Thrilling Streamable Picks: Chasing the World Best English Movies
Searching for the World Best English Movies often leads down a rabbit hole of iconic classics and critically acclaimed masterpieces. It’s a vast landscape spanning decades and genres. But beyond the usual suspects, there lies a thrilling world of high-stakes suspense, psychological depth, and edge-of-your-seat action available right now. While defining the absolute “best” is subjective, discovering truly gripping cinematic experiences is a universal pleasure.
This curated list dives into some exceptionally thrilling films you can stream, featuring both powerful English-language narratives and standout international examples that capture the essence of suspenseful storytelling. These aren’t just movies; they’re heart-racing, sweat-inducing, completely captivating experiences that showcase intense plotlines and memorable performances. If you’re looking for films that grab hold and don’t let go, prepare yourself for some of the most compelling thrillers available at your fingertips.
Top Thrilling Movie Picks to Stream Now
Bird Box
Thriller subgenre: Postapocalyptic
When someone tells you, “Don’t look,” fighting the urge becomes almost impossible. But in Bird Box, it’s a matter of life or death. Based on a 2014 novel with the same name, this 2018 film follows Malorie Hayes (Sandra Bullock) on a journey of survival. The world is overrun with off-camera entities that cause anyone who looks at them to commit suicide. We meet Malorie as she’s instructing two children (Vivien Lyra Blair and Julian Edwards) to float down a river blindfolded, but then quickly jump back five years to a pregnant Malorie and her visiting sister (Sarah Paulson). A news broadcast warns that unexplained mass suicides are spreading and things are, ahem, not looking good.
Sandra Bullock blindfolded navigating a tense post-apocalyptic river journey in the movie Bird Box
As Malorie fights for her life, she encounters friends and enemies — including Tom (Trevante Rhodes), Olympia (Danielle Macdonald), Greg (BD Wong), Douglas (John Malkovich), Lucy (Rosa Salazar), and Felix (Machine Gun Kelly). And while none of them are supposed to open their eyes in the monsters’ presence, you won’t be able to look away from this gripping postapocalyptic thriller.
The Call
Thriller subgenre: Sci-fi mystery
Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) returns to her childhood home on her way to visit her sick and estranged mother. When she arrives at the house, she connects an old phone and begins to receive calls from a distressed woman named Yeong-sook (Jun Jong-seo). During their calls, Seo-yeon realizes Yeong-sook is living in the same house — but 20 years ago. The two women become friends, learning about each other’s lives over the phone while communicating across time.
A tense scene from the sci-fi mystery thriller The Call featuring a character on an old corded phone
Then one day, Seo-yeon and Yeong-sook make a small choice that will forever change their lives in their respective timelines. But can they trust each other? This South Korean film masterfully blends science fiction and mystery elements into a nail-biting temporal paradox.
Carry-On
Thriller subgenre: Action
Get ready for the most stressful airport trip of your life. Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) spends his days as an unmotivated TSA agent at Los Angeles’ LAX airport. One good thing he’s got going for him? He and girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) are expecting their first child. So when Ethan arrives to work on Christmas Eve, he convinces his supervisor (Dean Norris) to put him on bag monitoring duty — angling for a promotion now that they’ve got a baby on the way.
Taron Egerton as TSA agent Ethan Kopek in a high-stakes situation in the action thriller Carry-On
But soon after, an earbud comes through in a screening bin and a mysterious text instructs Ethan to insert it. Suddenly, he’s talking to a lethal mercenary known only as “Traveler” (Jason Bateman), who instructs Ethan to let a dangerous carry-on suitcase pass through. And if he doesn’t? Nora will be killed. This high-octane action thriller puts an ordinary man in an extraordinary, life-threatening situation.
