A great thriller always keeps you on the edge of your seat. If it doesn’t, I’m skipping it. I’ve watched a bunch of thriller movies recently—some lingered in my thoughts for days, while others were just okay.
I thought it would be cool to share some of the best thriller movies to watch in UK with fellow movie lovers who are always hunting for a good weekend watch. If you’re one of them, you’re in for a treat. I’ve put together a list of the best thrillers, mixing genres like mystery and psychology. These movies are perfect for some awesome movie nights. Get ready for a simple yet thrilling cinematic experience that goes beyond the usual stories.
15 Best Thriller Movies to Watch in UK – Your Bingewatch Guide
Shutter Island
- Director(s): Martin Scorsese
- Writer(s): Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay), Dennis Lehane (novel)
- Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams
- Runtime: 138 minutes
- Release Year: 2010
- IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Recently watched it, and my first thought was, why didn’t I watch this before?
Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo play U.S. Marshals who are sent to investigate a disappearance at a psychiatric institution on Shutter Island. But the more they dig, the more twisted things get. DiCaprio’s performance (as expected) is mind-blowing, adding so much intensity to the whole story, and Mark Ruffalo is no less. The movie keeps you guessing until the very end with its suspense and crazy plot twists. Trust me when I say this is one of the best thriller movies to watch in UK!
Fractured
- Director(s): Brad Anderson
- Writer(s): Alan B. McElroy
- Starring: Sam Worthington, Lily Rabe, Lucy Capri
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Release Year: 2019
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Another thriller that kept my eyes glued to the screen throughout the running time.
The film follows the story of Ray Monroe, played by Sam Worthington, whose world turns upside down when his wife and daughter mysteriously disappear after a hospital visit. As Ray desperately searches for them, he becomes entangled in a web of confusion, deceit, and unsettling revelations. This one is surely going to mess with your mind!
Gone Girl
- Director(s): David Fincher
- Writer(s): Gillian Flynn (screenplay and novel)
- Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
- Runtime: 149 minutes
- Release Year: 2014
- IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Now, this one is quite famous, and almost everyone who loves thriller movies has watched it, but in case you have missed it, then add it to your weekend watchlist.
When his wife goes missing and becomes the center of a media frenzy, Nick Dunne finds himself under suspicion, with the spotlight on him as the prime suspect. Is he innocent… or is he anything but that?
I’ll stop here because I don’t want to spoil it for you, so do watch it. Many fans considered it one of the best thriller movies to watch in UK in 2014.
Vertigo
- Director(s): Alfred Hitchcock
- Writer(s): Alec Coppel, Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay), Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac (novel)
- Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
- Runtime: 128 minutes
- Release Year: 1958
- IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Have you had your fill of modern thrillers and are craving a journey back in time? Pick Vertigo! The Hitchcock classic has set the bar for psychological thrillers.
James Stewart stars as a retired detective hired to tail a mysterious woman, but as the plot unfolds, reality twists and turns in ways that only Hitchcock can master. The atmospheric suspense, combined with brilliant storytelling, undoubtedly makes Vertigo a timeless gem.
Memento
- Director(s): Christopher Nolan
- Writer(s): Christopher Nolan
- Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano
- Runtime: 113 minutes
- Release Year: 2000
- IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
It’s a Christopher Nolan movie, so it can’t be anything less than extraordinary. Memento unfolds the tale of Leonard, a former insurance investigator with a unique situation—he can’t form new memories.
His mission is one: to uncover the identity of his wife’s killer, the final memory engraved in his mind. Memento has two timelines, and as you watch, you’ll piece together the story by connecting the dots between them.
Prisoners
- Director(s): Denis Villeneuve
- Writer(s): Aaron Guzikowski
- Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello
- Runtime: 153 minutes
- Release Year: 2013
- IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
This intense film revolves around the abduction of two young girls. When the police struggle to make headway, the fathers of the missing girls, played by Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, take matters into their own hands. As the search unfolds, dark secrets come to light, testing the characters’ morality and pushing them to the brink. Prisoners is a suspenseful and one of the best thriller movies to watch in UK that will leave you questioning the boundaries of justice.
Munich
- Director(s): Steven Spielberg
- Writer(s): Tony Kushner, Eric Roth (screenplay), George Jonas (book “Vengeance”)
- Starring: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Ciarán Hinds
- Runtime: 164 minutes
- Release Year: 2005
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Munich dives into the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics attack. Eric Bana takes the lead as a Mossad agent on a mission to track down and deal with those responsible for the tragedy. With Spielberg’s knack for storytelling and compelling performances, Munich is a thought-provoking journey through justice, vengeance, and the gray areas in between.
