The 10 Best Thriller Movies of the Last Decade, Ranked
Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts!
On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK.
In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
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The brilliance of the thriller genre is the wide net it casts in terms of stories it can tell. From dark psychological masterpieces to high-octane action flicks, thrillers keep us on the edge of our seats with our eyes glued to the screens. Cinema history has provided some iconic films, but the last 10 years have proven that the genre is just getting better thanks to these films.
The last decade in thrillers has seen more bold risks and profound storytelling. In each daring film, audiences have been taken by the way in which writers, directors, and actors have pushed the limits. From bold mind games to extraordinary narrative devices, each film brought thrills in their own profound manner. Though there are certainly many films who could have swooped in for a slot, these are some of the best of the best.
10 'Last Night in Soho' (2021)
Edgar Wright knows how to bring mind-bending stories to life. Such is the case for the perfectly haunting Last Night in Soho. The psychological horror thriller follows naive aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) who dreams herself into 1960s London and the glamour and terrifying life of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). When the face of the Swinging Sixties fades away, Eloise's visions bleed into her waking reality as a murder mystery unfolds. Through a neon-drenched aesthetic that brings London to life, Last Night in Soho brilliantly blurs the lines of dreamland and the real world with a twist you'll never see coming.
From bright, retro fantasy flick to dark, tense thriller, Last Night in Soho weaves a nostalgic soundtrack and set pieces into Eloise's dreamscape that contradicts the stark reality she lives in. It's an intoxicating aesthetic that draws you in. Wright uses his bag of tricks to seamlessly blur the line between past and present realities that forces the viewer to remain focused. Deep within the allure is a cautionary tale about not allowing nostalgia to dictate our present vantage, as our idealized vision of the past may be inaccurate. As the film explains, the era featured male toxicity preying on young women who simply had a dream. With a dazzling ensemble, which also included Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, and Diana Rigg, Last Night in Soho deserves a neon sign that reads, "watch now!"
9 'Heretic' (2024)
Speaking on religion and theology can be a challenge, especially for those who may not have a feeling either way. And then, Heretic took extraordinary themes and difficult topics to offer a hauntingly intellectual horror story. Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, missionaries Sister Paxton (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Barnes (Chloe East) visit the home of the eccentric Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). Though he initially claims he's interested in learning about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it's ultimately revealed it was a trap as the young women are forced to endure terrifying psychological and theological games to test and deconstruct their beliefs.
Heretic is a genius film that examines why people believe what they do and whether organized religions are all meant as a means to control individuals' behaviors. Instead of a fantastical monster or supernatural scares, Heretic relies on intense conversations as well as mental and emotional mind games, to establish an uncomfortable reality. Heretic uses the wits and intelligence of the trio to offer a sharp critique of belief, control, and the history of religion. Fret not, there are some harrowing moments of survival horror, but the film's ability to trap you in the same battle of intellect is remarkable. Grant is enigmatic in his magnetic performance of Mr. Reed, a truly sadistic individual. If there was ever a film that would translate perfectly to the stage, it's Heretic.
8 'Obsession' (2025)
The buzziest horror film in recent memory is Curry Barker's game-changing Obsession. The story centers on Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee, who harbors a one-sided infatuation with his coworker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Rather than use his words to communicate his feelings, he buys a strange toy known as the One Wish Willow that grants him a wish that Nikki would love him more than anyone else. Not only does the wish work, it traps Nikki into becoming a menacing, possessive, and unhinged iteration of herself as Bear discovers the horrific price of control and manipulation. Even with a tiny budget, it didn't deter Barker from making a claustrophobic masterpiece, led by two breakout performances.
Obsession tackles the misguided idea of a fantasy of genuine love and how obsession can lead to the destruction of all parties involved. By removing Nikki's freedom, Bear's wish for genuine love is anything but. It's possession over connection. Obsession is a stellar take on a classic trope that happens to subvert the nice guy archetype in ways unimaginable. With enough ambiguity about the narrative, Obsession has sparked great debate. The film has served as a conversation starter about modern dating anxieties and the navigation of relationships via internet culture. Obsession tackles consent, manipulation, and toxic codependency in grueling, entertaining fashion.
