Whenever I’m searching for a movie to watch on Netflix, the thriller genre is always my first pick, and if I can find a movie that falls within the dark thriller subgenre, even better. I love movies that incorporate suspense and tension with bleak situations and horrific outcomes.
Fortunately, Netflix is well stocked for subscribers like me with a soft spot for all things dark. I’ve combed through the streaming service’s vast library and picked out five of my favorite dark thrillers for you to watch this week. As you might expect, none of the films on this list are feel-good watches, but each offers plenty of thrills and some truly shocking moments.
If you’re not looking for light entertainment but instead craving something that will keep you engaged until the (bitter) end, here are the best dark thrillers I’ve found on Netflix.
‘Calibre’ (2018)
![Calibre | Main Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/x6yaSYAk2KU/maxresdefault.jpg)
“Calibre” is a Netflix movie I stumbled upon a few months after its 2018 debut. I went in knowing pretty much nothing about this very dark psychological thriller set in the Scottish Highlands. Some 100 minutes later, I was left deeply shaken. The ending of this thriller remains burned into my mind even eight years later, which is the mark of a great dark flick. This is one you should only watch if you can handle a movie that goes to bleak extremes.
The thriller sees two childhood friends, Vaughn (Jack Lowden) and Marcus (Martin McCann), travel to the Scottish countryside for a weekend hunting trip. While out in the woods stalking deer, one of them accidentally fatally shoots a young boy. Shaken, they attempt to escape the nearby tight-knit village before anybody can learn what they did. The resulting nightmare consequences are stomach-turning, and the final scene is deeply haunting.
Watch “Calibre” on Netflix now
‘10×10’ (2018)
I love single-location thrillers, so when I heard about “10×10,” I was instantly intrigued. The movie’s initially rather silly title refers to a 10×10-foot room in the home of a seemingly ordinary man, Robert Lewis (Luke Evans). However, Robert’s purpose for this small space is decidedly dark. He kidnaps a woman, Cathy (Kelly Reilly), and keeps her trapped in the room, refusing to free her until she reveals a secret from her past that Robert desperately wants.
The movie’s thriller credentials are solid, if a little generic. “10×10’s” captive vs. captor framework isn’t the most original, after all. However, what keeps you hooked throughout is the desire to know exactly why Robert has locked Cathy in this padded room. Plus, the movie is extremely well-paced; it clocks in at sub-90 minutes, which ensures its restrictive premise isn’t stretched beyond breaking point. Luke Evans is also suitably menacing as Robert.
Watch “10×10” on Netflix now
‘Bone Lake’ (2024)
Plenty of dark thrillers also stray into the erotic thriller subgenre, but “Bone Lake” dives in headfirst. The fun of this twisted tale is trying to figure out the intentions of its foursome of lead characters and how the situation will escalate further. “Bone Lake” is certainly not subtle in any department (even the name is a double entendre), and the slasher second half is decidedly less engaging than the tense opening chapter. But there’s a solid twist in the middle, and enough intrigue to keep you watching until the blood-soaked end.
Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) are a couple who have booked a swanky lakehouse for a romantic getaway. But their plans are spoiled when another couple, Will (Alex Roe) and Cin (Andra Nechita), turn up on the doorstep claiming to have also booked the place for the weekend. Forced to share the house, what was supposed to be a relaxing escape from reality turns into a twisted game of manipulation, sex and sinister secrets.
Watch “Bone Lake” on Netflix now
‘1922’ (2017)
![1922 | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3E_fT0aTsjI/maxresdefault.jpg)
If you don’t mind a dark thriller that takes its time to get going, then “1922” is most definitely one to consider. It’s based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, so you can be confident its narrative chops are up to scratch. Yes, it’s a slow burn, but that time isn’t wasted as viewers are drawn into its bleak storyline, and the final pay-off makes the time investment feel extremely worthwhile. But seriously, don’t watch if you are scared of rats.
Set in the 1920s (naturally), Wilf (Thomas Jane) is a farmer in Nebraska, working the land alongside his son, Henry (Dylan Schmid) and wife, Arlette (Molly Parker). But when Wilf catches wind of his wife’s plan to divorce him and move to Omaha, he concocts a morbid plan to murder her and convinces his young son to act as his accomplice. But actually committing such a heinous crime turns out to be only the start of Wilf’s torment.
Watch “1922” on Netflix now
‘Oxygen’ (2021)
Another single-location thriller pick, “Oxygen,” is a French-language thriller set entirely within a cryogenic pod. It’s a bit like the excellent “Buried” with Ryan Reynolds, but with a sci-fi twist. Most impressively, the movie used its confined space to great effect and has a pleasing mystery at its core. It does begin to run out of steam towards the end, but for the most part, it’s riveting.
“Oxygen” opens with a nameless woman waking up inside an airtight pod. She doesn’t know her own name, has no memories, and doesn’t remember how she got into this claustrophobic space. That would be alarming enough, but then a warning indicator alerts that the pod is running out of oxygen, and she has just 90 minutes of breathable air remaining. What follows is a race against the clock to find a way out of this suffocating predicament.
Watch “Oxygen” on Netflix now
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