Hopefully you like movies that keep you on the edge of your seat because, in 2025, there will be many of them. A handful of exciting thriller movies are on the way in the new year and the months to come, from murder mysteries that will keep you guessing until the end to espionage dramas to book-to-movie adaptations of popular mystery-thriller books. So chances are whatever keeps your adrenaline high while at the multiplex or curling up on the couch, there's something for you on the way.
Below, we're rounding up the best thrillers of 2025, including what's headed to theaters soon and later in the year. (For movies to watch right now, check out our round-up of the best thrillers of 2024.)
'Both Eyes Open'
Release date: January 17
Starring: Gail Bean, Taye Diggs, Joy Brunson, Tristan Mack Wilds, Michael Olyede, Christie Leverette, and Carla Fisher
Why it’s worth seeing: Rising filmmaker Ariel Julia Hairston’s upcoming indie psychological thriller centers on Ally (Gail Bean), a woman experiencing hallucinations of her abuser after exiting a domestic violence shelter. As it turns out that her concern may not be paranoia, you can bet Both Eyes Open will become a compelling look at how trauma manifests. (All the more reason to see this one: An astounding number of the crew and production heads were Black women, which we love to see.)
'Flight Risk'
Release date: January 24
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace
Why it’s worth seeing: Buckle up: This one’s sure to be a wild ride (and probably not for those with claustrophobia). Mel Gibson’s latest is almost entirely set aboard a tight, frigid flight in which a pilot is tasked with transporting a U.S. marshal and fugitive to trial. But is everyone who they claim to be?
'Inheritance'
Release date: January 24
Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Rhys Ifans, Ciara Baxendale, and Kersti Bryan
Why it’s worth seeing: After seeing Phoebe Dynevor lead the erotic/workplace thriller Fair Play, we’re looking forward to seeing the Bridgerton alum in an espionage movie. She leads this thriller as a young woman drawn into an international conspiracy when she learns that her father used to be a spy.
'Presence'
Release date: January 24
Starring: Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Lucas Papaelias, West Mulholland, and Eddy Maday
Why it’s worth seeing: You’ve never seen a haunted house movie like this. Steven Soderbergh, known for his innovative filmmaking tactics like shooting on an iPhone, is toying with the genre by making this movie told entirely through the ghost’s (or presence’s) perspective. Through their POV, we’ll see a family become frightened upon moving into a new house.
'Companion'
Release date: January 31
Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, and Harvey Guillén
Why it’s worth seeing: If you liked the 2022 hit horror movie Barbarian, check out Companion: It comes from the same production team and twists abound. The wickedly funny and surprising thriller, written and directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Drew Hancock, centers around a twisted love story and a weekend away gone very wrong. The plot has been kept under wraps, but, trust us, don’t look up any spoilers before going into this one.
'Like Father Like Son'
Release date: January 31
Starring: Dylan Flashner, Ariel Winter, Vivica A. Fox, Mayim Bialik and Dermot Mulroney
Why it’s worth seeing: Many of us start to notice similarities between ourselves and our parents as we get older, but what if you began to pick up similar…murderous tendencies? As is the case with the young man Eli (Dylan Flashner) in this movie, who becomes increasingly violent and hopes to break a vicious cycle within his family, as his father (Dermot Mulroney) is awaiting execution for being guilty of murder in the first degree.
'Valiant One'
Release date: January 31
Starring: Chase Stokes, Lana Condor, Desmin Borges, Callan Mulvey, Jonathan Whitesell, and Daniel Jun
Why it’s worth seeing: Lana Condor is showing her range and we’re here for it. The To All the Boys alum and Outer Banks star Chase Stokes lead this war film that follows U.S. soldiers and a civilian tech specialist whose helicopter crashes in dangerous North Korean territory, setting out on a mission to get to safety.
'Armand'
Release date: February 7
Starring: Renate Reinsve, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Endre Hellestveit, Thea Lambrechts Vaulen, Øystein Røger, and Vera Veljovic
Why it’s worth seeing: If you loved Renate Reinsve’s breakout performance in The Worst Person in the World, check out Armand, in which she’s showing a completely different role. In the Norweigan thriller (officially Norway’s submission for Best International Feature at the 2025 Oscars), she plays the mother of a boy named Armand who gets in trouble for an incident involving himself and another boy at school. Amid public scrutiny and concern that the incident might mean something more, she begins to unravel.
'Bring Them Down'
Release date: February 7
Starring: Barry Keoghan, Christopher Abbott, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready, Aaron Heffernan, Conor McNeill, Susan Lynch, and Colm Meaney
Why it’s worth seeing: With Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott leading this indie thriller and Toronto Film Festival favorite, you can bet there will be incredible performances here. They go toe-to-toe in this Ireland-set drama about two farming families with a dark, melodramatic history, which all comes to a head when the son of one farmer (Keoghan) claims the other family’s prize rams were found dead on their property.
