Sometimes, when you’re looking to be entertained, only a thriller will cut it. Sure, everybody loves a rom-com or an action movie, but If you ever find yourself feeling like life is getting inexplicably dark and morality is becoming more ambiguous, immersing yourself in a tense world of serial killers, terrorists, crooked sleazebags, and jaw-dropping twists of all kinds is a pretty great form of escapism. The genre is broad enough to encompass a wide variety of tropes. So you could probably watch thrillers forever and never get bored.
Netflix‘s thriller offerings are surprisingly well-rounded this month, offering a good mix of undisputed classics from the likes of Steven Spielberg as well as newer indie flicks that you may have missed. This January, top-tier archival titles include “Oldboy” along with Netflix Originals like “Fair Play” and “Run Rabbit Run.” Whether you’re looking to revisit an old favorite, fill an embarrassing gap in your movie knowledge, or find something new and cutting-edge that will blow your mind, the thriller genre always has something for you.
With editorial contributions from Christian Zilko.
“The Snowman”
Is “The Snowman” a good movie? Absolutely not. But Swedish director Tomas Alfredson’s (the man behind acclaimed films like “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “Let the Right One In,” to give some comparison) 2017 thriller is such a baffling, ill-conceived misfire that it loops around to become compulsively watchable. Starring Michael Fassbender as Harry Hole (yes, really), a detective searching for an illusive serial killer known for building snowmen at crime scenes, the movie has all the ingredients for a good thriller, from good source material (it’s based on a 2007 Norwegian crime thriller) to a good director and a solid cast (supporting actors include Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, and J. K. Simmons). And yet, quite literally nothing about it works: The plot is incomprehensible, the performances are scattered and uncertain, and the direction is shockingly amateurish. It’s a bad film, but one that proves genuinely memorable in a sea of far more anonymous Netflix productions. Watch it on a rainy day, and there’s plenty of entertainment value to be found in such an all-time bad thriller. —WC
“Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile”
At first glance, the casting of Zac Efron as Ted Bundy seemed like an indulgence of all of the worst parts of mainstream true crime culture. As America’s fascination with serial killers continued to skyrocket, bringing in a former Disney star to play a brutal serial killer could have been a shameless attempt to cash in on the trend. But Efron delivers an excellent performance in a nuanced film that does nothing to glamorize the murderer, choosing instead to break down the cult of personality surrounding Bundy at every turn. —CZ
“Run Rabbit Run”
Sarah Snook took on her first post-“Succession” leading role in this Australian thriller about a fertility doctor who begins to suspect that something is very, very wrong with her young daughter. In a performance that wildly diverges from her tightly-wound Waystar Royco heiress persona, Snook goes to great lengths to elevate a conventional thriller premise (complete with familiar tropes like ominous animal iconography) into one of the more entertaining films to hit Netflix in recent memory. Equal parts “The Babadook” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” it’s a film that will push you to your breaking point as quickly as Snook’s character reaches hers. —CZ
“A Simple Favor”
“A Simple Favor” is not a particularly successful thriller in terms of, er, thrilling you, but it does succeed wildly at entertaining you. Paul Feig’s comedic take on the genre is a lightly satirical look at mommy blogging culture and suburban discontent, filtered through the perspective of Anna Kendrick’s dissatisfied Stephanie. When her best friend, the highly successful Emily (Blake Lively) mysteriously disappears, Stephanie throws herself into the investigation and digs up dirt on her seemingly perfect counterpart. If “A Simple Favor” proves a bit wobbly, then Kendrick’s go-for-broke performance and the often genuinely funny script just as frequently steadies the ship. It’s less “Psycho” than it is “Desperate Housewives,” which will be music to anyone who misses “Desperate Housewives.” —WC
“Carry-On”
Netflix’s latest action movie hit, “Carry-On” is better than the average original from the streamer. It helps that it comes from Jaume Collet-Serra, a journeyman director who nonetheless has all the chops to produce a great action thriller. And he gives the thriller some real panache, with some expertly staged action scenes that liven up the so-so storyline. Taron Egerton stars as Ethan, a TSA officer who gets way in over his head when a ruthless mercenary (Jason Bateman) blackmails him with his pregnant girlfriend’s life for access onto a commercial flight while carrying a case of Novichok nerve agent gas. The plot is full of holes, but the tension and action is top-tier, and Egerton and especially Bateman give excellently committed performances that make the lark all the more fun. —WC
“Emily the Criminal”
A nasty crime thriller about how economic uncertainty can push people to desperate extremes, “Emily the Criminal” stars Aubrey Plaza as the titular Emily, a former art student whose college debt and former felony charge prevents her from escaping the drudgeries of service work. When a coworker connects her to a credit card fraud ring, Emily leaps at the opportunity to make some fast cash, and under the tutelage of organizer Youcef (Theo Rossi), she quickly becomes a natural at this very unsavory line of work. The screenplay is occasionally a bit silly, but John Patton Ford’s feature directorial debut shows great promise, and Plaza’s charismatic performance as an ordinary woman with a surprising capacity for violence and crime is damn near flawless. —WC
SOURCE: IndieWire
