I’m a huge movie buff who watches films across every single genre, but if pressed to pick a favorite, I’d have to say thrillers. And clearly, I’m not alone in my love of a well-crafted thriller movie, because the genre is constantly one of the most popular in the streaming charts as well.
In 2025, I've watched a lot of new movies, and naturally, that included dozens of thrillers. So, to help you enjoy the year’s best now that the end of the year is in sight, I’ve combed back through every single thriller flick I watched over the past 12 months and picked out my top five favorite thrillers of 2025. If you’re looking for movies packed with twists, compelling plots, memorable characters, and enough tension to have you holding your breath while watching, you’ve come to the right place.
These are the best thriller movies of 2025, according to somebody who watched a whole bunch of them this year. And for your convenience, I’ve even ranked my five picks as well. Just be sure to note that every single movie on this list is well worth watching, so don’t skip any of them.
5 best thriller movies of 2025
5. ‘Relay’
Perhaps the most “overlooked” thriller on this list, “Relay” is a delightfully engaging thriller that opts for brains over action brawn. It includes some of the most suspenseful sequences I’ve seen in any movie in 2025, and I love its wonderful creative spark. The twist-focused third act might veer a little too close to outlandish for some viewers, but the journey up until that point represents near-perfect narrative execution. Plus, it’s another excellent showcase for Oscar-winner Riz Ahmed, and the always lovable Lily James makes for an ideal supporting player.
In "Relay," Ahmed plays an unnamed fixer who offers a very unique service. He works out deals between corrupt companies and whistleblowers looking to be paid off for their silence. When he’s employed by Sarah Grant (James), a former worker at a powerful pharma company, who stole evidence of corporate malfeasance, he makes the error of getting a little too personally invested in his client. He soon starts disregarding his strict set of rules for business with dire consequences.
Watch "Relay" on Netflix now
4. ‘Caught Stealing’
Director Darren Aronofsky has been on one heck of a run the last 15 years (yes, I even appreciate 2017’s uber divisive “Mother!”), and “Caught Stealing” is right up there with the filmmaker's best work to date. It’s a proper old-school crime thriller, the type of movie you can imagine renting from a Blockbuster in the early 2000s, and quickly becoming a cult favorite. And I say that very much as a compliment. It combines a compelling narrative with strong character work and a finale that had me literally whooping out of supreme satisfaction.
Henry “Hank” Thompson (Austin Butler) is a former baseball prodigy whose promising future in the MLB was cut short by a career-ending injury sustained in a car accident. Now working as a bartender in New York City, Hank’s world is thrown into chaos when he agrees to cat-sit for his punk rock neighbor (Matt Smith), and soon after, gangsters come knocking at his door. Also starring Regina King, Zoë Kravitz and Liev Schreiber, “Caught Stealing” is a consistently entertaining thriller that offsets its bleaker moments with well-timed comedy.
Watch "Caught Stealing" on Netflix now
3. ‘The Long Walk’
While I’m talking about bleak moments, “The Long Walk” has many of them. In fact, the entire movie is an ordeal. While the thrillers above mix in some enjoyable cinematic escapism, “The Long Walk” is brutal to the core. But for as much as it can be a tough watch, it’s also impossible to look away, as it gets its claws into you right from the start. And there's hope to cling to, largely in the form of the genuinely touching friendship between its two leads, Ray (Cooper Hoffman) and Pete (David Jonsson).
Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name (which is a personal favorite of mine), “The Long Walk” centers on the eponymous contest, which sees 50 young boys compete to be the last one standing in a grueling endurance challenge. The rules are simple: They must walk nonstop until only one remains. Fall below the set pace three times, and they’ll be executed on the spot. Each boy has a different reason for walking, but once on the endless road, they find solace in each other.
Watch "The Long Walk" on Amazon (w/ purchase) now
2. ‘One Battle After Another’
You’re going to see “One Battle After Another” on many, perhaps most, “best of 2025” lists, so you’ll have to forgive me for the obvious pick here. However, there’s a reason that so many column inches have been dedicated to praising Paul Thomas Anderson’s action-thriller epic; it’s simply one of the most memorable and riveting movies released in the past 12 months. With Leonardo DiCaprio in top form, a sprawling plot that covers so much ground, but in a way that never gets convoluted, and a third act packing one of the most inventive car chases in cinematic history, “One Battle After Another” deserves its acclaim, and then some.
Currently the front-runner for Best Picture at next year’s Oscars, the movie centers on a former revolutionary, now living under the name Bob Ferguson (DiCaprio), who is forced to pay for his past actions when his young daughter (Chase Infinit) goes missing and an old adversary returns (Sean Penn). Balancing an enthralling narrative with note-perfect comedy (the already iconic telephone scene cracks me up every single time), “One Battle After Another” is a 2025 movie that we’re all going to be talking about (and recommending) for a very long time.
Watch "One Battle After Another" on HBO Max now
1. ‘Black Bag’
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/maxresdefault.jpg)
Picking my top spot between “Black Bag” and “One Battle After Another” was tricky. I love championing an underdog (I’m a Chargers fan, after all), so I’m giving the nod to Steven Soderbergh’s impeccably well-paced spy thriller over the critics' favorite. Running a lean 94 minutes, “Black Bag” stuffs so much substance into its comparably shorter runtime, it’s a masterclass in concise storytelling. It also includes some of the best performances of the year. The whole ensemble shines, but especially Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett and Marisa Abela.
Set in the world of international espionage, Fassbender plays George Woodhouse, a British intelligence officer with a talent for reading people. This skill sees him given the tricky task of identifying a mole suspected of leaking classified government secrets. Things get even more dicey when George’s beloved wife, Kathyrn (Blanchett), is suspected of being the turncoat, and he faces the ultimate dilemma between loyalty to his country and his marriage. If you love snappy and sharp dialogue, then “Black Blag” is a must-watch, and frankly, if you just enjoy excellent cinema, then it needs to be at the very top of your list.
Watch "Black Bag" on Prime Video now
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