5 Best Thriller Movies Of 2026 (So Far)

This article contains a discussion of addiction.

Sometimes, you want to watch a movie that's sweet, funny, and easy to digest — something simple that leaves you feeling comforted and satisfied when it's over. Sometimes, that's not what you want at all. Sometimes, you want a nail-biting, knuckle-whitening, tense-as-hell thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and thankfully, 2026 has you covered with some pretty excellent options.

All things considered so far, 2026 has been a pretty good year for the film medium overall, and it's also produced some really heightened, high-concept, and fun thrillers. From a remake of a much-darker Scandinavian film to an original concept from one of the most promising young voices in the thriller and horror genres to a pretty by-the-book crime thriller featuring some of Hollywood's most well-regarded stars, here are 2026's best thrillers. A few notes: check trigger warnings, these aren't arranged in a ranked order (it's alphabetical), and we'll keep this list updated as more thrillers hit theaters until the end of the year. Onward!

If you're at all familiar with Kane Parsons' YouTube run as Kane Pixels and his homegrown "Backrooms" horror content, you probably know about his blockbuster feature film. If not, here's the gist. After the concept of the twisted, winding liminal space known as the Backrooms originated as a "creepypasta" (a sort of Internet-based horror fable), Parsons made a series of short films centered around these Backrooms, which then got the big-screen treatment courtesy of A24 in 2026. Thankfully, the indie studio's bet on first-time director Parsons paid off, and we mean that literally; it's A24's highest-earning film by quite a long shot.

So what is "Backrooms" ... about, and what makes it so good? The film opens with a brief interlude featuring employees from a shady company called Async in the titular Backrooms before they're attacked by an unseen monster, which is when we meet Chiwetel Ejiofor's downtrodden Clark, the owner of a furniture store who grapples with an addiction to alcohol and is also struggling to understand the end of his marriage. When he finds the massive, odd Backrooms in the back of his store — and entices his employees Kat and Bobby ("Shrinking" star Lukita Maxwell and "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" standout Finn Bennett) to investigate, leading them into danger — Clark is entranced, and eventually, his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve) heads into them herself to go find her client.

"Backrooms" is a pretty good horror movie, and it's an even better thriller, particularly as Parsons uses blank spaces and weird world-building to alarm you without relying on cheap thrills and jump scares. (Plus, Reinsve and Ejiofor, both Oscar-nominated actors, are reliably brilliant.) Add in a practical set that confounded the actual actors during filming, and you've got a great 2026 thriller from and up-and-coming director.

Adapted from a 2020 novella by Don Winslow, "Crime 101" is, to be honest, saddled with a pretty stupid title ... but don't let that fool you. Directed and adapted by Bart Layton, "Crime 101" stars Chris Hemsworth as "Mike," a falsely named high-level thief who's unexpectedly injured by a grazing bullet during a heist where he steals millions of dollars worth of diamonds. After Mike turns down his next job, he has a new problem to deal with: Los Angeles detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), who starts investigating the diamond heist and ends up hot on Mike's trail.

As Mike's fence (or money man), appropriately named Money (Nick Nolte), tries to get a young new thief named Ormon (Barry Keoghan) to help him pull off Mike's next heist, Lou tracks Mike and discovers a whole web of intrigue involving a high-flying insurance broker named Sharon Combs (Halle Berry), Mike's girlfriend Maya (Monica Barbaro), and one of Sharon's super-rich clients Steven Monroe (Tate Donovan). With a supporting cast rounded out by Jennifer Jason Leigh, Corey Hawkins, and Paul Adelstein, just to name a few, "Crime 101" isn't just a pleasant surprise as far as 2026 films go, but one of the year's best and most captivating thrilers.

It is incredible, all things considered, that the 2026 thriller "Is God Is" is the directorial feature debut from Aleshea Harris, who also produced and wrote this stunning, unsettling, excellent film. Kara Young and and Mallori Johnson star in the film as Racine and Anaia, two twin sisters who bear horrible injuries due to a fire caused by their father in their younger years (Anaia's scars are visible on her face, while Racine bears them on her left arm) who realize that their mother is still alive, despite that they thought, for years, that she perished in the flames. Together, Anaia and Racine set off to find their missing mom whom they call "God," and when they do, she tells them a series of terrible family secrets that ultimately lead to her dying and the sisters vowing revenge upon their father for his crimes.

"Is God Is" is a great thriller for many reasons, but chief among them is that it focuses on family trauma and intergenerational wounds instead of rote crime plotlines or anything generic. Truly, this film is one of a kind, and it's bolstered by phenomenal performances from Young, Johnson, Vivica A. Fox, Sterling K. Brown, Janelle Monáe, and Erika Alexander to boot. "Is God Is" is an unmissable cinematic experience, and without question, it's one of the year's finest thrillers.

Jorma Taccone, for those in the know, is a pretty funny director who's helmed movies like "MacGruber" and the masterpiece "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping," which he directed alongside his fellow Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer (and which stars their third cohort Andy Samberg). In his 2026 film "Over Your Dead Body," Taccone adapts a 2021 Norwegian film called "The Trip" and casts Jason Segel and Samara Weaving as Dan and Lisa, a deeply unhappy married couple who work as a director and actress, respectively. Problem is, neither of their careers are fulfilling; Dan directs commercials after his only feature film underperformed at the box office, and Lisa struggles to book decent roles. As the two head to a remote cabin to ostensibly enjoy a weekend away and reconnect as a couple, we learn that Dan intends to kill Lisa and collect a massive life insurance payout ... and Lisa is planning the exact same thing, hoping to murder Dan and leave a rich widow.

This premise is funny enough, but the way the movie unfolds from there is truly and delightfully bonkers in the best way and involves oddball characters played by heavyweights like Juliette Lewis, Paul Guilfolye, and Timothy Olyphant, just to name a few. "Over Your Dead Body" ultimately lives and dies, pun intended, on the dynamic between Segel and Weaving, who are absolutely perfect together and completely sell the illusion that these two are absolutely desperate to murder each other for money.

Sam Raimi is one of the most delightfully strange horror and thriller directors to ever grace the film industry with his singular visions, and his 2026 movie "Send Help" is ... basically perfect. In this deliciously unhinged thriller, Rachel McAdams, who should have multiple Academy Award wins by now but doesn't because we live in an unjust world, plays Linda Liddle, a mid-level corporate strategist at a company where she's hoping against hope for a promotion. After the CEO's arrogant son Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien) awards the promotion to one of his buffoonish buddies, they decide to throw Linda a bone and bring her on an important business trip, only for the plane to disintegrate mid-air — killing everyone but Bradley and Linda and stranding them on an apparently deserted island.

Here's the thing. Linda is a huge fan of the reality competition show "Survivor," so she knows exactly how to, well, survive on this island. Bradley doesn't have a clue, and though he rebuffs her help at first, he finally gives in and lets her lend some aid when he almost dies of thirst. Things quickly grow tense between them, though, and what we get to witness is a masterful showdown between Bradley, now helpless, and a powerful Linda at the top of her game ... and it should be said that while O'Brien is great in this movie, McAdams blows him out of the water at every turn. "Send Help" is a pitch-perfect thriller and an absolute delight that will have you laughing one minute and grimacing the next.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).