SerpApi.Org
It's 2026, and audiences still love Will Ferrell. The comedian's newest show on Netflix, The Hawk, is currently sitting at No. 1 on the service. On the movie side, a Spanish-language thriller, Desire, is No. 1 on the charts. If you're still searching for more thrillers after these picks, give Desire a shot.
As for thrillers to stream on Netflix U.S. this week, my top selection is an Oscar-winning black comedy by two brothers that later inspired an FX TV show. My eyes are also on a dystopian survival movie from 2012 and an underrated action franchise.
Angel Has Fallen
Gerard Butler finds himself in another desperate situation
Gerard Butler deserves a medal for his contributions to action movies. While many big stars have jumped into comic book land for superhero adaptations, Butler has kept chugging away as a true action hero, one without superhuman strength or X-ray vision. Butler’s dedicated fanbase helped turn Has Fallen into a franchise, with the third installment, Angel Has Fallen, now on Netflix.
First, Mike Banning (Butler) saved the president during an attack at the White House. He then rescued the president during an attack in London. In Angel Has Fallen, Banning is framed for an assassination attempt on U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) that puts the leader of the free world in a coma. Banning is forced to go on the run, where he finds help from an unlikely source: Clay Banning (Nick Nolte), his estranged father.
If the Has Fallen series had debuted in the 1990s, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Jean-Claude Van Damme would have been jockeying to play Banning. I mention this because Butler wants to be like those action legends, and the Has Fallen series channels those movies we loved 30 years ago. They are not perfect, but they are wildly fun, ridiculous, and entertaining.
The Hunger Games
I volunteer as a tribute to watch the movie
After the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, young adults were searching for the next big adaptation aimed at them. Thankfully, Suzanne Collins supplied the source material for the Hunger Games novels, a dystopian franchise about a society where young teens are forced to fight to the death in an arena.
In The Hunger Games, Panem is looking for two tributes—one boy and one girl—from each of the 12 Districts to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised battle royale where adolescents kill each other until one person is left standing. Katniss Everdeen of District 12 volunteers to take the place of her younger sister. As we learn, Katniss is no ordinary tribute, as her rebellious tendencies and survival instincts propel her to stardom. Although Katniss manages to outsmart some of her competition, she quickly realizes that no one wins when playing under the Capitol's watchful eye.
To this day, it’s still shocking to witness the violence in The Hunger Games. Children and teenagers die in the arena, which might be hard for some to fathom. If you can get past its brutality, you’re rewarded with an excellent dystopian thriller with blockbuster action sequences, emotional themes, and a star-is-born performance from Lawrence. All five Hunger Games movies are now on Netflix, including the prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Fargo
A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere
The Coen Brothers love to poke fun at humanity, especially its absurd nature. They find humor in the darkest and bleakest of scenarios. Arrogance, greed, and cowardice are traits they return to for specific characters in their movies. Those traits are found in Minneapolis sales manager Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo.
In desperate need of money, Jerry (William H. Macy) plans to extort his wealthy father-in-law by kidnapping his wife and holding her for ransom. Jerry travels to Fargo, North Dakota, and hires two thugs—Gaear (Peter Stormare) and Carl (Steve Buscemi)—to kidnap his wife in exchange for money. After successfully kidnapping Jerry's wife, Gaear and Carl run into a setback when they kill a state trooper who pulls them over. This brings pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) into the fold. With her signature Midwestern charm, Marge spearheads the investigation and quickly learns that the murder is not a cut-and-dry case.
Fargo is as close to flawless as a movie can get. Every string pulled by the Coen Brothers works—from McDormand's casting and the ominous setting to the Oscar-winning script and Roger Deakins' stunning cinematography. It's one of the rare thrillers that is as funny as it is violent. One moment, you're laughing at Mike Yanagita crying in the restaurant, and then, you're shell-shocked by the state trooper's death. Fargo is a must-see movie, and it's under 100 minutes. Can't beat that efficiency.
Netflix has more to offer
Thrillers are merely one of Netflix's many genres. If you're interested in award-winning movies, stream Gone Girl or Apollo 13. If you're looking ahead to the future, throw The Last House and Ray Gunn on your Netflix watchlist. These are two of the movies I'm looking forward to on Netflix this year.
