3 riveting Netflix thrillers to watch this week (August 3-9)

Published Aug 3, 2026, 2:30 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. It's the first full week of August, and Netflix has released its lineup of new shows and movies arriving in the coming weeks. As for TV, the Pogues will say goodbye in the fifth and final season of Outer Banks on August 20. One of the more exciting movies on the slate is The Whisper Man, a crime thriller starring Robert De Niro that premieres on August 28. As for the thrillers on Netflix, my top selection is a deeply moving prequel to a successful horror series. The other two movies are a cat-and-mouse thriller between a prosecutor and a man seeking revenge and the sixth slasher movie in a popular franchise. All three of these thrillers can be streamed in the U.S. 3 Scream VI Ghostface will never go away Similar to how Ghostface never goes away, Scream doesn't die. The first Scream debuted in 1996, and since then, the franchise has only gotten stronger. Scream 7 premiered earlier this year, and it became the highest-grossing movie of the franchise. It's an unkillable series, and unsurprisingly, Scream 8 is in development. Quiz 8 Questions · Test Your KnowledgeThe best of the Scream franchiseTrivia challenge Think you know your Ghostface from your red herrings? Put your Scream knowledge to the ultimate test. CharactersKillsDirectorsPlot TwistsSequels Begin What is the name of the fictional horror movie franchise within the Scream universe that mirrors the real-life killings? ASlash NightBHalloween 2CStabDThe Carver Correct! The Stab franchise is a meta film-within-a-film series based on the Woodsboro murders. It's a clever piece of self-referential storytelling that Scream uses to poke fun at slasher movie tropes. Not quite — the answer is Stab. This fictional franchise appears throughout the Scream sequels and becomes a running joke about how Hollywood exploits real tragedies, adding a darkly comic layer to the series. Continue Who is revealed to be the Ghostface killer at the end of the original 1996 Scream? ABilly Loomis aloneBStu Macher aloneCCotton Weary and Billy LoomisDBilly Loomis and Stu Macher That's right! Both Billy Loomis and Stu Macher are unmasked as the killers in the original film's climax. The dual-killer twist was a major subversion of slasher conventions and shocked audiences in 1996. Close, but the original Scream actually had two killers — Billy Loomis AND Stu Macher. The double reveal was a brilliant twist that set Scream apart from standard slashers of its era. Continue Which legendary horror director helmed the first four Scream films? AJohn CarpenterBWes CravenCJames WanDTobe Hooper Exactly right! Wes Craven directed all four original Scream films. Known as the 'Master of Horror,' Craven also created A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes, cementing his legacy as one of horror's greatest directors. The correct answer is Wes Craven. He directed Scream 1 through 4, and his fingerprints are all over the franchise's sharp wit and meta self-awareness. Craven passed away in 2015, before the fifth film was made. Continue What is Sidney Prescott's mother's name, whose murder serves as the backstory for the original Scream? ADebbie SaltBMaureen PrescottCChristine HamiltonDLacey Prescott Correct! Maureen Prescott's murder one year before the events of the film is the catalyst for the entire story. Billy Loomis killed her after she had an affair with his father, which tore his family apart. The answer is Maureen Prescott. Her murder is the dark foundation on which the whole franchise is built. Interestingly, 'Debbie Salt' is actually a disguise used by a villain in Scream 2 — a clever misdirect! Continue In Scream 3, where does most of the action take place that sets it apart from the other films? AA college campusBA small coastal townCA Hollywood movie studioDA television network headquarters Right on! Scream 3 moves the action to Hollywood, where the cast of Stab 3 begins getting murdered. The setting allowed the film to satirize the film industry itself, though many fans consider it the weakest entry in the original trilogy. The answer is a Hollywood movie studio. Scream 3 relocated to the film industry to lampoon Hollywood sequels and production culture. It's generally considered the most divisive of the original films among fans of the franchise. Continue Who is the first on-screen victim in the original 1996 Scream, set up as the apparent main character before being killed? ATatum RileyBCasey BeckerCMaureen EvansDCici Cooper That's correct! Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore, opens the film and is killed before the title card even appears. This was a deliberate homage to Psycho, which famously killed off its apparent lead actress early on. The answer is Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore. Her shocking early death — after a tense phone call about horror movies — was a direct nod to Psycho's surprise killing of Janet Leigh. It immediately signaled that Scream would break the rules. Continue Which two directors took over the Scream franchise starting with the 2022 fifth installment (also titled Scream)? ADavid Gordon Green and Danny McBrideBMatt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler GillettCJames Wan and Leigh WhannellDAdam Wingard and Simon Barrett Correct! Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, collectively known as Radio Silence, directed both Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). They were chosen partly because of their work on Ready or Not, which impressed the franchise's producers. The answer is Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett of the directing duo Radio Silence. They took the reins after Wes Craven's passing and were praised for honoring the original's tone while adding fresh energy to the franchise. Continue In Scream VI (2023), what major location shift distinguishes it from every previous film in the franchise? AThe story takes place in LondonBThe action moves to ChicagoCThe film is set primarily in New York CityDThe characters relocate to Los Angeles Exactly! Scream VI broke franchise tradition by moving the action to New York City, giving Ghostface an entirely new urban playground. The subway scene in particular became one of the most talked-about set pieces in the entire franchise. The answer is New York City. Scream VI was the first film in the franchise to fully leave behind small-town and suburban settings. The cramped, chaotic city environment made Ghostface feel even more terrifying and unavoidable than before. See My Score Challenge CompleteYour Score / 8 Thanks for playing! Try Again Scream VI, which is now streaming on Netflix, shook the franchise up by showing how Ghostface doesn't need Woodsboro to go on a killing spree. Following the events of Scream, Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) have moved to New York City in hopes of a fresh start. Unfortunately for the sisters, a new Ghostface killer has made their way to the Big Apple with plans of finishing the job by killing Sam and Tara. Helping the sisters in this battle are Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), the popular talk show host who survived multiple Ghostface attacks, and FBI special agent Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), who survived the 2011 Woodsboro killings. Scream VI proved that the franchise will continue to survive if it ever decides to permanently leave Woodsboro for a bigger city. I don't believe that will ever happen, but it's reassuring to know it's possible. Scream VI still plays the hits of meta comedy combined with gruesome kills, a combination that has worked for 30 years. 2 Law Abiding Citizen Jamie Foxx vs. Gerard Butler ​​​​​​​ Gerard Butler is one of the most consistent action heroes currently working in Hollywood. The Scottish actor thrives in "guy with a gun" movies, where his character must overcome seemingly impossible odds to save the day. Butler's Has Fallen series, Plane, and Den of Thieves are some of his most successful movies. Because Butler so often plays heroes, it was refreshing to see him portray the villain in Law Abiding Citizen. During a burglary, Clyde Shelton (Butler) is subdued by the assailants and witnesses the deaths of his wife and daughter. Instead of seeking true justice, prosecutor Nick Rice (Foxx) cuts a plea deal with one of the attackers for a lighter sentence. 10 years later, Shelton is still unable to move on and decides to take the law into his own hands. Shelton becomes a vindictive killer and targets those who wronged him, including Rice. Law Abiding Citizen is a thrilling chess match between Rice and Shelton, as the former tries to thwart the latter's plans for revenge. Butler really goes for it when playing a ruthless mastermind with diabolical intentions. Admittedly, you must suspend some disbelief in how Shelton carries out his plans. If you can do that, you're rewarded with a wildly entertaining thriller. Google TV Streamer 4K Dimensions 6.4in x 3in x 1in Wi-Fi Yes 1 ​​​​​​​A Quiet Place: Day One A surprising prequel with emotional stakes ​​​​​​​ In 2018, John Krasinski directed A Quiet Place, a thrilling horror about a dystopian world where sightless alien creatures that hunt through sound have decimated most of the human population. The only way to survive is to be quiet and not make noise. A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II became hit movies, combining to gross over $638 million worldwide. The success of those two films led to Paramount developing a prequel, A Quiet Place: Day One. The aptly titled A Quiet Place: Day One takes fans back to the first day when the rabid aliens invaded Earth. Lupita Nyong'o, who is currently starring in The Odyssey, headlines as Sam, a terminally ill cancer patient in New York City. Sam witnesses the aliens attack the city's residents as they create mass hysteria. Sam eventually learns that the creatures won't attack her if she's quiet. Eventually, Sam befriends Eric (Joseph Quinn), a British law student, and the duo work together to stay alive while trying to find an escape. When I heard about the prequel A Quiet Place: Day One, I immediately assumed it would be more of the same from the franchise—memorable attacks and intense showdowns with the creatures. While those battles are part of the prequel, A Quiet Place: Day One is so much more than a creature feature. It's a beautiful and moving depiction of humanity, grief, and death. I was pleasantly surprised by the emotional weight of this film and hope A Quiet Place Part III takes a similar approach. More movies and shows on the horizon With the start of a new month, I'm looking at the upcoming schedules of the major studios and planning my streaming schedule. At Netflix, some of the new movies I can't wait to see this month include The Last House and The Whisper Man. At Prime Video, I have high hopes Reacher season 4. Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams Two or four