The Best New Thriller Movies Of The Last Few Years

Updated November 2, 2020 6.3k votes 943 voters 19.9k views117 items

List RulesVote up the best thrillers released on or after January, 1 2018.

It's time to vote on the best new thriller films. Audiences have long enjoyed the pleasure of going to a movie for suspense and excitement. Modern thriller movies have raised the bar on doing just that. The past few years have delivered some of the most original, groundbreaking entries the genre has ever known. Thrillers work for a very primal reason. They put us into a state of tension for two hours. We tense up. We hold our breath. We grip the armrests. Then, in the end, there's typically some kind of big catharsis that allows us to relax. You get a bit of a rush from that, and modern thriller movies know how to play the audience like a violin.

Current thrillers come in many forms. Some are entirely plausible. Some make use of historical events. Others mesh the entire thriller concept with another genre. Some are part top thriller and part horror movie. That kind of flexibility has allowed the genre to grow in compelling, heart-pounding ways. It's no wonder these movies are more popular than ever.

Vote up your favorites from this list of recent thriller movies. If there's one particularly pulse-pounding film you don't see here, feel free to rerank the list to adjust the ranking. Don't forget to check back to see how other users rank your picks. Then, check out our list of the best crime thriller movies.

Photo:

...more

1
473
158
A Quiet Place
John Krasinski, Emily Blunt
Released: 2018
Directed by: John Krasinski
More A Quiet Place
#206 of 355 The Best Rainy Day Movies#8 of 15 Non R-Rated Horror Movies As Scary As Anything
2
340
171
Joker
Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro
Released: 2019
Directed by: Todd Phillips
3
251
147
Us
Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke
Released: 2019
Directed by: Jordan Peele
More Us
Compelling 'Us' Fan TheoriesHow The Real-Life Hands Across America Informs The Message Of Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’
4
152
83
Searching
John Cho, Debra Messing
Released: 2018
Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty
More Searching
#65 of 126 The Greatest Directorial Debuts Of All Time#3 of 18 The Best Horror Movies About The Internet
5
94
47
Hereditary
Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne
Released: 2018
Directed by: Ari Aster
More Hereditary
Ari Aster's Gutting Horror Film 'Hereditary' May Have Been Just As Scary Behind The Scenes#105 of 242 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time
6
158
105
Midsommar
Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor
Released: 2019
Directed by: Ari Aster
More Midsommar
‘Midsommar’ Is A Phantasmagoric Nightmare Of A Horror MovieEveryone On Twitter Is Saying 'Midsommar' Is Awesome - And Creepy
7
137
87
A Simple Favor
Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively
Released: 2018
Directed by: Paul Feig

8
96
80
Escape Room
Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll
Released: 2019
Directed by: Adam Robitel
More Escape Room
#582 of 722 The Best Horror Movies Of All Time#58 of 60 The Best Horror Movies About Evil Experiments
9
103
90
Bad Times at the El Royale
Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo
Released: 2018
Directed by: Drew Goddard
More Bad Times at the El Royale
#23 of 37 The Best Horror Movies Set In Hotels#25 of 59 The Very Best New Noir Movies
10
95
83
Crawl
Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper
Released: 2019
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
More Crawl
#30 of 136 The Scariest Animal Horror Movies Ever Made#23 of 35 Rainy Day Horror Movies You Can Watch Again And Again
11
65
51
Uncut Gems
Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield
Released: 2019
Directed by: Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie
More Uncut Gems
#37 of 50 The Best and Worst of Adam Sandler#44 of 59 The Best Serious Movies Starring Comedians
12
109
101
Annihilation
Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Released: 2018
Directed by: Alex Garland
More Annihilation
#129 of 168 The Best Science Fiction Action Movies#41 of 97 The Best Movies to Watch on Mushrooms
13
70
62
The Equalizer 2
Denzel Washington, Ashton Sanders
Released: 2018
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
14
108
108
Glass
Bruce Willis, James McAvoy
Released: 2019
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
More
#56 of 136 The Best Third Films In A Movie Series#25 of 75 The Best Blumhouse Productions Movies
15
17
4
The Invisible Man
Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Released: 2020
Directed by: Leigh Whannell
More
#323 of 369 The Best Movies Based On Books#69 of 105 The Greatest Movie Remakes of All Time
16
61
59
The Commuter
Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga
Released: 2018
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
17
14
1
Ready or Not
Samara Weaving, Adam Brody
Released: 2019
Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
More Ready or Not
#78 of 114 The Best Intelligent Horror Movies#254 of 280 The Best Whodunit Movies
18
14
4
Bird Box
Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson
Released: 2018
Directed by: Susanne Bier
More Bird Box
10 Compelling Theories About The Creature(s) In 'Bird Box'#19 of 27 27 Films Stephen King Has Awarded His Personal Stamp Of Approval
19
35
31
The Good Liar
Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen
Released: 2019
Directed by: Bill Condon
20
12
2
The Hunt
Ike Barinholtz, Betty Gilpin
Released: 2020
Directed by: Craig Zobel
21
52
55
Unsane
Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard
Released: 2018
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
More Unsane
#12 of 61 The Best Horror Movies About Hospitals and Mental Asylums#11 of 15 15 Movies Where The Relationship Gaslighting Is The Real Horror
22
41
42
The Foreigner
Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan
Released: 2017
Directed by: Martin Campbell
23
10
4
The First Purge
Y'Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis
Released: 2018
Directed by: Gerard McMurray
24
8
2
The Nun
Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir
Released: 2018
Directed by: Corin Hardy
More
Who Is Valak, The Horrifying Demon From 'The Nun'?#58 of 64 Horror Movie Set-Ups You'd Least Like to Be Trapped In
25
7
1
Velvet Buzzsaw
Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo
Released: 2019
Directed by: Dan Gilroy