Don’t Move
Thriller subgenre: Horror
“Don’t move.” Two words frequently uttered by threatening baddies to their victims, but Iris (Kelsey Asbille) has no choice. During an attack by a stranger (Finn Wittrock) in a park, she’s injected with a paralyzing agent. Though Iris manages to fight off her assailant and make a break for the woods, the drugs gradually take effect until she’s rendered completely immobile — at the mercy of whatever or whoever finds her.
Kelsey Asbille as Iris facing peril while paralyzed in the horror-thriller Don't Move
Grieving the death of her young son, Iris went to that park at her lowest point. Now, she’ll fight like hell to live. This film blends horror elements with the desperate tension of a survival thriller, focusing on vulnerability and resilience.
Fair Play
Thriller subgenre: Romantic
An ambitious power couple fight their way up the corporate ladder, but can their relationship survive? Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are a pair of newly engaged financial analysts whose relationship is forbidden by their mutual employer, cutthroat hedge fund One Crest Capital. When Emily gets an unexpected promotion that Luke expected for himself, power games between the two begin to tear their relationship apart.
Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich as ambitious couple Emily and Luke in the intense romantic thriller Fair Play
Only one person can come out on top, even if it ruins their future together. Fair Play delves into the dark side of ambition and romance, creating a tense psychological battleground within a high-finance setting.
Hold the Dark
Thriller subgenre: Action-adventure
Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) is a writer slash wolf expert who’s been called to investigate the disappearance of three small children in the fictional town of Keelut, Alaska. As you may have guessed from Core’s credentials, Medora Slone (Riley Keough) is convinced wolves are to blame for taking her 6-year-old son, Bailey. Meanwhile, Medora’s husband, Vernon (Alexander Skarsgård), is serving overseas in Iraq until an injury and a missing Bailey bring him home.
Jeffrey Wright as wolf expert Russell Core investigating a disappearance in the bleak Alaskan setting of Hold the Dark
The police, led by Chief Donald Marium (James Badge Dale), and native villagers, like Vernon’s friend, Cheeon (Julian Black Antelope), get involved in the search and form their own opinions as to what’s going on in their small community. As this grisly and suspense-filled tale unfolds, it becomes increasingly difficult to gauge who’s capable of the more savage behavior — animals or humans. This atmospheric thriller blends action and mystery against a harsh, unforgiving backdrop.
Interceptor
Thriller subgenre: Action-drama
Nothing creates tension like nuclear weapons. Terrorists have stolen nukes from Russia and taken over one of the United States’ interceptor missile launch sites in Alaska. After she files a sexual misconduct report and becomes the subject of even more harassment from her military peers because of it, Army Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky) is re-stationed to the middle of the Pacific Ocean at the only other US interceptor missile launch site.
Elsa Pataky as Army Captain JJ Collins in a tense command center scene from the action-drama Interceptor
Working in the command center alongside Lt. Colonel Marshall (Rhys Muldoon), Beaver Baker (Aaron Glenane), and Corporal Rahul Shah (Mayen Mehta), Collins is there when the station is infiltrated by ex-military intelligence soldier Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey) and his group of baddies. They bring a manifesto to stream online about the failures of the US and instructions for those other bad guys in Alaska to launch the seized warheads immediately. As her country’s last line of defense, Collins has other make-’em-up-as-she-goes plans. This film delivers high-stakes military action with a determined protagonist fighting against overwhelming odds.
Leave the World Behind
Thriller subgenre: Apocalyptic
There’s no going back to normal in this apocalyptic thriller. Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts) and her husband, Clay (Ethan Hawke), take their kids on a weekend family getaway to a gorgeous house on Long Island to escape the city buzz. But their vacation bliss is soon interrupted when the homeowner, G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali), and his daughter, Ruth (Myha’la), arrive in the middle of the night seeking to hunker down in the midst of citywide blackouts in New York City.
Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali in a tense moment from the apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind
G.H. believes that the phenomenon might be a sign of something bigger, and the two families must learn to trust each other if they have any hope of surviving. Directed by Sam Esmail, this film expertly builds dread and paranoia as modern comforts collapse, forcing complex character interactions under immense pressure.