7 'The Invisible Man' (2020)
Inspired by H.G. Wells' beloved novel, the 2020 reimagining of The Invisible Man is simply perfect. Modernized with accessible themes, Leigh Whannell's sci-fi horror thriller centers on Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss), a woman who recently escaped her abusive boyfriend, Aiden Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), only to believe he faked his suicide and is using a high-tech invention to stalk and gaslight her. The Invisible Man grounds the thriller in real-world themes as a harrowing exploration of the deep psychological trauma related to domestic abuse and the difficulties of being believed.
What should have been the film that launched the Universal Monsters reboot, The Invisible Man stands proudly on its own. From a filmmaking perspective, Whannell expertly builds a world of dread by filming vast emptiness. The framing he uses allows empty rooms and hallways to feel dangerous as there is excess empty space where Aiden could be lurking. Every small movement or slight sound leads to excruciating tension. Moss brings raw emotion to her full-bodied performance. She makes you believe the horror that is not being believed by the people around you. It perfectly mirrors how society has often failed victims. The Invisible Man has officially transformed the adaptation game.
6 'Conclave' (2024)
On the surface, a film about the papal debate doesn't sound all that enticing. And then, Conclave proved that the behind-the-scenes drama inside the Vatican may actually be a brilliant political thriller. Based on the novel by Robert Harris, the Edward Berger-directed drama centers on the secret and ancient process of electing a new Pope. British Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) runs the hidden election, only to uncover deep secrets, hidden scandals, and rival agendas amongst the top candidates. Through the exploration of faith, ambition, the hunger for power, and the transition of traditions, Conclave is a powerful piece that reshapes the process forever like it's a political election.
Conclave moves like a mystery. The concept is that by the end of the story, a Pope will be elected; who it is and who we get there is the driving force in the action. Though it's a work of fiction, Conclave leaves us pondering if the scheming on screen might reflect what happens behind closed doors. Conclave shines thanks to its top-tier ensemble. Fiennes is magnificent as a humble man who is reluctant to accept that the papacy may be his fate. Isabella Rossellini delivers a masterclass in performance as Sister Agnes, truly the most important individual not allowed in the room. Then there is Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow, who fervently push the film to the brink of perfection. Conclave reshaped our minds in how we formulate personal doubt and pride while questioning the morality and ethics of the church.
Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz
Which Oscar Best Picture
Is Your Perfect Movie?
Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country
Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.
🪜Parasite
🌀Everything Everywhere
☢️Oppenheimer
🐦Birdman
🪙No Country for Old Men
01
What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don't just entertain — they leave something behind.
02
Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What's yours?
03
How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.
04
What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?
05
What do you want from a film's ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?
06
Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what's even possible.
07
What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.
08
What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.
09
How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.
10
What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?
The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is…
Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.
Parasite
You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it's ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn't want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it's about.
Oppenheimer
You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.
Birdman
You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it's about. Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor's ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn't be possible. Michael Keaton's performance and Emmanuel Lubezki's restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.
No Country for Old Men
You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.
5 'Uncut Gems' (2019)
Josh and Benny Safdie infused an unnerving amount of chaos to ensure that Uncut Gems was a daring crime thriller. The high-stress drama follows compulsive gambler and jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) who owes massive amounts of money to dangerous loan sharks, including his brother-in-law, Arno Moradian (Eric Bogosian). After acquiring a rare, expensive uncut black opal from Ethiopia, it catches the eye of NBA superstar Kevin Garnett, who becomes obsessed. Howard lets him borrow it in exhange for his championship ring as collateral, only for him to pawn it, causing him to go deeper into debt. A panic attack in cinematic form, Uncut Gems is a story about obsession and addiction.
Uncut Gems explores the spiral that occurs when you make a series of wrong choices. Though Howard's are driven by his compulsions, the film operates as an extreme cautionary tale about the dangers of not breaking the cycle. The film is shot in a manner that is meant for confusion. With frenetic editing, overlapping dialogue, and a loud sound design, you're dropped directly into Howard's mind. Going against type, Sandler proved he was a well-rounded performer. Infusing enough charm to offer his signature style, he never stops scheming or digging himself into deeper trouble. Uncut Gems brings non-stop panic that becomes a blueprint for cinematic tension.
