There’s plenty for Prime Video subscribers to enjoy, with lots to look forward to in the future, but with such an expansive library, some of the best movies can be easy to miss, and that’s where we come in.
For fans of thrillers, one of the best streaming services out there has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to gripping movies new and old, from classic nail-biters to some of most suspenseful films of recent years.
But to save you hours of scrolling through titles on the service, we’ve got you, with our breakdown of seven of the tensest thrillers and best Prime Video movies, all of which boast perfect Rotten Tomatoes scores.
100 Days to Live (2019)
Runtime: 87 minutes
Main cast: Colin Egglesfield, Gideon Emery, Heidi Johanningmeier, Yancey Arias, Chris J. Johnson
Director: Ravin Gandhi
Released to festivals in 2019, 100 Days to Live didn’t get a wide release until it hit streaming in 2021, but once it arrived, it did so with plenty of awards recognition and critical acclaim.
The plot is reminiscent of the sort of ’90s mid-budget thriller you don’t see much anymore, following psychologist Rebecca Church (Heidi Johanningmeier) as her fiancé is abducted by a serial killer known as ‘The Savior’. Working alongside detectives, Rebecca learns that the killer may be someone long thought dead.
The film has been praised for its discussion of mental health, suicide and depression, with critic Nicki Swift saying: “It’s unusual to find a thriller that explores suicide with such a delicate hand.”
Dashcam (2021)
Runtime: 88 minutes
Main cast: Eric Tabach, Giorgia Whigham, Larry Fessenden, Zachary Booth, Guillian Gioiello, Noa Fisher
Director: Christian Nilsson
A modern take on the surveillance thrillers of old, Dashcam brings the genre bang up to date and into the world of ever-present recording devices and conspiracy culture.
Dashcam follows Jake (Eric Tabach), a video editor at a local news channel tasked with working on footage of a routine traffic stop that resulted in the death of a police officer and a political official. When he’s sent dashcam footage that seems to dispute the official sequence of events, Jake falls down a rabbit hole of trying to uncover the truth.
Critics have praised the film’s ingenious use of its low budget, melding the ‘screenlife’ genre (Host, Searching) with conventional techniques. Critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas called it “an extraordinary low-budget political thriller that does a lot with a little, and is a masterclass that sometimes, having the guts to punch above its weight can pay off just through sheer audacity alone.”
Gaslight (1940)
Runtime: 89 minutes
Main cast: Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard
Director: Thorold Dickinson
The film that inspired the phrase. The recipient of a big-budget MGM remake just four years after its release, this original version is the one you want to see.
20 years after a woman is murdered by an unknown assailant while he’s searching her house, a pair of newlyweds Bella (Diana Wynyward) and Paul (Anton Walbrook) move into the long empty abode. Not long after their arrival, Bella begins to find herself misplacing things and noticing strange occurrences, including the dimming of the house’s gas lamps.
Paul insists nothing is wrong and perhaps Bella is losing her mind, but as anyone familiar with the modern discourse will know, the sketchy husband may have a hand in the bizarre events.
Comparing the movie to its Hollywood remake, Time Out called it “a superior film by far,” while critic Leonard Maltin praised its “electrifying atmosphere, delicious performances and succinctly conveyed sense of madness.”
I Hate the Man in My Basement (2020)
Runtime: 103 minutes
Main cast: Chris Marquette, Nora-Jane Noone, Manny Montana
Director: Dustin Cook
Not a film you may have heard of, perhaps, but a one worth checking out. Part rom-com, part thriller, part horror, I Hate the Man in My Basement is a genre-bending treat.
Written and directed by Dustin Cook, the film focuses on Claude (Chris Marquette), who, still grieving the loss of his wife, agrees to a blind date with Kyra (Nora-Jane Noone). The pair hit it off and Claude decides its time to try and move forward with a new relationship, except for one problem… yes, it’s that old chestnut, there’s a man held captive in his basement.
One for fans of darkly comic thrillers, critics have called this one a movie that “explores the dark side of humanity” (Culture Mix) and “finds humor in the most difficult places” (Eye for Film).
The Terminator (1984)
Runtime: 107 minutes
Main cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield
Director: James Cameron
The film that kicked off both one of sci-fi’s most enduring franchises and the career of filmmaker James Cameron, as well as propelling Arnold Schwarzenegger into the stratosphere, The Terminator needs very little introduction.
For those new to the film, it follows Sarah Connor, an LA waitress stalked by a murderous time-travelling cyborg whose sole mission is to assassinate her and prevent the birth of her son John, who will one day lead the rebellion against the machines.
With only Michael Biehn’s Kyle Reese – one of John’s soldiers sent back to protect his mother – between her and Schwarzenegger’s terrifying killer, what follows is an unbearably tense chase through the city as the Terminator stops at nothing to complete its mission.
Despite the sequels that followed, The Spectator calls the original “engrossing, suspenseful […] and absolutely stands the test of time,” while Total Film say its “A nerve-bludgeoning, relentlessly exciting action movie masterpiece.”
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Runtime: 153 minutes
Main cast: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter Van Eyck, Véra Clouzot
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Remade twice and even inspiring an episode of The Mandalorian, The Wages of Fear can often be found atop lists of the tensest films ever made.
From legendary director Henri-Georges Clouzot and adapted from Georges Arnaud’s novel of the same name, the film follows a group of four out-of-work men who are hired by an oil company to drive two trucks loaded with highly unstable nitroglycerin across mountainous terrain.
The setup may sound simple, but knowing the payload could explode at any moment from the slightest mistake makes for a nail-biting runtime. Add to that a deadly developing rivalry between the crews of both trucks and you’ve got yourself an all-time classic thriller.
Time Out commented on how the film builds on the suspense created by the likes of Hitchcock and Welles before, calling the film “Hitch’s bomb-under-the-table suspense formula burnished to an expert sheen.” And if you have any doubts this is one of the most edge-of-your-seat flicks out there, FilmWeek summarized the picture, saying “your blood pressure will go up to dangerous levels while watching this.”
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
![Witness for the Prosecution (1957) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p] - YouTube](https://i0.wp.com/img.youtube.com/vi/GMlJfiA2u7Y/maxresdefault.jpg?w=696&ssl=1)
Runtime: 116 minutes
Main cast: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams
Director: Billy Wilder
No thriller list would be complete without the Queen of Crime, and Witness for the Prosecution is one of the finest Agatha Christie adaptations out there.
Directed by classic Hollywood icon Billy Wilder, the film tells the story of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a man on trial for the murder of a wealthy woman. He has a solid alibi, but it depends on the testimony of his estranged wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), who, far from being the support he needs, decides to testify against him. What follows is a gripping courtroom drama, full of intrigue, shocking revelations and surprising reversals.
Despite a number of further adaptations, Slant Magazine call Wilder’s version “an alchemic triumph of effortless story execution, pinpoint humour and an acting masterclass” while Film Frenzy say it’s “the greatest of all the Agatha Christie adaptations that have been brought to the screen.”
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