Best Thrillers on Amazon Prime

The best thrillers on Amazon Prime are tough to find. If you've spent any time looking for good movies on Amazon Prime I'm sure you already know that it's easy to come up empty handed sometimes. I know because I have spent countless hours of my life looking for all the best thrillers Amazon Prime has to over and I would say that I only enjoyed about 20% of them. If you're like me and you love watching thrillers, I have a great list of movies below that you can enjoy. Even though the thrillers on Amazon Prime are tough to find, it doesn't mean we still can't find some of the diamonds in the rough.

Harsh Times

Jim is a post war veteran who is crushed when he gets turned down from the Los Angeles Police Department. Meeting up with old friends, he slowly slips back into a life of crime. Harsh Times was probably the craziest movie I've seen Christian Bale in after American Psycho. His character in Harsh Times is a total basket case too. It's a pretty rough movie that gets darker and darker as time goes on. Harse Times reminded me of the type of people you just can't get through to. They are so hell bent on self-destruction, the only thing you can do is get out of their way.
Like I mentioned, thrillers on Amazon Prime don't get much darker than Harsh Times. Pretty much everything Christian Bale's character does in this movie is over the top. His character almost gives you anxiety as his high adrenaline attitude fuels off peer pressure. Everything is shot in a very realistic way and it felt like a really authentic portrayal of crime and criminals in LA. A lot of things will come flying at you out of the blue in this one and the road to tragedy is never too far away for Jim. If you look at the reviews of Harsh Times, you might not think much of it. Sometimes I really think people give a movie a bad review simply for the fact that it took them out of their comfort zone. I look for movies that are different in ways that can be shocking to some viewers, but I truly think those are the best movies to watch. I'd say if you thought American Pscyho was a fun movie to watch, another great acting job by Christian Bale is well worth your time.

Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin is not only one of the best thrillers on Amazon prime, it is one of the best movies on Amazon prime. I can't rave enough about this one. It's a story of a man who decides to live a solitary life after being traumatized by the death of his parents. Once he gets news of the murderer being released, he sets out to seek his revenge. It's dark, brooding, and one hell of a thriller. Amazon Prime movies don't get much better than this. Blue Ruin was one of my favorite movies on my Netflix streaming list for a long time and I was shocked when Netflix removed it. Thankfully Amazon Prime picked it up for everyone to enjoy. Blue Ruin is absolutely one of the best independent films made so far. Macon Blair is a great actor and you really get the sense of realism in this film. This is no hack and slash thriller that Hollywood spits the likes of out every year. This is a realistic and gritty thriller that puts you in the throes of vengeance. A great aspect of this movie is the slow increase of suspense throughout the film. The violence is very authentic and Blue Ruin didn't need any kind of big budget to pull it off. Something particularly interesting was that the director used his family home and car for the movie. Maybe that's how he perfectly pulls off the authenticity in this one. This will forever be one of the great movies on Amazon Prime while it lasts.

Room

Room is the story of a woman and her child trapped in a room. Her child has never seen anything outside of this room. Room is a very well acted thriller on Amazon Prime. It's a seriously horrible plot but it is eerily real as well. Though based on a book, Room gives off the vibe of a true crime story that unfortunately some women may have had the horror of experiencing. The mother and son acting is phenomenal and this slow burning thriller will have you on the edge of your seat in no time. Room is a harrowing tale of survivor and is definitely one of the best thrillers on Amazon Prime right now. Nobody really talks about the acting of the main male character, but I thought he did a fantastic job of being one unstable, violent psycho of a man. Also, if Brie Larson had ended up winning an award for it, I'm sure no one would be complaining about it, as she was nominated for an Oscar. Rooms is not the easiest film to watch and it's clearly both mentally and emotionally scarring for the characters. But I truly think you will come out on the other side enjoying the rollercoaster ride of emotion in Room.

10 Cloverfield Lane

After surviving a car accident a woman finds herself in an underground bunker with two men. 10 Cloverfield Lane is a much bigger blockbuster than I would usually ever put on my list of "off the beaten path movies" but it deserves a nod simply because it's a really good movie and there are honestly not that many thrillers on Amazon Prime to watch right now. That being said, it's still one of the best thrillers on Amazon Prime. The reason I say that, is that I think you will be genuinely confused on what is going on. A good thriller should really keep you on your toes and 10 Cloverfield Lane does just that. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen John Goodman in a bad role. He comes off as an especially creepy guy in this movie and you get the feeling he's got some serious issues. There's a lot of surprises, twists, and turns to keep you entertained. Sometimes when you have a movie that takes place in nearly the same place the whole movie it can get a little tiresome. I think what prevents 10 Cloverfield Lane from ever being boring is John Goodman's performance mixed with a feeling of claustrophobia and confusion.

It wasn't easy, but I managed to find some of the best thrillers on Amazon Prime and I'm already going back for more. I hope I can save you some time searching for these gems above because they are all certainly worth at least two hours of your life. Even though these are all in the thriller genre, I tried to find movies that even extended a little bit into different categories as well, just to give you some variety. Plus it's always good to mix in some throwbacks like Harsh Times and Blue Ruin with some newer thrillers like Room and 10 Cloverfield lane. Next up we'll have a list of some of the best dramas on Amazon Prime, so be sure to check for that post in the coming days.

Enjoy!