Genre: Documentary, War
Actor: Henry Kissinger, Juan Valdez, Richard Nixon, Stuart Herrington
Director: Rory Kennedy
When it comes to memorable viewing experiences, it’s usually all about the scenes that pull you to the edge of your seat. Whether you’re into suspenseful mysteries or emotional dramas, here are the most thrilling movies and shows to stream.
Genre: Documentary, War
Actor: Henry Kissinger, Juan Valdez, Richard Nixon, Stuart Herrington
Director: Rory Kennedy
Released earlier in 2023, Lady Voyeur is reminiscent of those 80s-90s erotic thrillers that you or your parents weren’t allowed to watch, albeit with a modern hacking subplot. The Brazilian Netflix mini-series balances its erotic and its thriller sides– with Eros ruling the consensual scenes, and fear powering the mystery of Prado-Couto families. Relying on mirrors, CCTV cameras, and window reflections, the show follows the titular protagonist Miranda, seeing and being seen, as she gets roped into a conspiracy against her fling’s best friend and hotel conglomerate. It’s an interesting watch, though it lacks a tighter resolution to all its plotlines.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: Ângelo Rodrigues, Débora Nascimento, Emanuelle Araújo, Nikolas Antunes
After decades of terrifying tales, it’s no wonder that Junji Ito developed a cult following internationally, big enough for a streaming giant like Netflix to invest in a brand new adaptation. Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is fairly faithful to its source material, keeping the plot points of supernatural beings and spine-chilling body horror in its selected twelve tales. That being said, being an anthology, the selection in Junji Ito Maniac greatly varies on how scary it is. On top of this, the series’ art style, made more cleanly for easier animation, is simply less scary than the black-and-white, shadowy sketches from the original manga. New and younger viewers might still get a thrill from the latest anime rendition of Junji Ito’s stories, though older fans might find that it pales to the original.
Genre: Animation, Mystery
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Actor: Aaliyah Qureishi, Ashlesha Thakur, Atlee, Bharat Raj, Boxer Dheena, Deepika Padukone, Eijaz Khan, Girija Oak, Jaffer Sadiq, Kenny Basumatary, Leesha Eclairs, Lehar Khan, Mukesh Chhabra, Naresh Gosain, Nayanthara, Omkar Das Manikpuri, Priyamani, Ravindra Vijay, Ridhi Dogra, Sanjay Dutt, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Sanya Malhotra, Shah Rukh Khan, Sirisha Hanumanth, Smita Tambe, Sunil Grover, Vijay Sethupathi, Viraj Ghelani, Yogi Babu
Director: Atlee
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Actor: Alexyss Spradlin, Bailey Spry, Carollette Phillips, Charles Gertner, Christopher Hohman, Claire Sloma, Daniel Zovatto, Debbie Williams, Ele Bardha, Heather Fairbanks, Jake Weary, Keir Gilchrist, Kourtney Bell, Leisa Pulido, Lili Sepe, Linda Boston, Loren Bass, Maika Monroe, Mike Lanier, Olivia Luccardi, Rich Vreeland, Ruby Harris, Scott Norman
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Actor: Aaron Heffernan, Antonia Clarke, Asha Reid, George MacKay, John McCrea, Luis Torrecilla, Moe Bar-El, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Nima Taleghani, Peter McPherson
Director: Ng Choon Ping, Sam H. Freeman
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Andrea Dovizioso, Ben Spies, Casey Stoner, Colin Edwards, Dani Pedrosa, Ewan McGregor, Jorge Lorenzo, Marco Simoncelli, Nicky Hayden, Valentino Rossi
Director: Mark Neale
More streamlined and more technically ambitious than its predecessor, yet even less interested in developing an interesting setting or characters, Extraction 2 takes the most predictable route available for an action sequel. The first film's attempts to center its narrative on the unnecessary loss of life of children is nothing but an inconsequential footnote in this movie—which gestures toward the same ideas but never actually allows its already generic characters to be emotionally affected by anything.
So thank goodness that Extraction 2's action is so frequently fun to watch, proudly wearing its influences from movies like The Raid, and from the most relentless of video game set pieces. There's genuine inspiration behind how creative and how brutal the violence can get here, brought to life by crisp sound design and production design that the characters can constantly interact with. So while all the halfhearted character work doesn't give the action any extra weight, the action on its own is already so dynamic, that every set piece is still worth the wait.
Genre: Action, Thriller
Actor: Adam Bessa, Andro Japaridze, Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bernhardt, Dato Bakhtadze, George Lasha, Golshifteh Farahani, Idris Elba, Irakli Kvirikadze, Justin Howell, Levan Saginashvili, Olga Kurylenko, Patrick Newall, Sam Hargrave, Sinéad Phelps, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Tornike Bziava, Tornike Gogrichiani
Director: Sam Hargrave
Escape from Mogadishu follows diplomats from the North and South Korean embassies as they put aside their differences and work together to escape from an outbreak of civil war in Mogadishu, Somalia. Director Ryoo Seung-wan provides thrilling, high-budget action, especially intense car chases and suspenseful escape scenes that pump you with adrenaline and leave you on the edge of your seat. However, the Somali side of the story leaves much to be desired. Only existing to kill or be killed, the depiction of the Somalians is distasteful, and the country it’s set in seen as nothing more than a senseless warzone.
