy for viewers to sympathise with.
Needless to say, we love a good thriller, which is why we’ve narrowed down some of the best ones that are now available to watch on Netflix in Australia. These films will have you on the edge of your seat in suspense, so sit back, try to relax, and enjoy. Well, I say enjoy…
Uncut Gems
Featuring Adam Sandler’s best performance since Punch-Drunk Love, Uncut Gems sees the comedian go darker than ever before. This gritty thriller sees a New York jeweller get in way over his head with a number or gangsters, bookies and loan sharks as he attempts to pull off an enormously risky bet on the NBA finals. With a blaring and chaotic soundtrack that perfectly matches the chaos that’s unfolding on-screen, Uncut Gems is designed to keep you stressed out for its entire run time. One of the most anxiety-inducing films you’ll ever see, Uncut Gems is one of the few Netflix films that absolutely will not let you ‘chill’.
IMDB Rating: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Watch Uncut Gems on Netflix right now
Good Time
Good Time stars Robert Pattinson in the type of performance that will make you forget all about his involvement in the Twilight saga. We’re talking young De Niro good, here. When his mentally-challenged brother is snatched by the police after a bank robbery, Connie (Pattinson) sets out to do anything he can to free his brother before getting sent to the brutal Rikers Island jail complex. This sets off a night that spirals out of control extremely fast. There’s pretty much no way of predicting what will happen next. Gritty and grimy, Good Time is an intense film with an incredible soundtrack and fantastic cinematography. One of the best films of 2017.
IMDB Rating: 7.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Watch Good Time on Netflix right now
Horse Girl
There are two (main) ways of looking at Sarah (Alison Brie), the lead character of Netflix’s mind-bending new film Horse Girl: she either suffers from severe delusions related to inherited mental illness, or everything she believes is happening to her is actually true. While it’s easy to lean towards the former, the film’s screenplay, co-written by Brie and her director Jeff Baena, was written to be open to interpretation – the pair clearly seems to delight in throwing the audience off at every turn. It’s helped in large part by a truly fantastic and deeply-committed performance from Brie, who is able to sell both versions of the film simultaneously.
IMDB Rating: 5.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
Watch Horse Girl on Netflix right now
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile doesn’t quite live up to the hype it generated from its showing at Sundance, however, it does feature an absolutely magnetic performance from Zac Efron, who plays the depraved serial killer Ted Bundy. Told from the perspective of Bundy’s former girlfriend Liz (Lily Collins), Extremely Wicked attempts to explain how any rational human could have fallen for the horrific murderer’s innocence claims. Leaning heavily into Bundy’s reported eloquence and charm, the film occasionally makes the killer of over 30 young women seem like an underdog, which may rub some the wrong way. Of course, that approach does serve the film’s ultimate goal, which is to provide the viewer with an understanding of how someone as evil as Bundy could emotionally infiltrate a person’s life to such a degree.
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 58%
Watch Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile on Netflix right now
The Perfection
A deliriously twisty and sinister horror film, The Perfection follows the demented relationship between musical prodigy Charlotte (Allison Williams) and rising star Lizzie (Logan Browning), who threatens to upstage Charlotte at her former school. Without giving too much away, The Perfection is absolutely unpredictable – not even the trailer above can truly give you an idea of what the film has in store for unsuspecting viewers. Just know that The Perfection isn’t afraid to get gross or venture into shocking and uncomfortable territory.
IMDB Rating: 6.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Watch The Perfection on Netflix right now
Gerald’s Game
2017 has been a great year for Stephen King adaptations (ahem, The Dark Tower aside), and the new Netflix Original film Gerald’s Game joins It and 1922 in the upper echelon. In an attempt to rekindle their marriage, Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) and Jessie (Carla Gugino) retreat to a remote lake house. When a sex game goes awry, Jessie is left alone and handcuffed to the bed and must overcome her mounting paranoia and deep, personal demons. Though the film mostly takes place within the one room, Gerald’s Game remains thrilling from start to finish. It also features one of the best performances of Gugino’s career.
IMDB Rating: 6.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Watch Gerald’s Game on Netflix right now
Split
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan scored a big win in 2016 with Split – a smart thriller anchored by a brilliant performance from James McAvoy. The film sees the actor play a man with 23 diagnosed personalities who kidnaps three high school girls. Now it’s up to one of those girls (Anya Taylor-Joy) to reach his original personality before his most violent persona, dubbed ‘The Beast’, is unleashed. One of the best things about Split is how it cleverly managed to expand upon the universe established Shyamalan’s cult-classic film Unbreakable way back in 2000. Unfortunately, Shyamalan’s abysmal follow-up film Glass managed to completely ruin everything, so you’re probably better off pretending that one doesn’t exist.
IMDB Rating: 7.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Watch Split on Netflix right now
The Call
South Korean filmmakers have a great track record when it comes to staging intense thrillers, with films like Oldboy, The Chaser and I Saw the Devil among the most famous examples. The Netflix Original film The Call in another fine example, currently holding a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 100%, which is obviously a huge accomplishment. A thriller of the psychological variety, The Call offers an intriguing premise that sees two women living 20 years apart connected by a phone call from the same home. To make matters more interesting, one of the women is a serial killer…
