The best thrillers to watch on Netflix in January 2024

Greetings, Polygon readers!

It’s a whole new year, full of possibilities and exciting new releases on the near horizon. Of course, that means there are a whole host of new thrillers coming to Netflix this month. We’ve combed through the streamer’s library and picked out the scariest, most suspenseful, and seasonally appropriate films that you can watch neatly at home.

This month’s favorites include a quasi-slasher action thriller starring Denzel Washington, a Korean revenge thriller classic from decision to leave Director Park Chan-wook and an award-winning crime drama starring Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. Here’s our list of the best thrillers to watch on Netflix in January.

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Editor’s pick: The Equalizer 3

Image: Columbia Pictures

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Pour: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, David Denman

What if a revenge thriller but filmed like a slasher?

That is the basic reason for the sale The equalizer 3

, the first all-around good film in Denzel Washington’s otherwise entertaining action series. The film begins by taking you through a house littered with bodies, staged as if Michael Myers had come through, only to reveal a calm Robert McCall (Washington) waiting on the other side of the carnage.

This continues throughout: director Antoine Fuqua and legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson use light and shadow to show just how terrifying McCall is (if you’re on the wrong side). And of course, Denzel is more than up to the task, surpassing many of his peers in the burgeoning “totally unstoppable badass” genre by scaring the crap out of his opponents.

The story is also compelling: McCall has settled in a quiet town in Italy, where he has been welcomed by the community and gradually finds some semblance of peace. However, the Mafia has other ideas and McCall must intervene to set things right in his newfound home.

As a bonus, the film reunites Denzel with him Man on fire Co-star Dakota Fanning. And if The equalizer 3 makes you want to watch this great movie again (Man on fire is streaming on Max), this is just a two-for-one. —Pete Volk

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old boy

Image: NEON

Director: Park Chan-wook
Pour: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung

To say that old boy was a turning point for the global reach of Korean cinema would be an understatement. The critical and commercial success of Park Chan-wook’s revenge thriller, which won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and grossed over $15 million at the worldwide box office, paved the way for the international success of similar films and series parasite And Squid game. In honor of its 20th anniversary, the film was recently re-released in theaters with a 4K restoration, and since it recently joined Netflix’s library, now is the perfect time to experience this modern classic.

An electrifying mix of Hitchcockian horror, Fincher-esque violence and a devastating finale worthy of a Greek tragedy. old boy

is one of the most important thrillers of the early 2000s. If you somehow haven’t seen it yet, you definitely should. –Toussaint Egan

mystical river

Image: Warner Home Video

Director: Clint Eastwood
Pour: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon

In Clint Eastwood’s 2003 crime drama, tragedy begets tragedy. mystical river tells the story of three men: Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), a police officer whose pregnant wife mysteriously left him; James “Jimmy” Markum (Sean Penn), an ex-con and neighborhood store owner; and David Boyle (Tim Robbins), a working-class father haunted by his experience of being kidnapped as a child.

When James’ daughter is found dead, the investigation brings the lives of these three men together as secrets, lies and unresolved trauma reach their climax. Both Penn and Robbins won Oscars for their respective performances, but the truth is that almost everyone in this film delivers a great performance. What struck me most in my last rewatch is how unresolved grief turns into misunderstanding, how the inability to communicate creates barriers within a community that ultimately tears it apart from within. In other words, tragedy begets tragedy. -THE