3 best thriller movies on HBO Max to stream right now

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No cheap thrills here — the slow-burning suspense, the high-stakes conflicts, the edge-of-your-seat excitement and the plot twists that constantly keep you guessing richly add to this trio of top-rate thrillers, all of which are available to stream now on HBO Max.

HBO's streaming service is loaded with tension-filled mysteries, pulpy crime thrillers and intense psychological dramas, including some of the most critically acclaimed thrillers in movie history, which makes it that much more difficult to choose exactly which one to click "Play" on next.

'Parasite'

Parasite - Official Trailer (2019) Bong Joon Ho Film - YouTube

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The first non-English-language film to ever claim the Academy Award for Best Picture, Bong Joon Ho's 2019 black comedy "Parasite" finds its chilling thrills in class disparity, as the financially destitute Kim family (played by Song Kang-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik and Park So-dam) slowly but surely infiltrates the household of the Kim family, who are the picture of aspirational wealth.

Though there are plenty of outrageously funny moments throughout Bong's masterpiece, those satirical laughs are grippingly offset by a nerve-wracking sense of unease and hauntingly tragic elements that stick with you long after the credits roll.

On Rotten Tomatoes, "Parasite" holds a near-perfect 99% approval rating, with critical consensus praising: "An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon Ho in near-total command of his craft."

Watch "Parasite" on HBO Max now

'The Silence of the Lambs'

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) | Official Trailer | MGM - YouTube

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"The Silence of the Lambs" is the rare film to claim the Big Five at the Oscars: that would be Best Picture, Best Director (for Jonathan Demme), Best Adapted Screenplay (for Ted Tally's script), Best Actress (for Jodie Foster, as the distressed but determined F.B.I. cadet Clarice Sterling) and Best Actor (for Anthony Hopkins's instantly iconic performance as cannibalistic killer Hannibal Lecter).

And it's easy to see why — Demme's film is a true classic of the thriller genre, pulsing with fear, suspense and vulnerability thanks to those fantastic performances (outside of career-defining turns by Foster and Hopkins, Ted Levine is also exceptionally terrifying as serial killer Buffalo Bill) as well as Tally's taunt screenwriting, which "teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror," per Rotten Tomatoes, where the psychological thriller has a 95% approval rating.

Watch "The Silence of the Lambs" on HBO Max now

'Sinners'

Sinners | Official Trailer - YouTube

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Filmmaker Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan are used to having films find equal parts commercial and critical success — these are the guys behind the "Black Panther" franchise and the "Creed" films, after all. But the frequent screen collaborators put out arguably their most surprising hit this year with "Sinners," a Southern horror thriller that slow-burned its way to a whopping $364 million worldwide on a reported $90 million budget.

In the vampy 2025 title, Jordan has dual roles as criminal twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore who return to their hometown in the hopes of leaving their troubled lives behind, only to find an even greater evil waiting to welcome them back.

Written and directed by Coogler, the spine-tingling tale — which also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku and Omar Benson Miller — was called "a rip-roaring fusion of masterful visual storytelling and toe-tapping music" that reveals the full scope of Coogler's "singular imagination," per Rotten Tomatoes, where the "Sinners" has a 97% approval rating.

Watch "Sinners" on HBO Max 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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