Movies that rely on tension as a driving force might seem odd to some, given how stress-inducing the real world can be at the best of times.
Who are we to judge? Spending 90 minutes sweating and wincing in front of the TV screen is a way to let off steam. A suspense movie is always a great way to get the heart rate up.
What is a suspense movie? How is it different from a movie? Both will get your pulse racing, but we argue that suspense films also come with a little bit of dread thrown in for good measure. Movies like this fill you up like an uncomfortably long-held breath, filling you up at the intersection of thriller, horror, and mystery.
If that sounds like something you are looking for, we have scoured the internet to find the best ones. If you are looking for a more traditional thrill, hit up our list of the best Netflix thrillers.
Sandra Bullock has to do some blindfolded rowing in "Bird Box". Credit: netflix
The premise of Bird Box is that after a mysterious apocalyptic event, human beings can no longer open their eyes outdoors. They will die by suicide if they do. The threat alone is enough to dial up the movie's background tension, and the sequence of Malorie rowing blindfolded down a river with two small children makes the stress-o-meter spike. Bird Box is not without its criticisms, but when it comes to suspense, the story is impressive. It is one of the best monster movies on the internet.
Bird Box is now available on the internet.
Don't pick up the phone. Credit: netflix
The Call is a dark, chilling South Korean mystery that you can see, but not the Halle Berry film or the revenge-based horror film of the same name. When Kim Seo-yeon visits her family home, she loses her phone, and starts getting strange calls, and finds a connection to a woman called Young-sook. Paying light attention is not an option because this film will never predict where it will go. Strong performances, unnerving use of sound, stunning cinematography, and a well-woven structure make this one strange and disturbing journey through time and reality.
The Call is available on the internet.
Charlie Plummer as Tyler in "The Clovehitch Killer". Credit: End Cue / Kobal / Shutterstock
What would you do if you suspected a family member of committing heinous crimes? The premise of Duncan Skiles' dark domestic nightmare is that a seemingly perfect family torn apart when their teenage son, Tyler, finds a link between his dad and the notorious Clovehitch Killer. The Scout leader dad in question is played by Dylan McDermott. This one will appeal to fans of Stephen King, who was also a fan of this movie.
The Clovehitch Killer is available on Shudder in the UK.
Carla Gugino plays a woman handcuffed in a remote lake house in "Gerald's Game". Credit: netflix
Gerald's Game is a Stephen King novel that writer/director Mike Flanagan used to think was unfilmable. It is easy to see why. A woman is handcuffed to the bed of her remote lake house after her husband dies of a heart attack during a sex game. The majority of the action is MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE MzE The result is just as tense as the source material. The lead performance was put in by Carla Gugino. Carel Struycken is perfect as the ominous figure who hides in the shadows of her room at night, and Bruce Greenwood is horrible as her husband Gerald. This one has some dark and disturbing moments.
Gerald's Game is now available on the internet.
Hush makes a strong horror-thriller elevator pitch, as a simple, terrifying scenario, with Kate Siegel playing a successful horror author who is deafness and cannot speak. When a masked man starts threatening her, things get really scary as she tries to keep her tormenter out of the house without being able to hear him. It is similar to the level of sound-based survival suspense you have experienced in A Quiet Place. Every movement counts and there is a perfect behind you moment to make a pantomime proud. The Siegel-Flanagan team is the key to Hush. The married duo worked together on Gerald's Game and The Haunting of Hill House. Hush is Siegel's first screenplay and it is terrifying. She puts everything into her performance, dealing with a violent threat almost in real-time, balancing circumstantial vulnerability with courage. If you see in an age, it is the most suspenseful.
Hush is now available on the internet.
Mother isn't exactly the caring type. Credit: netflix
You can never tell what a robot is thinking. Grant Sputore's futuristic mystery about a girl being raised by a robot in a post- apocalyptic Bunker is a lesson we have had drilled into us time and again in the sci-fi space. The suspense in this one comes hand-in-hand with the blank, impenetrable gaze of Mother, before cranking into overdrive when a stranger casts suspicion on the metal guardian.
I Am Mother is now available on the internet.
Credit: GLEN WILSON/NETFLIX
Jake Gyllenhaal is at his best in The Guilty, a film about a kidnapped woman and a cop with an anger problem.
With the camera focused on him for almost the full 90 minutes in The Guilty, he combines all his skills into one excruciatingly tense performance, I wrote in my review.
The Guilty is on Netlfix.
Mélanie Laurent wakes up in a very tight spot in "Oxygen". Credit: netflix
A futuristic twist on the fear of being buried alive, Oxygen is a claustrophobic nightmare about a woman who wakes up in a box with no idea who she is or how she got there. The good news? The good news is that she is able to communicate with the outside world via a robotic medical unit. Her oxygen reserves are quickly going towards zero percent because nobody she speaks to seems willing to come clean with her. Mélanie Laurent perfectly captures the dread of this role, and the story has enough twists and turns to keep it moving at a heart-pounding pace. If you have a fear of tight spaces, just tread carefully.
Oxygen is now available on the internet.
It's a long way down in "The Platform". Credit: netflix
There are holes in the floor and ceiling of the prison cells that are stacked on top of each other. Each month, levels are randomly assigned. A platform of food is slowly lowered from the very top, getting sparser and sparser with each floor it descends. This is the concept at the center of Spanish director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia's The Platform, a disturbing sci-fi thriller that wears its capitalist analogy plainly on its prison garb sleeve. It is one of those rare gems where the execution is as strong as the idea at its core, driven by an excellent screenplay from David Desola and Pedro Rivero that is dripping with horror and suspense. If you like movies like The Cube or Saw, this is worth a look.
The platform is available on the internet.
Credit: KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIX
The Power of the Dog is set in Montana in 1925 and follows a tense relationship between a rancher and his son.
The menace threaded through the film mesmerizes, according to a review by Kristy Puchko. His close-ups grapple with their subjects, refusing to be shut out from the most secret emotions. His long shots invite us to take in the gorgeous but hostile environments that surround this fraught family and show how frail they are. Campion creates a dance of broken souls, all broken by loneliness. Even at their worst times, she holds a deep sympathy for her heroes and villains.
The Power of the Dog is available on the streaming service.
Former NBA star Kevin Garnett has a cameo in "Uncut Gems". Credit: netflix
Uncut Gems manages to keep levels of tension higher than most horror movies, but it's difficult to do. Howard Ratner is a motor-mouthed jeweler with an impressive capacity for bullshitting and a horrible run-up of gambling debt that he is trying to pay back via the riskiest means possible. It is a chaotic, chaotic film that is perfectly complemented by Daniel Lopatin's score. Just make sure you are prepared for the viewing.
Uncut Gems is now available on the internet.
"Under the Shadow" builds solid tension amid destruction. Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock
Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War is the last place you would expect to be facing a djinn. The directorial debut of Iranian-born, London-based filmmaker Babak Anvari, this modern version of a haunted house horror film centers around medical student Shideh, whose family's apartment building is hit by a missile during the conflict. Shideh and her daughter are worried about a shadowy presence threatening them. It is a great example of tension building.
Under the Shadow is available on the streaming service.
Did you work your way through those? We have a list of the best horror and sci-fi movies on the internet.
This film writeup appeared on a previous list for the best international movies on the internet and the best monster movies of the decade.
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