Best Detective Thrillers Streaming on Netflix

There’s nothing better than settling in with a great thriller. The genre has been a staple of cinema for decades, and the best ones have stood the test of time. Thanks to Netflix and other streamers, viewers no longer need to leave their homes to experience the delights of a detective thriller. Whether it be a disgraced PI, someone investigating the murder of a loved one, or just a classic game of cat and mouse, even a decent detective thriller can make for a fun night in.

If you’re looking for the next great detective thriller on Netflix, we’ve compiled a list of films to watch at your leisure. Like any good thriller, these will have you tense and guessing the whole way through. With heavy hitters like Anthony Hopkins, Liam Neeson, Rami Malek, and many more, a bevy of standout performances should also have you on the edge of your seat.

10 Red Dragon

The Red Dragon sees Anthony Hopkins in his third and final appearance as the terrifying Hannibal Lecter. The movie serves as a prequel to Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. The role landed Hopkins his first Academy Award, so it should come as no surprise that Hopkins claims the character to be “one of the best parts he’s ever read.”

Serious Sequels

The events of Red Dragon unfold as FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) enlists Lecter’s help to find a notorious killer nicknamed “The Tooth Fairy.” Graham and Lecter work together on the case, which results in a tense thriller with plenty of twists and turns. The film also stars Ralph Fiennes and the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman.

9 The Little Things

The Little Things stars three Oscar-Winners in the hunt for a serial killer. Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, and Rami Malek add intensity to each scene, coming at their characters from completely different perspectives. Washington stars as Deke, a cop with a checkered past. He works the case in the hopes of finally closing the book on one of his old cases.

A Dangerous Pursuit

Jared Leto stars as the alleged killer, whose strange and mysterious behaviors make him an easy suspect for the detectives. But the closer Washington and Malek get, the more difficult the case becomes. While The Little Things wasn’t a success during its initial run, it has risen to the top of the Netflix charts, and for good reason.

8 The Guilty

The Guilty is a remake of a 2018 Danish film of the same name, starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role. With a script penned by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto, the film reunited director Antoine Fuqua and Jake Gyllenhaal after their work on the 2015 boxing movie Southpaw. The Guilty stars Gyllenhaal as a 911 dispatcher who receives a distress call from a woman who claims she is about to be murdered.

Finding The Victim

Gyllenhaal’s character, Joe Baylor, is in the middle of his own legal troubles following a case gone awry. In the middle of this new and potentially dangerous case, Baylor does everything in his power to help the woman and her daughter from their alleged killer. The remake has been regarded for Gyllenhaal’s powerful performance and is not to be missed.

7 Fractured

An unsettling thriller like Fracture will have you questioning everything. After bringing his daughter to the hospital due to a fall, Ray Monroe (Sam Worthington) is left searching for answers. Fractured finds Ray scratching his head after he can no longer locate his daughter or wife after what should have been a routine procedure.

Anything But Routine

But nothing adds up for Ray, who believes the hospital and its staff are hiding something from him. He begins to search for his family, but there is no trace of them. He follows the clues left behind for him, but what he discovers is a twist no one will see coming. The Netflix thriller concocts a perfect mystery that requires your full attention and should be watched immediately.

6 The Clovehitch Killer

16-year-old Tyler Burnside (Charlie Plummer) must go after the one man he would never have expected, his father. In a rural Kentucky town, the Burnside family, along with the rest of the community, have been traumatized by the murders of ten women in their area. When Tyler finds a disturbing photo in his father’s possession, it leads him to believe his father may be the murderer.

Small Town Tragedy

In The Clovehitch Killer, Tyler leads his own investigation into his father, which puts him in danger with a man believed to be pure evil. He must use his resourcefulness if he is to make it out alive and not become the killer’s next victim. The Clovehitch Killer is the perfect slow burn that is sure to leave you with goosebumps.

5 I Came By

This tense thriller follows a tense cat-and-mouse game between politically-motivated graffiti artist Toby (George MacKay) and the, at first, seemingly decent judge, Sir Henry Blake (Hugh Bonneville). However, Toby stumbles across the fact that the judge harbors a dangerous secret. In retaliation, the judge targets Toby and his loved ones.

Bad Judge

The events that Toby triggers simply cannot be foreseen by either the character or the audience. The standout performances from MacKay and Bonneville—who plays against type in a pitch-perfect villainous role—help elevate the already interesting story.

4 A Walk Among The Tombstones

Liam Neeson and thrillers go hand in hand at this point. Since Taken, Neeson has taken on nearly every type of thriller. In A Walk Among The Tombstones, he plays a private investigator searching for answers to the murder of a drug kingpin’s wife. Based on a book of the same name, Neeson’s character must use his detective skills to track down the killers and put an end to the brutal murders.

Dangerous Detective Work

Neeson’s character, Detective Matt Scudder, tracks down the kidnappers and finds a series of related cases. When he finds a young girl kidnapped, he is forced to work quickly before she becomes another victim. With plenty of action and thrills, A Walk Among The Tombstones is almost impossible to look away from.

3 The Pale Blue Eye

Set in the 1800s, retired detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) is hired to investigate the murder of a young cadet at West Point. During the investigation, Landor enlists the help of another cadet, the yet-to-be-famous poet Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling). The eerie film, written and directed by Scott Cooper, was created with Bale specifically in mind for the role.

Death of a Cadet

When more murders pop up at the academy, the quest for the culprit becomes more pressing. The film crafts a complex mystery that may require multiple viewings to pick up on all the hidden clues. The case keeps viewers guessing until the very last moment with a twist that is hard to predict.

2 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

The second installment of the Knives Out series finds Daniel Craig reprising his role as Benoit Blanc. Glass Onion pairs Craig with yet another A-list cast centered around a murder mystery game created by an eccentric billionaire. However, what was initially supposed to be a game turns into a real-life case with lies, deception, and plenty of twists.

Benoit Blanc’s Second Appearance

After dazzling fans in the first film, it was no surprise to see the detective return to the screen again. The cast consists of high-profile names like Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, and many more. This twisting detective story has countless moments of humor and horror. It even led to an upcoming third installment, slated for release in 2025. Here are some of the characters we hope to see return for Knives Out 3.

1 The Stranger

Based on a real-life child abduction case, the film follows Joel Edgerton’s character, Mark Frame, in a high-stakes sting operation. Frame must get close to the killer in the hopes of finding evidence to convict him, but as he gets more involved in the case, he begins to lose sleep and grows more concerned over the safety of his own child.

Getting Close To The Enemy

Frame and several other cops organize a community of criminals to lure the killer into a false sense of security. This ultimately leads them in the right direction, but they have to remain undercover to avoid spooking their suspect. The search for evidence and proximity to the killer is sure to send chills down your spine, making this an absolute must-watch.