If I’ve learned anything from my years spent tracking the most popular movies on Netflix, it’s that the streaming service’s subscribers love a thriller flick. Any time Netflix adds a new thriller or welcomes an old favorite to its library, it’s almost always rockets up the platform’s top 10 most-watched list.
Clearly, the bigwigs at Netflix are aware of this hunger for all things thrilling, and so a regular stream of thriller movies lands on the service almost every week. The next seven days are no different.
In the coming days, Netflix is set to add multiple thriller movies, ranging from a new original from the director of the Oscar-nominated “Conclave” to a glossy psychological mystery that everybody was talking about upon its release (not always for the right reasons).
I’ve pored over Netflix’s upcoming movie slate and picked out three new to Netflix thrillers that are worth adding to your watchlist if you’re craving a film packed with twists and turns this week.
Netflix thriller movies worth watching this week
‘Ballad of a Small Player’ (2025)
Netflix is following up its current No. 1 movie, “A House of Dynamite,” with another original thriller, “Ballad of a Small Player.” This one falls into the psychological thriller subgenre and comes from director Edward Berger, the filmmaker behind last year’s Oscar-nominated “Conclave.”
On paper, that sounds like the recipe for a streaming hit, but the reviews out of its limited theatrical window have been more mixed than I anticipated. Nevertheless, Netflix is sure to give this Colin Farrell-fronted film a big push, and I know I’ll be watching this week.
“Ballad of a Small Player” focused on Lord Doyle (Farrell), a high-stakes gambler whose luck has taken a downturn. Attempting to escape his debts and past mistakes, by hiding out in Macau, Doyle spends his days drinking and squandering what little money he has left.
However, when he meets a mysterious casino employee (Fala Chen), he’s offered a surprise chance at redemption. However, a private investigator (Tilda Swinton) is on the scene with plans to ensure he faces the consequences of his actions.
Watch "Ballad of a Small Player" on Netflix from October 29
‘Tenet’ (2020)
Christopher Nolan’s baffling (and occasionally brilliant) sci-fi action-thriller “Tenet” lands on Netflix this week, and now’s a great chance to revisit this pandemic-era blockbuster.
Surprisingly messy for the usually sharply composed Nolan, for all its faults, you can’t deny “Tenet’s” ambition, and even when the narrative veers off the rails, the slick vibes keep you hooked. Plus, John David Washington and Robert Pattinson make for a great superspy pairing, and some of the time-bending action sequences are mesmerizing.
Washington plays a nameless protagonist recruited by a shadowy organization, known only as “Tenet.” His mission is to stop a Russian oligarch (Kenneth Branagh) with the ability to communicate with the future from starting World War III.
To achieve this goal, the protagonist must travel through time, and even beyond it, mastering the art of “time inversion.” It’s a twisty sci-fi epic that, on more than one occasion, ties itself in a knot, but “Tenet” is certainly worth watching. Just be mindful that you might need a few rewatches to piece it all together.
Watch "Tenet" on Netflix from November 1
‘Don’t Worry Darling’ (2022)
Speaking of movies with a divisive reception, Olivia Wilde followed up her acclaimed comedy “Booksmart” with a psychological thriller that was splashed across tabloid headlines for months due to reports of on-set drama.
The story behind “Don’t Worry Darling’s” production (and its infamous press tour) might actually be more interesting than the movie itself, but the finished product is a polished thriller with a neat twist, and the ever-excellent Florence Pugh holds it all together. It’s just a shame it never quite manages to meet its clear potential.
Set in an idyllic 1950s town known as Victory, Alice (Pugh) has a seemingly perfect life. Married to the handsome Jack (Harry Styles), and spending her days mixing with the community's fellow wives while their husbands work on a top-secret project, on the surface, it’s a perfect existence.
However, Alice can’t shake any uneasy feeling that something is amiss, and as she investigates Victory and her husband’s work, she learns that looks can be deceiving. Also starring Chris Pine and Wilde herself, “Don’t Worry Darling” makes some big promises out of the gate, before, unfortunately, breaking them in the third act, but thriller fans will want to see it at least once.
Watch "Don't Worry Darling" on Netflix from November 1
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