The best thrillers to watch on Netflix this June

Summer is getting hotter, even if the box office is cooler. You’d rather stay home and watch a movie this weekend, right?

Every month we select a few thrillers on Netflix that fit the time of year. Maybe there’s a connection to a new release. Maybe it’s a good summer movie. Maybe it’s new on Netflix. Or maybe it’s just that good.

This month’s selection includes a new shark movie, a thriller comedy new to Netflix, and a standout Liam Neeson thriller from the creator of The Queen’s Gambit And Mr Spade.

---

Editor’s recommendation: A walk between the gravestones

Photo: Atsushi Nishijima/Universal Pictures via Everett Collection

Director: Scott Frank
Pour: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook

This gritty neo-noir is a bright spot in Liam Neeson’s late shift to action and action-centric thrillers. He plays a retired NYPD detective who now works as a private investigator. When he’s hired to investigate a brutal murder case, he gets caught up in a dark web of crime and conspiracy.

Based on Lawrence Block’s novel, this is the rare action film (or action-like film) where Neeson actually gets to show off his acting chops. Neeson’s Matt Scudder is problematic but determined… and he’s really not someone you want to mess with. Add in an appealing supporting cast that includes Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook and David Harbour and you have a modernized throwback to a detective movie.

There are several reasons A walk between the gravestones is relevant this year: Director Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) recently teamed up with Clive Owen for another PI recap on the AMC Plus show Mr Spade. Frank was also co-author Loganwhich is probably relevant again for Deadpool and Wolverine around the corner. And it was a summer full of Dan Stevens, with Abigail, Godzilla x Kong: The New EmpireAnd cuckoo all coming out this year.

A content warning: This film contains some sexual violence and deals with that topic directly. —Pete Volk

A simple favor

Photo: Peter Iovino/Lionsgate via Everett Collection

Director: Paul Feig
Pour: Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Henry Golding

A simple favor is every bit the delicious thriller comedy you want and more. It helps that the film knows – and loves – what it is. Single mother and mommy vlogger Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) forms a surprise friendship with the ultra-cool and stylish Emily (Blake Lively), only to have Emily suddenly disappear completely. This sounds like any lurid crime-fiction drama, but A simple favor has a wit and edge that those stories don’t have. When Stephanie finds herself drawn to her husband Sean (Henry Golding) after Emily’s disappearance, the film winds its plot around its characters, like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck being strapped to a stake. The result is a fun, snappy little thriller about a crime mayhem with great costumes (Great costumes) and a cheekiness that goes far beyond his facade. —Zosha Millman

Under Paris

Image: Netflix

Director: Xavier Gens
Pour: Berenice Kiss, Nassim Lyes, Leah Leviant

This is without a doubt the best thriller on this list that begins with a quote “based on Charles Darwin.” And for those who crave the carnage and chewing of a good shark movie, Under Paris (out of Chaos! Director Xavier Gens) is sure to satisfy – although it takes some time to build. Three years after losing her team in a shark attack, Sophia (Bérénice Bejo) has retreated to Paris to recuperate. But trouble, much like a shark in the Seine, follows her home and threatens the city’s prosperity.

When you think, How much trouble could a shark in the Seine actually cause? — Under Paris will gladly clear this up for you. Finely balanced as a film that takes the threat just seriously enough to make you cheer when a shark majestically jumps out of the water with a Parisian in its mouth, Under Paris is a platonic ideal of watching sharks tear apart the heart of the city of love. —CM