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The Bad Batch
- Director(s): Ana Lily Amirpour
- Writer(s): Ana Lily Amirpour
- Starring: Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey
- Runtime: 118 minutes
- Release Year: 2016
- IMDb Rating: 5.3/10
If you are looking for a dystopian thriller that is weird, wild, and unpredictable, then you should watch The Bad Batch. The movie is about a girl named Arlen, who is sent to a desert where the government dumps all the unwanted people. There, she is captured by cannibals. Things get more complicated when she meets Miami Man, the leader of the cannibals, who is looking for his missing daughter.
Upgrade
- Director(s): Leigh Whannell
- Writer(s): Leigh Whannell
- Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo, Steve Danielsen
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Release Year: 2018
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Sci-Fi thriller fans – this one’s for you! The movie tells the story of Grey Trace, a mechanic who becomes paralyzed after a brutal attack that also kills his wife. He is offered a chance to regain his mobility and seek revenge by a mysterious inventor who implants a chip called STEM in his spine.
STEM not only restores Grey’s body functions but also gives him superhuman abilities and a voice in his head. The movie is full of amazing fight scenes, clever twists, and dark humor as Grey and STEM team up to hunt down the killers. Upgrade is a fun and exciting ride that will keep you entertained from start to finish.
Nightcrawler
- Director(s): Dan Gilroy
- Writer(s): Dan Gilroy
- Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton
- Runtime: 117 minutes
- Release Year: 2014
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
A dark and twisted thriller that exposes the ugly side of the media!
The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a sociopath who becomes a freelance cameraman to film violent crimes and accidents in Los Angeles. He sells his footage to a desperate news director, played by Rene Russo, who is willing to bend the ethical rules to boost her ratings. The movie shows how Lou manipulates, deceives, and exploits everyone around him and how far he is willing to go to get the perfect shot. Definitely one of the best thriller movies to watch in UK!
The Hunt
- Director(s): Thomas Vinterberg
- Writer(s): Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg
- Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp
- Runtime: 115 minutes
- Release Year: 2012
- IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
An underrated gem, indeed!
Set in a small Danish village around Christmas, the film follows a man named Lucas, a divorced kindergarten teacher who becomes the target of mass hysteria after being wrongly accused of sexually abusing a child in his class.
Trance
- Director(s): Danny Boyle
- Writer(s): Joe Ahearne (screenplay), John Hodge (screenplay)
- Starring: James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel
- Runtime: 101 minutes
- Release Year: 2013
- IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
As the name suggests, this one will put you in a trance!
The movie is about Simon, an art auctioneer who gets involved in a heist gone wrong and suffers a head injury that makes him forget where he hid a valuable painting. He is forced by the gang leader, Franck, to see a hypnotherapist named Elizabeth, who tries to unlock his memories through trance sessions. However, nothing is as it seems, as Simon, Franck, and Elizabeth get caught in a web of deception, manipulation, and obsession.
Silence of the Lambs
- Director(s): Jonathan Demme
- Writer(s): Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)
- Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
- Runtime: 118 minutes
- Release Year: 1991
- IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
It’s fair to say that this one is the king of thrillers. Even after so many years have passed, this movie still remains a favorite of many when it comes to this genre. The movie is about Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee who is assigned to interview the notorious Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. She hopes to gain his insight into another serial killer, nicknamed “Buffalo Bill”, who skins his female victims. The movie features outstanding performances from Jodie Foster as Clarice and Anthony Hopkins as Lecter, who won Academy Awards for their roles.
Annihilation
- Director(s): Alex Garland
- Writer(s): Alex Garland (screenplay), Jeff VanderMeer (novel)
- Starring: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson
- Runtime: 115 minutes
- Release Year: 2018
- IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
If you’re a fan of Sci-Fi thrillers, then this one is definitely not to be missed. It follows a group of women who enter a mysterious zone called the Shimmer, where nature and life have been mutated by an alien presence. The film explores themes of self-destruction, evolution, and identity as the characters face horrifying creatures and shocking discoveries. A treat for those who love to have a blend of Sci-Fi and thriller!
Uncut Gems
- Director(s): Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
- Writer(s): Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
- Starring: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel
- Runtime: 135 minutes
- Release Year: 2019
- IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
It is about a man named Howard, who sells jewels in New York. He is also addicted to gambling, and he owes a lot of money to some dangerous people. He thinks he can solve his problems by selling a rare black opal from Africa, but things get complicated when a famous basketball player wants to buy it. Howard has to deal with his angry wife, his secret girlfriend, his angry customers, and his violent enemies while trying to win big on his bets. You’ll have a great time watching this one as well.
Conclusion
There you have it, a list of some of the best thriller movies to watch in UK. I’ve tried to balance popular hits with hidden treasures so you can enjoy a variety of stories and styles. Whether you like sci-fi, crime, or drama, there is something for everyone on this list. I hope you have a blast watching these thrilling films.
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