Netflix is really spoiling subscribers with new thriller movies on the streaming service this week. And as a huge fan of the genre, it won’t be comforting Christmas at the top of my watchlist in the coming days, but plenty of suspense-stuffed flicks instead.
So, if you’re also looking for some great thriller movies you can watch on Netflix this week, then you’ve come to the right place. I’ve combed through the platform’s latest arrivals and found a trio of thrillers worth considering. These picks include a brand new sci-fi original, one of 2025’s most overlooked films (with a killer twist), and a survival drama based on a shocking true story.
Best Netflix thriller movies to watch this week
'Relay' (2025)
“Relay” has pretty much everything you could want from a thriller movie: A strong cast led by Oscar-winner Riz Ahmed (and also featuring “Avatar” star Sam Worthington), a strong central narrative hook, and a third act that takes a couple of unexpected turns. I rank it as one of 2025’s most overlooked movies, in any genre. I’m very pleased to see it land on Netflix this week, which should ensure that more people get the chance to watch it.
In “Relay,” Ahmed plays an unnamed “fixer,” offering a pretty unique service. He acts as a broker between powerful corporations and whistleblowers looking to return incriminating company secrets in exchange for a payoff. When he’s employed by Sarah Grant (Lily James), a former worker at a massive biotech company with evidence of a cover-up, he becomes dangerously invested in her plight and starts to break his careful set of rules designed to ensure his own safety.
Watch "Relay" on Netflix from December 19
'The Great Flood' (2025)
Netflix's slate of original content in December is always dominated by new offerings tailor-made for the holiday season. But “The Great Flood” could be a much-needed change of pace, if you’re a little burned out on seasonal romantic comedies. It’s a new sci-fi disaster movie, and based on the trailer, it looks so intense that you might find yourself holding your breath along with its cast, who are attempting to survive a devastating flood that might spell humanity’s doom.
Set in a frighteningly plausible future, where cataclysmic flooding is set to wipe out all life on Earth, Gu An-na (Kim Da-mi) is an AI researcher trapped along with her young son in their apartment building that is rapidly filling up with water. Also starring “Squid Game’s” Park Hae-soo, “The Great Flood” looks like an environmental fable with plenty of thrilling (and chilling) moments. It could prove to be the last great Netflix original movie of 2025.
Watch "The Great Flood" on Netflix from December 19
'Eden' (2024)
Directed by Ron Howard and starring Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney and Daniel Brühl, there’s plenty of talent behind and in front of the camera in “Eden.” Nevertheless, critics weren’t entirely convinced by this period-set survival thriller, labeling it “melodramatic.” On the other hand, viewers were kinder, scoring it 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, and even with the lukewarm reviews, I’m still plenty intrigued by this one.
Based on a true story, “Eden” centers on a group of European settlers who ditch the society of their time to create a new utopia in the 1920s. They opt to start a new life on the remote isle of Floreana in the Galápagos Islands, and at first, things seem pretty perfect. But you can probably guess this peace doesn’t last very long. Facing a challenging climate and deadly wildlife, the greatest threat to their new society is actually each other, as a deadly power struggle breaks out, and soon what was supposed to be paradise turns to chaos.
Watch "Eden" on Netflix from December 22
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