The Occupant
Thriller subgenre: Psychological
The lengths people will go to for a nice apartment these days … in the case of Javier Muñoz (Javier Gutiérrez), they’re downright terrifying. Once a big-shot advertising exec, now unemployed, Javier can’t even get an unpaid internship. He’s forced to leave his stunning rich-person abode with wife Marga (Ruth Díaz) and son Dani (Cristian Muñoz) and downsize to a cramped rental unit in a poorer part of Barcelona.
Javier Gutiérrez as Javier Muñoz observing the new residents of his former home in the psychological thriller The Occupant
Marga tries to soften the blow with the observation, “They’re four walls, Javier. That’s it.” But Javier can’t seem to let his old place (or the lifestyle and social status that came with it) go. After he discovers a spare set of keys in his car, he returns to the apartment, steals some cornflakes, goes to the bathroom, and sees photos of the family living there now — businessman Tomás (Mario Casas) with his wife, Lara (Bruna Cusí), and their daughter, Mónica (Iris Vallés). Javier becomes obsessed with the new occupants, and what starts as stalking quickly turns to scheming. He’ll do anything — anything — to get “his” home back. This Spanish thriller offers a chilling look at obsession and social decline.
The Platform
Thriller subgenre: Sci-fi social commentary
This is a movie about a very scary buffet. One day, Goreng (Iván Massagué) wakes up in a Vertical Self-Management Center, colloquially known as “The Pit,” which is basically a huge tower with lots and lots of floors. His cellmate, Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor), explains that food is delivered to the inhabitants of each floor via a platform from the top floor down to the bottom floor, pausing for a fixed period of time on each level so folks can eat.
A stark view of the descending food platform within the dystopian structure of The Platform
But here’s the rub — people on the lower levels can only eat what’s left over from those above them. And anyone caught stowing food? They’re killed. Every month, people are randomly assigned a new level. Even if you’re not paying attention to the capitalism critiques or the case for fair distribution of wealth, this tale of survival is gripping enough to keep your interest. This Spanish sci-fi film uses its high-concept premise to deliver brutal suspense and sharp social commentary.
Reptile
Thriller subgenre: Crime
In this twisty thriller, hardened detective Tom Nichols (Benicio Del Toro) is thrown into a murder investigation after a young real estate agent is found dead at one of her listings. The young woman’s boyfriend, Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), who’s the head of his family’s real estate empire, is completely devastated by her death, but something is amiss — and Nichols’ investigation into the case leads him to a web of corruption that begins to unravel his whole life.
Benicio Del Toro as detective Tom Nichols contemplating clues in the crime thriller Reptile
Come for the mystery, stay for Alicia Silverstone’s performance as Tom’s wife, Judy, who is, in some ways, his most trusted partner. Reptile offers a slow-burn, atmospheric crime story filled with deception and hidden motives.
Rebel Ridge
Thriller subgenre: Crime-action
While cycling into the small town of Shelby Springs to bail his cousin out of jail, former Marine Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) is rammed by a police car. The officers behind the wheel unjustly confiscate his bail money, plus extra funds Terry had slotted for a new business venture to help his cousin turn his life around.
Aaron Pierre as former Marine Terry Richmond facing off against corrupt forces in Rebel Ridge
After arriving in town, meeting aspiring lawyer Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb), and attempting to report the robbery, Terry soon realizes the entire force is corrupt — all the way up to Police Chief Burnne (Don Johnson). But this time, they’ve messed with the wrong Marine. This crime-action thriller pits one man against a systematically corrupt system in a fight for justice.
Spiderhead
Thriller subgenre: Psychological sci-fi
Speaking of drugs, Spiderhead tells the story of inmates Jeff (Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), looking to reduce their sentences by volunteering as test subjects for various mood- and mind-altering chemicals in a fancy-schmancy penitentiary. The prisoners have their own rooms and are free to roam without guard supervision, as long as they show up for their daily test runs of the drugs. These are administered by the likable Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth) and his dutiful assistant, Mark (Mark Paguio).