4 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You' (2025)
Easily one of the most stressful films you'll ever endure is If I Had Legs I'd Kick You. Written and directed by Mary Bronstein, the black comedy drama chronicles the life of Linda (Rose Byrne), a stressed-out mother whose life is spiraling out of control. As she faces mounting daily stresses, from her young daughter, who uses a feeding tube, to severe ceiling damage in her run-down apartment, Linda is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Feeling trapped in life that lacks a genuine support system, Linda's story is one that depicts the exhaustive and overwhelming struggle of motherhood where one essentially cares for a child alone.
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is a surrealistic adventure of real-world, mundane moments. When one thing goes wrong, it opens up the door for much, much more. Bronstein's direction gives the feeling of a panic attack in real time. With close-ups of Linda's face to avoiding showing her daughter, Bronstein traps the viewer inside a mind of building anxiety. The film thrives thanks to the honest portrayal from Byrne. She is emotional and she is exhausted. It doesn't get more authentic than that! If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is an unrelenting, nerve-wrecking thriller that is simply stellar.
3 'Oppenheimer' (2023)
On paper, one might not think that a biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer may be a simple matter-of-fact drama. But giving Christopher Nolan the steering wheel, a thriller was inevitable. The biographical drama follows the life and moral struggles of the titular character, played by Cillian Murphy. Told through dueling timelines, Oppenheimer depicts the creation of the Manhattan Project, in color, and the political fallout of his security hearing in black-and-white. Telling the story through Oppenheimer's eyes, the film takes real-life discussions of science and turns them into a high-stakes thriller.
Nothing about Oppenheimer is traditional. From its narrative structure to the fast editing and heavy score, Nolan's choices elevated the film to unexpected heights. Nolan transforms a story about moral terror and political paranoia into a ticking-clock, time-shifting masterpiece. There is simply no space to find boredom. Every scene has a purpose and every directorial decision has a purpose. It's a masterclass in tension, on full display during the Trinity Test. By weaponizing silence, Nolan suggests the true power of this bomb, where sound is literally wiped away. It's a terrifying yet profound cinematic moment. Thanks to a heavy-hitting ensemble, which included Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and more, Oppenheimer was not just a high-hyped film; it was a cinematic moment.
2 'Parasite' (2019)
There have been many great foreign language films, but Parasite truly brought them into the mainstream. Brought to life by Bong Joon Ho, the thriller depicts a class war after a struggling poor family, the Kims, play a long con against the wealthy Park family. As the Kims trick the Parks into hiring them as their staff, their time enjoying the perks of wealth is cut short when they discover a dark secret in the basement. Parasite is a brilliant film about class inequality and how the wealthy rely on the labor of the poor while remaining completely unaware of their struggles.
Parasite effortlessly blends sharp social satire and a heart-pounding mystery for a masterclass in genre-shifting. Bong guides the audience through the journey where a dark comedy drops directly int a tragic horror with ease. He directs precisely in which every camera angle and frame serves a distinct purpose. While he masterfully depicts the monetary discrepancy through architecture, attire, and props, how they're presented is used to visually represent social hierarchy. Bong's unpredictable storytelling keeps his viewers engaged as the nuanced social commentary thrives. Parasite may be a South Korean film, but it's universally accessible.
1 'Get Out' (2017)
The horror world was forever changed thanks to Jordan Peele and his exceptional debut film, Get Out. The psychological horror thriller follows Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a Black photographer, who goes on a weekend getaway with his white girlfriend, Rose Armitage (Allison Williams). While there, he discovers that her family is part of a cult that and the Black employees have had their consciousnesses trapped in a helpless mental void known as the sunken place. Using the story to depict subtle, everyday racism and liberal microaggressions, Get Out twists the horror genre for a masterclass in social satire.
Get Out subverts the typical horror tropes for a story where the villains are the people who may be living in your neighborhood. Peele utilizes a bevy of genres that effortlessly blend into one. Peele builds constant, suffocating atmospheric dread through his visceral storytelling. By putting the narrative in Chris' perspective, Peele allows the audience to feel the isolation and unease he's experiencing throughout. It's aided by Kaluuya's career-defining performance, anchoring the film. Get Out reconfigured mainstream horror thrillers thanks to its ability to prove scary movies can also be deeply profound.
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