It’s in crafting a political thriller where Ryoo strikes a chord, following the tradition of South Korean films and dramas that question the current South/North relations. It’s also the aspect that pushed this film to win awards, given that it’s based on a true story from the 1991 civil war in Somalia, albeit with blockbuster flair. Sure, it’s a highly fictionalized story, but the political tensions and heightened atmosphere make good entertainment. And, as with all Korean thrillers, you’ll have to get on a certain wavelength of melodrama to be fully on board with the bonkers yet emotional escape.
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Actor: Ahn Se-ho, Han Chul-woo, Heo Joon-ho, Jeong Man-sik, Jo In-sung, Joo Bo-bi, Kim Jae-hwa, Kim So-jin, Kim Yoon-seok, Kim Yun-seok, Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Jin-hee, Park Kyung-hye, Park Myung-shin, Yoon Kyung-ho, Zo In-sung
Director: Ryoo Seung-wan
I watch many movies and the great majority of them leave little impression on me. They are fun and entertaining, but quickly forgettable. Not Disconnect, though. This is a powerful and provocative film that not only keeps you pinned to your seat but also makes you think about the consequences of your actions. It should certainly be a required viewing not only for young people but also for any one who uses social media or communicates via the Internet. Disconnect is a timely, well-written, well-acted, and well-paced movie that stays with you long after you finish watching it. I was also pleased by the fact that the director and writer did not take the easy way out. No glib, predictable solutions here, which is one reason why the film's events linger in your mind.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Alexander Skarsgård, Andrea Riseborough, Antonella Lentini, Cole Mohr, Colin Ford, Ella Lentini, Erin Wilhelmi, Frank Grillo, Haley Ramm, Hope Davis, Jason Bateman, John Sharian, Jonah Bobo, Kasi Lemmons, Kevin Csolak, Marc Jacobs, Max Thieriot, Michael Nyqvist, Norbert Leo Butz, Paula Patton, Tessa Albertson
Director: Henry Alex Rubin
Sometimes all a movie needs to be entertaining is a character having a really bad day. Breakdown might not have the most story or thematic depth to it, but having Kurt Russell try to track down the men who kidnapped his wife leads to one tension-filled scene to the next. It's a great showcase for the small towns and empty stretches of highway that make up so much of America, lending to the film the feel of a western, with violence and stuntwork that feel edgier than most '90s action fare. There are no guarantees here that our hero will win the day, which makes the danger he's in that much more exciting.
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Ancel Cook, Gene Hartline, Helen Duffy, J.T. Walsh, Jack McGee, Jack Noseworthy, Jonathan Mostow, Kathleen Quinlan, Kim Robillard, Kurt Russell, M.C. Gainey, Moira Harris, Moira Sinise, Rex Linn, Rick Zieff, Ritch Brinkley, Thomas Kopache, Vincent Berry
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Why is Erin Carter, a British temp teacher in Barcelona, always on edge and stabbing people with random objects? Well, it seems that hiding in a Spanish-speaking country is the modus operandi for many a protagonist on the run (looking at you, The Chosen One), and yet they can't help but look suspicious in easily avoidable ways. But two episodes in, and it's barely clear what Erin is running away from, but luckily, she can shoot, stab, and throw a nasty open-palm slap. And if you're in the mood for bloody action, a standard dose of suspense and can ignore that this story feels as familiar as every other "badass person with a secret" show, it doesn't disappoint as much as it could.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Crime
Actor: Charlotte Vega, Douglas Henshall, Evin Ahmad, Sean Teale, Susannah Fielding
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, Fiona Rene, Justin Hartley, Robin Weigert
Genre: Drama, War, War & Politics
Actor: Aleks Paunovic, Aoi Nakamura, Asami Mizukawa, Aya Ueto, Hiroshi Tamaki, Isao Hashizume, Kou Maehara, Koudai Matsuoka, Rick Amsbury, Takao Osawa, Takashi Sasano, Tao Okamoto, Tomoya Nakamura, Toru Tezuka, Yoshi Sakō, Yoshi Sakou, Yosuke Eguchi, Yui Natsukawa, Yusuke Santamaria
Director: Kohei Yoshino
Obliterated brings back the raunchy, yet epic ‘90s action through an inter-organization task force from the best of the best. From the team of Cobra Kai, it was expected to bring back some nostalgia, and it delivers with crazy, coked-up shenanigans with over-the-top explosions and great fight scenes in the neon-lit party city of Las Vegas. That being said, the actual story spreads thin across eight episodes, and the story beats are familiar if you’ve watched plenty of action films before, but it’s totally entertaining as they scramble around to get their wits together to be sober enough to fight old school Russian terrorists.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Actor: Alyson Gorske, C. Thomas Howell, Eugene Kim, Kimi Rutledge, Nick Zano, Paola Lázaro, Shelley Hennig, Terrence Terrell