Best Thriller Movies 2021

Critics Consensus: An uncommonly patient thriller, Azor elegantly slips the viewer into its cool grasp and never lets go.

Synopsis: Argentina, the late 1970s. Private banker Yvan (Fabrizio Rongione) arrives from Geneva with his wife Ines (Stéphanie Cléau) to replace a colleague who has mysteriously... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Fabrizio Rongione, Stéphanie Cléau, Elli Medeiros, Alexandre Trocki

Directed By: Andreas Fontana

Critics Consensus: A darkly humorous revenge thriller with satisfying depth and a dash of savory quirk, Riders of Justice makes another compelling case for Mads Mikkelsen as an all-purpose leading man.

Synopsis: RIDERS OF JUSTICE follows recently-deployed Markus (Mads Mikkelsen), who is forced to return home to care for his teenage daughter after his wife is killed... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Lars Brygmann

Directed By: Anders Thomas Jensen

Critics Consensus: Gripping from start to finish, Boiling Point uses its bold formal approach to support a thrilling tightrope of a tale.

Synopsis: On the busiest night of the year at one of the hottest restaurants in London, charismatic, commanding head chef Andy Jones (Stephen Graham) balances along... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Alice Feetham, Hannah Walters

Directed By: Philip Barantini

Critics Consensus: While it may not be on par with his best crime capers, No Sudden Move finds Soderbergh on entertainingly familiar ground -- and making the most of an excellent cast.

Synopsis: Set in 1954 Detroit, NO SUDDEN MOVE centers on a group of small-time criminals who are hired to steal what they think is a simple... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

Critics Consensus: A remarkable first feature for writer-director Lauren Hadaway, The Novice paints a thrilling -- and disturbing -- portrait of obsession.

Synopsis: Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) plays Alex Dall, a queer college freshman who joins her university's rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Amy Forsyth, Dilone, Kate Drummond

Directed By: Lauren Hadaway

Critics Consensus: Thrillingly provocative and original, Titane reaffirms writer-director Julia Ducournau's delightfully disturbing vision.

Synopsis: Titane: A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys, often used in medical prostheses due to its pronounced biocompatibility.

Starring: Agathe Rousselle, Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh

Directed By: Julia Ducournau

Critics Consensus: A darkly amusing thriller that discomfits as it entertains, The Beta Test satirizes Hollywood with savage flair.

Synopsis: A married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, murder and infidelity... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jim Cummings, PJ McCabe, Virginia Newcomb, Kevin Changaris

Directed By: Jim Cummings, PJ McCabe

Critics Consensus: Nobody doesn't break any new ground for the genre, but this viscerally violent thriller smashes, shatters, and destroys plenty of other things -- all while proving Bob Odenkirk has what it takes to be an action star.

Synopsis: Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life's indignities on... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Alexey Serebryakov, Christopher Lloyd

Directed By: Ilya Naishuller

Critics Consensus: The Courier delivers a rousingly effective old-school spy adventure elevated by a thrilling fact-based story and Benedict Cumberbatch's nervy central performance.

Synopsis: THE COURIER is a true-life spy thriller, the story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited into one of the greatest international... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Vladimir Chuprikov, James Schofield

Directed By: Dominic Cooke

Critics Consensus: Deft direction and an expertly assembled ensemble further elevate Only the Animals' intelligent, absorbing mystery.

Synopsis: Following the disappearance of the glamorous and secretive Evelyne Ducat (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) during a blizzard in the highlands of southern France, the lives of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Laure Calamy, Denis Ménochet, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Damien Bonnard

Directed By: Dominik Moll