'The Gorge'
Release date: February 14 on Apple TV+
Starring: Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver, Sope Dirisu, and William Houston
Why it’s worth seeing: After her incredible turn as a bonafide action star in Furiosa, we’ll watch Anya Taylor-Joy lead any action-thriller movie. She and Miles Teller play guards holding posts on the opposite sides of a mysterious gorge, which houses a secret evil. Though they don’t know what they’re protecting, they work together when it comes under threat. The screenplay for The Gorge ended up on the 2020 Black List, or the list of the best-unproduced scripts, so you can bet it’ll be gripping.
'Last Breath'
Release date: February 28
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, Cliff Curtis, and Djimon Hounsou
Why it’s worth seeing: Filmmaker Alex Parkinson adapts his 2019 documentary of the same name into a feature. A survivalist thriller, it tells the harrowing yet inspiring true story of a group of deepsea divers’ race against the clock to rescue one of their teammates stuck without heat or light hundreds of feet under the sea.
'Black Bag'
Release date: March 14
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, and Tom Burke
Why it’s worth seeing: Steven Soderbergh has not one but two highly anticipated thrillers coming in 2025. He’ll release the espionage movie Black Bag just two months after Presence hits theaters. The cast is just as stacked, with Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender playing a loving married couple and spy duo who start to face off when she’s suspected of treason.
'The Amateur'
Release Date: April 11
Starring: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, Danny Sapani, and Laurence Fishburne
Why it’s worth seeing: Is 2025 the year of spy movies? It might be! This adaptation of Robert Littell’s novel of the same name stars Rami Malek as a CIA cryptographer on a one-man vengeance mission. He sets out to get to the bottom of a terrorist attack in London, which resulted in his wife’s death, when his bosses won’t act.
'Drop'
Release date: April 11
Starring: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Jeffery Self, Gabrielle Ryan Spring, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Ed Weeks, Travis Nelson, and Reed Diamond
Why it’s worth seeing: We’ve all had our fair share of bad dates, but few may compare to what happens to Meghann Fahy’s character Violet in this thriller. The latest from Christopher Landon (known for helming horror hits like the Paranormal Activity and Happy Death Day movies) follows a young widowed mother trying to get back in the dating game whose night with a pleasantly sweet charmer named Henry (Brandon Skienar) turns into a nightmare. Throughout the evening, she receives concerning texts with a series of commands, threatening to hurt her and her family if she doesn’t listen.
'Hurry Up Tomorrow'
Release date: May 16
Starring: The Weeknd, Jenna Ortega, and Barry Keoghan
Why it’s worth seeing: The Weeknd may have had a cameo playing himself in Uncut Gems and led HBO’s series The Idol, but he’ll make his major acting feature film debut in Hurry Up Tomorrow. The details are scarce, but the thriller from acclaimed indie filmmaker Trey Edward Shults (Waves, It Comes at Night) is said to be inspired by the R&B hitmaker’s forthcoming new music.
'M3GAN 2.0'
Release date: June 27
Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Ivanna Sakhno, Timm Sharp, Aristotle Athari, and Jemaine Clement
Why it’s worth seeing: Everyone’s favorite, killer robot queen is returning to the big screen, which means this is already the best movie of 2025. After the Blumhouse tech horror film became a surprise box-office smash in 2022, a sequel was greenlit, and all we know is it’s set to follow the doll’s comeback, after being deactivated. Thank goodness: May more deranged dance moves be in store.
Untitled 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' sequel
Release date: July 18
Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr., Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Haur-King, Lola Tung, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Austin Nichols, and Gabbriette
Why it’s worth seeing: It looks like what ‘90s movie classic I Know What You Did Last Summer was for Gen X stars, the reboot will be for Gen Z/millennial cusp favorites. The franchise about a group of friends being stalked by a killer after a tragic accident is the latest horror series to come back. It has the same premise, though details are being kept hush-hush. You can get excited in the meantime, though, knowing the original series’ heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. is returning.
Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson movie
Release date: August 8
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, and Benicio del Toro
Why it’s worth seeing: A new PTA movie on the way is simply another reason worth living! As always, the iconic filmmaker (Phantom Thread, Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood) has garnered an incredible cast—featuring some of his past collaborators like Licorice Pizza star Alana Haim and some names we’re thrilled to see him working with, from Leonardo DiCaprio to Regina Hall. All we know is that it’s a crime drama and, by the looks of the pap shots that surfaced throughout production, it looks bonkers.
'The Housemaid'
Release date: December 25
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Brandon Sklenar
Why it’s worth seeing: Sydney Sweeney’s become a bit of a scream queen over her career, and we can’t wait to see her lead this adaptation of Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel of the same name. In it, she becomes the housemaid to a seemingly sweet, affluent couple (Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar), only to find out they have some dark secrets behind closed doors.
'Opus'
Release date: TBA; Premiering at Sundance Film Festival in January
Starring: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, and Amber Midthunder
Why it’s worth seeing: We may know Ayo Edebiri for her comedic chops, but we’d bet she’ll wow us in this genre-defying A24 thriller. The Emmy winner will play a writer who finds herself shocked to be invited to the compound of a former pop star who disappeared under mysterious circumstances three decades ago. As you might’ve suspected, everything is not as it seems upon arrival and as she’s drawn into the singer’s web and world. (Here’s to hoping there’s a sick original soundtrack too!)
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