Yahoo News The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in November, from ‘Fair Play’ to ‘Emily the Criminal’
Sometimes, when you’re looking to be entertained, only a thriller will cut it. 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, and crooked sleazebags 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 Quentin Tarantino and Paul Greengrass as well as newer indie flicks that you may have missed. This November, top-tier archival titles include Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Killing of the Sacred Deer” and a little movie named “Jaws.” 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.
More from IndieWire
Keep reading for 12 of our favorite thrillers streaming on Netflix in November 2023.
12. “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
11. “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 reached hers. —CZ
10. “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
9. “Donnie Brasco”
“Donnie Brasco”
It is a testament to Al Pacino’s storied career that “Donnie Brasco” does not top the list of the best crime movies he appeared in. This Mafia drama stars Johnny Depp as an FBI agent who goes undercover in the Bonanno crime family and develops a close relationship with an aging hitman played by Pacino. The film does an excellent job of illustrating the way undercover agents blur the line between business and personal relationships, avoiding crime drama cliches while maintaining suspense at every turn. —CZ
8. “Gerald’s Game”
Stephen King’s chilling tale of bondage sex gone wrong was long thought to be unfilmable, due to so much of the novel “Gerald’s Game” taking place inside the mind of a woman who is chained to her bed. But “The Haunting of Hill House” creator Mike Flanagan found a way, turning the story into a chilling two-hander starring Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood that remains faithful to the novel while still thrilling viewers. —CZ
7. “The Hateful Eight”
Probably Quentin Tarantino’s most divisive film, “The Hateful Eight” polarized critics when it premiered in 2015, with audiences alternatively praising or deriding its script and stage-like setup. But even Tarantino’s worst films are worth watching, and this one remains a fascinating and ambitious work. Set almost entirely in one cabin, the film focuses on a group of eight strangers stranded with one another during a blizzard in post-Civil War Wyoming. All of the characters have their secrets and agendas that raise suspicions throughout the night, and they’re played by a uniformly terrific cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern. If you don’t think the original, nearly three-hour cut of the film works, you can check out the extended four-episode limited series version, also available on Netflix. —WC
Best of IndieWire
Where to Watch This Week's New Movies, from 'The Marvels' and 'Dream Scenario' to 'The Killer'
Sofia Coppola Movies, Ranked: 'Priscilla,' 'The Virgin Suicides,' 'Marie Antoinette,' and More
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
