10 Best Recent Thrillers, According To Ranker

An impressive number of thrillers have come out in recent years, especially in a variety of subgenres, including Nightmare Alley, Tenet, and The Lighthouse. They’re a riveting distraction from life while often commenting on life itself. Since the majority of movies have been watched at home instead of on the big screen, it’s interesting to see which flicks are ranked highest by viewers.

Ranker posted a list that’s collected some very interesting results from its voters. Several of these films dip into the horror category and others delve into serious social commentary, but all will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

10 A Quiet Place: Part II (2021) – Stream On Paramount+

The sequel to A Quiet Place, this horror/thriller is also written and produced by John Krasinski. Krasinski’s wife, Emily Blunt, reprises her role, as do the two actors playing her kids. After the disastrous ending of the first movie, the family is forced to go beyond their sand paths and move out into the world.

It’s no surprise that this movie is on the list — it’s just as thrilling as the original and does exactly what a sequel should do, up the stakes. Out in the wider world, the family encounters other survivors who help them but that doesn’t mean anyone is safe.

9 The Hunt (2020) – Stream On Paramount+

Nick Cuse, the writer, also worked on Watchmen. He also worked on The Leftovers with the director, Craig Zobel (Compiance, Mare Of Easttown), who clearly enjoys making thought-provoking and uncomfortable stories. This movie starts out intense and doesn’t slow down.

Twelve strangers wake up in a field, gagged and confused. There is a container full of weapons and mayhem ensues. Soon they realize that they’re being hunted for sport. This movie mixes thrills, humor, and violence for a story with social commentary and a punch.

8 Us (2019) – Stream On Spectrum On Demand

The follow-up to Jordan Peele’s debut film, Get Out, expectations were high with Us. Lupita Nyong’o stars with Winston Duke as a couple taking their family on vacation to the beach. Everything seems to be going well until a family of evil doppelgangers shows up in red jumpsuits to terrorize the family.

There’s nothing quite like this movie out there and with its references to other horror and thriller movies, it speaks to the classics of both genres while creating something new. Like an episode of The Twilight Zone, this movie’s mystery isn’t clarified until the very end.

7 No Time To Die (2021) – Rent On Amazon Or Apple TV

James Bond is finally back with Daniel Craig playing the role for his final time. This installment in the franchise is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, Maniac) and written in part by Neal Purvis (Quantum of Solace, Skyfall), with a rewrite by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Killing Eve, Fleabag). The movie takes a fresh spin on Bond while including some of his classics.

This installment in the Bond franchise finds James retired in Jamaica and seemingly happy. When his old friend and CIA agent Felix Leiter played by Jeffrey Wright (Westworld, The Batman) asks for help, 007 can’t help but get involved. It’s a great adventure with nonstop action and the feeling that things might be very different in the next film.

6 Midsommar (2019) – Stream On Showtime

Writer/director Ari Aster followed up his disturbing movie debut, Hereditary, with this shocker. The story is about a group of friends who journey to a remote Swedish village to experience their Midsommar festival, but the celebration requires much more than they anticipated. The film is both beautiful and terrifying.

It’s intriguing to watch fish out of water stories where a character engages with a new culture and also senses that something is not quite right. Two of the MCU’s best newer stars, Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women) and Will Poulter (The Maze Runner, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3) join several other friends in this shocking and unexpected horror/thriller.

5 #Alive (2020) – Stream On Netflix

This zombie thriller follows a young man in Seoul, Korea, gamer O Joon-woo played by Yoo Ah-in (Hellbound, The Throne) who is stuck in his parents’ fourth-floor apartment watching his city’s descent into chaos. This film is full of fast-paced thrills and unique gnarly zombie kills. And although there is plenty to watch in the zombie genre these days, this one keeps it fresh.

In this era of quarantining and isolation, this movie addresses very modern issues and challenges. It also throughs in a bit of humor, as well. This film feels like it lives in the world of All Of Us Are Dead, but is a much more intimate account, and it ranked very highly in terms of Netflix’s international viewership.

4 Ready Or Not (2019) – Stream On Fubo

An action, comedy, horror mystery thriller makes for quite an interesting mix of genres in and of itself. Grace, played by Samara Weaving (Ash Vs. Evil Dead, The Babysitter) is about to marry Daniel played by Adam Brody (Gilmore Girls, Shazam!) who is part of a wealthy dynasty of game makers. To Grace’s surprise, her wedding night is turned into a game of hide-and-go-seek with the family, who are hoping it ends in her death.

This highly inventive film doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s received high ratings from both critics and voters and Samara Weaving is at her best in this movie. Though she had been acting for several years before this, Ready Or Not really seemed to catapult Weaving toward stardom.

3 The Invisible Man (2020) – Stream On IMDb TV

Written and directed by Leigh Whannell who wrote Saw and Insidious, this version, inspired by the H.G. Wells novel, finds Cecilia Kass played by Elisabeth Moss (Handmaid’s Tale, Mad Men) coping with her abusive ex’s suicide. Her struggle is that she feels like it’s a hoax and she’s being taunted by the man who is actually still alive.

People around Cecilia question her stability but understand her shakey state after the way her husband mistreated her. The Invisible Man blends in themes of domestic abuse and the effects of violence on people while keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.

2 Joker (2019) –  Stream On HBO Max

There have been numerous interpretations of Batman’s nemesis over the year both on-screen and in the pages of comic books, but this version of Joker played by Joaquin Phoenix (Her, The Master) is a superb character study into both how evil is born and how people who struggle emotionally can inflict that same pain on others.

This dip into the dark side of the superhero movie genre by writer/director Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover) is a great departure from his normal lighthearted fair. It helps that Phoenix is joined by such masterful performers as Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Bullet Train) and Robert Deniro. This oscar-winning film is powerful and very much worth a watch.

1 Parasite (2019) – Stream On Hulu

This groundbreaking dramatic thriller by Bong Joon Ho (Okja, Snowpiercer) shook the cinematic community when it came out. Nothing had been seen like it before and many people need to see it several times to catch all of its many details. The story masterfully weaves the lives of two families together. The Kims struggle financially and are constantly uncertain about where to get money. The Parks are well-off and lead an easy life, unaware of the others who struggle around them.

This is the first Korean movie to win the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or. It also won four Oscars, including Best Motion Picture Of The Year. This movie truly accomplished so much in its fine details and superb acting while keeping the thrills coming at every turn.

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