3 new to Netflix thriller movies to watch this week — and one of them finds Cillian Murphy and Brie Larson in a black-market arms deal (Feb. 12-18)

Armie Hammer, Brie Larson and Cillian Murphy in Free Fire
(Image credit: StudioCanal)

Few movie genres get our pulses racing quite like a good, action-packed thriller, and, helpfully, Netflix is full of great ones, from blood-chilling horror-thrillers to guns-blazing crime capers.

To make sure you don't miss a single thrilling title, we've scoured Netflix's February 2026 slate and picked out movies powered with high-octane action, suspenseful twists and turns, and plenty of excitement.

It's a good time, too, to be a thriller lover, because not only does the streaming service regularly add dozens of fresh flicks to its library at the start of the month, but this ahead brings even more new arrivals. Among them are an Ethan Hawke-led supernatural horror-thriller, a Cillian Murphy-starring comedy-thriller about a sketchy black-market arms deal, and a newly released São Paulo-set crime thriller.

So, if you’re also craving some thrillers on Netflix this week, here are three recent additions you should add to your watchlist now.

Best Netflix thriller movies to watch this week

‘Free Fire’ (2016)

Free Fire | Official Red Band Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube Free Fire | Official Red Band Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube
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Featuring a splashy ensemble helmed by a pair of Oscar winners (Cillian Murphy and Brie Larson, with Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Jack Reynor and Babou Ceesay rounding out the cast), the Ben Wheatley-directed action-thriller "Free Fire" thrusts viewers back in time to a 1970s-set Boston warehouse, where a shady gun sale is set to take place between a pair of IRA members and some eclectic arms dealers. When things don't go as planned, however, that black-market transaction quickly turns into a frantic shootout.

The singular setting and seemingly endless gunfire certainly up the danger element of the fast-paced 2016 flick, but there's plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor packed into its lean 90-minute run, especially from Copley's narcissistic and increasingly ridiculous arms-dealer character, Vernon.

Watch "Free Fire" on Netflix now

'State of Fear' (2026)

Salve Geral: Irmandade | Trailer oficial | Netflix Brasil - YouTube Salve Geral: Irmandade | Trailer oficial | Netflix Brasil - YouTube
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A spin-off of the Brazilian Netflix series "Brotherhood," this Pedro Morelli-helmed thriller is a standalone story set in São Paulo, which has erupted in an unprecedented wave of violence. During that massive criminal uprising, a lawyer with underworld ties (played by Naruna Costa) attempts to rescue her niece, Elisa (Camilla Damião) — the 18-year-old daughter of Edson (Seu Jorge), founder of the Brotherhood — after the girl is kidnapped by corrupt police officers.

"With an intense visual style and ambitious single takes, State of Fear intensifies the sense of urgency, propelling viewers through a narrative that tests the boundaries between justice and power," promises Netflix. The film's script was written by Pedro Morelli and Julia Furrer; along with Costa and Damião, the "State of Fear" cast also includes David Santos, Elzio Vieira, Enio Cavalcante, Hermila Guedes, Lee Taylor, Marcélia Cartaxo and Seu Jorge, among others.

Watch "State of Fear" on Netflix now

‘The Black Phone' (2021)

The Black Phone - Official Trailer - YouTube The Black Phone - Official Trailer - YouTube
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Oscar-nominated this year for his transformative work as lyricist Lorenz Hart in "Blue Moon," Ethan Hawke previously was chillingly unrecognizable as The Grabber, a masked serial child abductor at the center of Scott Derrickson's horror thriller "The Black Phone," based on the award-winning short story by Joe Hill.

The freaky flick follows Finney Shaw, a shy 13-year-old boy who gets snatched by the sadistic killer and trapped in his soundproof basement. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, the Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims, who give the boy desperate advice about how he can engineer his escape.

Watch "The Black Phone" on Netflix now


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Christina Izzo is a writer-editor covering culture, food and drink, travel and general lifestyle in New York City. She was previously the Deputy Editor at My Imperfect Life, the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

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