Chris Hemsworth as Steve Abnesti overseeing an experiment in the psychological sci-fi thriller Spiderhead
But oh ho ho, nothing is ever as it seems in places like this, and Jeff and Lizzy soon realize something much more sinister than a “love drug” is being developed here. Based on a dystopian short story by George Saunders, once published inThe New Yorker, you’ll be addicted from start to finish by its unsettling exploration of consent and control.
Under Paris
Thriller subgenre: Action-horror
In this French creature feature, a giant shark nicknamed Lilith shows up in the Seine just before the city of Paris is set to host a river’s worth of triathlon swimmers. The mayor (Anne Marivin) refuses to cancel the event, so police, environmentalists, and marine researcher Sophia Assalas (Bérénice Bejo) must team up to find and destroy the deadly Lilith.
A dramatic scene showing the potential shark threat looming under Paris in the action-horror film Under Paris
Turns out the scientist and the shark have history — and for Sophia, it’s not just a matter of international security. It’s personal. Combining creature-feature thrills with urban disaster, this movie delivers high-stakes aquatic horror in an iconic setting.
The Weekend Away
Thriller subgenre: Crime
Best friends Beth (Leighton Meester) and Kate (Christina Wolfe) are on what starts as a made-for-Instagram girls trip to Croatia, complete with a gorgeous Airbnb, glamorous vacation attire, delicious food, and views so breathtakingly idyllic they’ll have you pausing the movie to google flights to Europe. The vacation is a much needed catch-up for the ladies. Beth just had a baby and is in a sort of rough patch with husband Rob (Luke Norris), while Kate’s in the aftermath of a bad breakup herself.
Leighton Meester as Beth searching for answers during a vacation gone wrong in the crime thriller The Weekend Away
But events take a turn when Beth awakens after a drunken night on the town to discover that Kate is missing. And there’s blood on the floor. Yikes. Now Beth has to put together what happened — miles from home with no one but Zain (Ziad Bakri) the taxi driver to help. Making matters worse? The police have identified their No. 1 suspect in Kate’s disappearance, and it’s Beth. This twisty crime thriller turns a picturesque getaway into a desperate search for truth.
Woman of the Hour
Thriller subgenre: Crime
In 1970s Los Angeles, Sheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick) is looking for her big break but isn’t finding much luck, so she reluctantly agrees to appear on an episode of the blind-dating television show The Dating Game. During the taping, she meets Bachelor #3, Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) a serial killer in the midst of a years-long murder spree who later became known as the Dating Game Killer.
Anna Kendrick as Sheryl Bradshaw during her appearance on The Dating Game in the crime thriller Woman of the Hour
Based on a true story, Woman of the Hour doesn’t just follow what happens once Sheryl crosses Alcala’s path — it also zeroes in on the victims whose lives he cut short. Directed by and starring Kendrick, the film offers a chilling juxtaposition of showbiz glamour and real-life horror, focusing on the survivor’s experience within the context of a notorious true crime case.
Beyond the List: Your Next Thrilling Watch
The quest for the World Best English Movies is ongoing, but exploring the diverse and suspenseful world of thrillers offers immediate rewards. From post-apocalyptic survival and psychological mind games to intricate crime mysteries and high-octane action, the films listed here provide a potent dose of cinematic tension. Whether English-language originals or compelling international features, these movies demonstrate the power of suspenseful storytelling to captivate and thrill audiences.
While this selection highlights some standout streamable options, the world of great cinema is vast. Consider this a starting point for discovering films that keep you guessing, make your heart pound, and stay with you long after the credits roll. What thrilling movies would you add to the list? Share your favorites and continue exploring the incredible range of films available today.
