3 exciting Netflix thrillers to watch this week (October 12-18)

Published Oct 11, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT After graduating from Marist University with a degree in communications and journalism, Dan Girolamo has over 10 years of experience writing about entertainment and sports. Dan's work can be seen in various publications, including Digital Trends, SportsCasting, and Tom's Guide. Throughout his career, Dan has interviewed several high-profile filmmakers and creatives, including Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Caitriona Balfe, Frank Grillo, Miranda Cosgrove, Jai Courtney, Chris Columbus and James Cameron. Dan joins How-To Geek as a Senior Editor. When he's not writing about entertainment, Dan is either watching a movie or praying for the New York Knicks to win a championship. Last weekend marked the arrival of one of Netflix's newest movies, Animals, starring Ben Affleck and Kerry Washington. It's a political thriller about a mayoral candidate who fights to save his kidnapped son. With an enticing premise and an A-list cast, I'd expect Animals to become a popular movie with subscribers this week. If you want to watch movies similar to Animals, add these thrillers to your My List. The movies feature noteworthy directors M. Night Shyamalan, Doug Liman, and Christopher Nolan. Those are three filmmakers who have had great success in the thriller genre. With Nolan back in the spotlight for The Odyssey, his thriller from the mid-2000s is at the top of my list. Stream all three of these movies on Netflix in the U.S. Split The comeback movie Shyamalan must be having a moment on Netflix because in last week's piece, I recommended The Sixth Sense, which is likely his most famous movie. Shyamalan had some hits after The Sixth Sense, but it got dark between 2006 and 2013 thanks to a series of misfires, culminating with After Earth. 2015's The Visit got Shyamalan back on track, but 2017's Split put him back in Hollywood's good graces. Three teenagers—Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), and Marcia (Jessica Sula)—are kidnapped by a menacing man (James McAvoy), who imprisons the girls in an underground location. When the girls encounter the man again, he acts like a different person. This man suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID) and has 23 personalities, some of whom are Dennis, Patricia, Hedwig, and Barry. All the personalities tease the 24th identity, "The Beast," who plans to wreak havoc upon his arrival. McAvoy's fearlessness is apparent. It's such an impressive performance, considering he has to play more than a handful of characters. It's a spellbinding performance from an actor who clearly embraced the campiness required for the role. With most Shyamalan stories, stick around to the end because you're going to be surprised by a familiar face that connects Split to a previous movie while teasing a final chapter. Split Release Date January 19, 2017 The Bourne Identity Matt Damon becomes an action star Where was Matt Damon's career in 2002? He already had the breakout moment in 1997's Good Will Hunting, where he and Ben Affleck won an Oscar for their screenplay. He clearly had dramatic chops and even flashed some comedic talent in Dogma and Ocean's Eleven. However, he was missing the next phase of movie stardom: action star. In 2002, The Bourne Identity changed the trajectory of Damon's career and became one of his best movies. Based on Robert Ludlum's novel, The Bourne Identity introduces Jason Bourne (Damon), a man who wakes up with gunshot wounds and no recollection of his previous life, including his name. After finding his safe deposit box, one of his passports reads Jason Bourne. It turns out that Bourne is a highly skilled special agent who worked for the CIA in a special program called Treadstone. Now, the CIA wants Bourne dead and sends assassins to kill him. The Bourne Identity is the gritty, American version of James Bond. Damon is not wearing perfectly tailored suits or sipping on martinis as he seduces women. Instead, Bourne has the brilliance of Will Hunting and the combat skills of Jack Reacher. It's a movie that combines brains and brawn, as it's half political thriller and half action epic. The Prestige Christopher Nolan pulls off his trick Nolan loves his plot twists. From Memento and Batman Begins to Interstellar and Inception, Nolan enjoys keeping the audience on its toes. It's a good confusion, though, because the payoffs are typically powerful. While I would not rank The Prestige as one of the best Nolan movies, I do believe it pulls off one of the filmmaker's best twists, which is fitting for this movie, considering it's about magicians. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) were once friends and aspiring magicians. The duo eventually becomes bitter rivals, as both men grow obsessed with outdoing each other with their illusions. When Borden pulls off a teleportation trick, Angier becomes determined to replicate it. In doing so, Angier pushes himself beyond repair, forcing Borden to take part in this dangerous game of one-upmanship. In true Nolan fashion, The Prestige relies on a nonlinear narrative and unreliable protagonists to advance the story. This confusion only adds to the tension, creating suspense in the process. I always knew Bale was capable of a performance like this. Jackman is the bigger surprise, as he proved to me that he can thrive outside of the role of Wolverine. I hope Jackman reunites with Nolan one day. ​​​​​​​What other movies should you watch? I have some more options for you after you're done with the thrillers. Fire up movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Dark Knight if you want to see brilliant opening scenes that make it impossible to stop watching. If you're searching for a fun R-rated comedy, try Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die on Hulu. Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams Two or four