(Credits: Best of Netflix / Netflix)

It doesn’t matter what mood you wake up to or the one you go to bed with because Netflix boasts an MCU-sized pedigree when it comes to catering to audience moodboards. The streaming era has definitely taken off with Netflix. Each new day, the streamer plays trial by fire and thrillers to ensure it stays at least one step ahead of its counterparts.

Then again, with the expansive choice of wants also comes an undeniable streaming daze. The problem with the present streaming era is the opposite conditioning of short attention span and endless catalogues of choices. But if it’s the heart-pounding thrills you seek on Netflix, this is just where you should be.

Netflix offered fans a spring break packed with action this year. However, Best of Netflix is here to jump on the trend train, bringing you a slate of five unmissable, gripping page-turners.

From a chart-topping, unconventional Christmas title to a hard-hitting post-apocalyptic dive, this Netflix thriller list is a nail-biter by reputation.

The tensest Netflix original movies

5. Bird Box (Susanne Bier, 2018)

A thriller on Netflix is practically incomplete without killings and chaos. And Bird Box? It reeks of both in abundance. Based on Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel, Bird Box is a Netflix thriller adaptation by Susanne Bier. The film follows Malorie Hayes, portrayed by Sandra Bullock, and her desperate attempts to safeguard herself and her children against the horrors of enigmatic entities which provoke people to kill themselves when they glance at them.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Bird Box chronicles a fictional upheaval of mass suicides, where the only ammunition for rescue is a blindfold and a mother who would do anything for their survival. Netflix also released a spin-off sequel, Bird Box Barcelona, on July 14th, 2023.

4. Don’t Move (Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, 2024)

When a thriller marathon on Netflix comes with dos and don’ts, you listen. Last year, the streamer hit it out of the park with Don’t Move, a thriller film starring Kelsey Asbille, Finn Wittrock, Moray Treadwell, and Daniel Francis. The title is telling in more ways than one, as the phrase is used time and again by the villains of the film.

Don’t Move follows Iris, a grieving mother, who is left with no option but to accept the orders. The reason? After a paralysing agent is injected to slow down Iris, she somehow manages to break free. But as the drugs slowly start to take a toll, she is left at the mercy of whoever discovers her. Don’t Move begins with Iris questioning the purpose of life, but soon turns into a story of survival.

3. Fair Play (Chloe Domont, 2023)

Netflix has a thing for murder and mayhem, but sometimes, it brews mystery in the most unlikely corridors of genres. Chloe Domont’s directorial debut, Fair Play, is a shining example. Fair Play starts out with a power couple, Emily, portrayed by Phoebe Dynevor, and Luke, played by Alden Ehrenreich, and their audacious climb up the corporate ladder.

Despite embracing a professionally forbidden relationship, the newly engaged financial analysts’ lives are turned upside down over an unexpected promotion. When Emily receives the promotion Luke had set his sights on, their relationship begins to unravel. But as is the rule of a ladder game, the space is too confined to accommodate more than one.

2. Carry-On (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2024)

Christmas is usually a period when streamers shine like a North Star with feel-good festive titles. But Netflix? It took a leap of faith with Ozark frontman Jason Bateman in a gripping action thriller, Carry-On. Carry-On takes place on a flight during Christmas Eve when a young TSA officer is blackmailed and forced into allowing a nerve agent to board.

While Carry-On doesn’t exactly play with Christmassy tropes, at least the ones viewers may expect by convention, in January, it turned out to be the fifth-most-watched English-language film of all time on Netflix. It reportedly earned over 149.5million views.

1. The Weekend Away (Kim Farrant, 2022)

What happens when a friend’s trip abroad turns into a living nightmare? Well, ask Leighton Meester and Christina Wolfe, who know better what it feels like when The Weekend Away goes south. Based on Sarah Alderson’s 2020 novel, The Weekend Away tells the story of two best friends, Beth and Kate.

Beth travels to Croatia for a weekend getaway with Kate. But following a heat-of-the-moment decision and a night of liquid fogginess, Beth wakes up the next morning with Kate completely missing. Though the vacation was originally supposed to be a much-needed reunion, Beth must put on her detective hat to find out what happened that night, all while remaining a prime suspect during the investigation.