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Latest additions: Burning Betrayal, Paradise, Your Lucky Day
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Over 500 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The 56 Best Thrillers Of 2023, Ranked
2023 was a fantastic year for cinema, filled with so many great thrillers that kept us glued to our screens with edge-of-your-seat suspense. From psychological mind-benders to high-stakes action, these films have delivered the thrills and chills we crave. Whether you're a hardcore thriller fan or just looking for a movie that keeps you guessing, the best thrillers of 2023 have something for everyone.
For example, Mind Games has captivated audiences with its intricate plot twists and unforgettable characters. Stalker's Prey takes you on a tense journey with its relentless pacing and eerie atmosphere. Then there's The Silent Witness, which blends mystery and drama in a gripping tale of deception. Escape Route has also grabbed attention with its high-octane action and nail-biting scenarios.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. Scroll through our list and vote for your favorite thriller movies from 2023. Let’s see which film kept you on the edge of your seat the most.
1Screen films are here to stay and Missing proves how effective they can be with its lighting quick pace as it winds through its twists and turns.
- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Will Merrick, Nicholas D. Johnson
2After rescuing a boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns the boy's sister is still captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Alejandro Monteverde
3During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world's first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
4Reptile (2023), directed by Grant Singer, is an American crime thriller. Detectives Tom Nichols (Benicio del Toro) and Dan Cleary (Ato Essandoh) investigate the murder of realtor Summer Elswick. The case unravels a maze of corruption, drug smuggling, and police complicity. As Nichols digs deeper, he uncovers a conspiracy involving his own department. The film also stars Justin Timberlake and Alicia Silverstone. Despite mixed critical reviews, Reptile became a Netflix sensation, securing top views globally for several consecutive weeks.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Grant Singer
5After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: David Fincher
6During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of grueling terrain.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Guy Ritchie
7Two brothers from opposite sides of the tracks are reunited as adults. Desperate circumstances force them into a deal with an organized crime syndicate in Boston, and a young woman gets caught in the middle.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Brian Helgeland
8After the murder of her estranged son, a journalist forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend to track down those responsible. Together, they confront a world of drugs and corruption in the underbelly of a small city.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
9A meticulous horticulturist is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate owned by a wealthy dowager. When he's told to take on her troubled great-niece as an apprentice, his life is thrown into chaos and dark secrets from his past emerge.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Paul Schrader
10An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a newly engaged couple's relationship to the brink.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Chloe Domont
11After being presumed dead, mercenary Tyler Rake returns for another high-stakes mission.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Sam Hargrave
12After the suspicious death of her brother, a priest, Grace travels to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what really happened. Once there, she uncovers murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth about her own past.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Christopher Smith
13Henk Rogers discovers Tetris in 1988, and then risks everything by traveling to the Soviet Union, where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov to bring the game to the masses.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Jon S. Baird
14Motivations are suspect, and expectations are turned upside down, as a con artist takes on Manhattan billionaires.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Benjamin Caron
15Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall finds solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Now living in Southern Italy, he soon discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall becomes their protector by taking on the mafia.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
16A serial killer terrorizes London while disgraced detective John Luther sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Jamie Payne
17A family vacation on Long Island is interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a blackout. As the threat grows, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Sam Esmail
18A troubled police officer is recruited by the FBI's chief investigator to help profile and track down a disturbed individual terrorizing Baltimore, Maryland.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Damián David Szifron
19Forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Yuval Adler
20Joey fears there could be trouble ahead after her brother invites a childhood friend with a troubled past on their whitewater rafting adventure. When they become stranded in raging rapids, the thrill-seeking trip quickly turns into a desperate fight for survival as someone seems intent on sabotage to ensure shocking secrets stay buried.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Ben Ketai
21Out of Exile
Adam Hampton, Ryan Merriman, Kyle Jacob HenryPeter Greene is definitely a highlight in this high-octane thriller that keeps upping the ante from the first heist to the last.
Recently paroled thief Gabe Russell is back at it again. After a botched armored car robbery turns up the heat from the FBI, he gets one last shot if he hopes to escape and provide a new life for himself and his estranged daughter.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Kyle Kauwika Harris
22An oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converges in a Georgia forest after a 500-pound black bear ingests a large amount of cocaine and goes on a drug-fueled rampage.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Elizabeth Banks
23An undercover CIA operative gets stuck in hostile territory in Afghanistan after his mission is exposed. Accompanied by his translator, he must fight enemy combatants as he tries to reach an extraction point in Kandahar.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh
- 24Unhappy newlywed Lina is against her rich, coldhearted mother-in-law, Katherine. An affair sets off a chain reaction that will result in a love triangle, a murder and a plot to bring Lina down.
- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Nour Wazzi
25Randy is perfectly content to fade into the background, but when one of his co-workers goes on a sudden and violent rampage, he must face his fears and confront his troubled past to survive.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Carter Smith
26At work, she's a renowned assassin. At home, she's a single mom to a teenage girl. Killing is easy. It's parenting that's the hard part.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Byeon Seonghyeon
27Determined to find his missing daughter, Detective Danny Rourke finds himself spiraling down a rabbit hole while investigating a series of reality-bending crimes. Aided by Diana Cruz, a gifted psychic, Rourke simultaneously pursues and is pursued by a lethal specter, the one man he believes holds the key to finding the girl.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
28A student is invited to an eccentric classmate's estate for an exciting summer.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Emerald Fennell
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29The third film in the Detective Knight trilogy finds Bruce Willis, once again, donning the role of the eponymous detective. Most definitely check this one out if you're a fan of the franchise or just want a fun, recent thriller to watch.
- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Edward Drake
30A woman on parole uncovers a conspiracy while investigating a legend about a righteous god that protects a small town from evil.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Lenin M. Sivam
31Hoping for a miraculous cure, John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure, only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer uses deranged and ingenious traps to turn the tables on the con artists.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Kevin Greutert
32A high-end art thief becomes trapped inside a luxury, high-tech penthouse in New York's Times Square after his heist doesn't go as planned. Locked inside with nothing but priceless works of art, he must use all his cunning and invention to survive.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Vasilis Katsoupis
33Detective Phillip Marlowe becomes embroiled in an investigation with a wealthy family in Bay City, Calif., after a beautiful blonde hires him to find her former lover.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Neil Jordan
34The Mother (2023), directed by Niki Caro, is an American action thriller film. Released on Netflix, the story follows a former US army operative, known as the Mother (Jennifer Lopez), who collaborates with FBI agent William Cruise (Omari Hardwick) to rescue her kidnapped daughter from criminals. The narrative unfolds with intense action, revealing a web of betrayal, child trafficking, and a mother's relentless pursuit to protect her child. The film digs into themes of sacrifice, mother-daughter relationships, and the lengths one will go to ensure a loved one's safety.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Niki Caro
35Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican, uncovers a centuries-old conspiracy while investigating a young boy's terrifying possession.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Julius Avery
36Confession
Clark Backo, Sarah Hay, Nolan Gerard FunkJillian, an aspiring district attorney takes on the recently dismissed case of a young woman who accused three men of sexual assault. As she puts her career on the line to uncover the truth, she starts to untangle a web of murder, lies and deceit.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Dayna Hanson
37Young Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant noise from inside his bedroom wall -- a tapping that his parents insist is in his imagination. As his fear intensifies, he starts to believe that his parents are hiding a terrible and dangerous secret.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Samuel Bodin
38A woman enrolls in a clinical trial to try and fix her seemingly broken biological clock after friends, family, and society pressures her to have children.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Alexis Jacknow
39With the climate crisis at a point of no return, a group of environmental activists come up with a daring plan to make their voices heard and disrupt an oil pipeline.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Daniel Goldhaber
- 40A man sees the dark side of the time-manipulating biotech company he works for when a crushing debt forces his wife to give up 40 years of her own life.
- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Boris Kunz
41Assigned an unexpected task at a mansion, a tutor finds himself becoming the obsession of his student, who threatens to expose his darkest secrets.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Jordan Ross
42A woman anxiously searches for her son when he teams up with his father's old partner to chase tornadoes.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Herbert James Winterstern
43Two years after she escaped a violent attack on her family, 16-year-old Becky attempts to rebuild her life in the care of an older woman -- a kindred spirit named Elena. However, when a violent group known as the Noble Men break into their home, attack them and take their beloved dog, Becky must return to her old ways to protect herself and her loved ones.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote
44Jonas Taylor leads a research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean. Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival. Pitted against colossal, prehistoric sharks and relentless environmental plunderers, they must outrun, outsmart and outswim their merciless predators.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Ben Wheatley
45Accused of a terrible crime in a plot orchestrated by Russia's FSB, a French diplomat must become a man of action in order to escape.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Jérôme Salle
46Pregnant, alone and drifting in the sea, a woman trapped in a shipping container tries to survive after fleeing a devastated totalitarian country.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Albert Pintó
47Heart of Stone is an American spy action thriller directed by Tom Harper. Starring Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo, and Matthias Schweighöfer, the film follows intelligence operative Rachel Stone (Gadot) on a perilous mission to protect the artificial intelligence system known as "The Heart." Tasked by the peacekeeping organization Charter, Stone's assignment becomes complex when her cover is compromised. As she navigates betrayals and dangerous adversaries, Stone must prevent the misuse of The Heart. The film explores themes of espionage, loyalty, and the consequences of wielding powerful technology.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Tom Harper
48A social media star searches for a missing filmmaker in Mexico City.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Sebastián Silva
49Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn't protect, ex-bodyguard Ok-ju sets out to fulfill her dear friend's last wish: sweet, sweet revenge.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Lee Chung-hyeon
50Emma Leeden details the loss of her family in her new book "Invasion." To generate press, she agrees to a staged reading by Sky Brown in her fortified home. But Sky's spiritual connection is real and evil emerges in a house they can't get out of.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Courtney Glaude
51Oilman Paul Sturges' idyllic family vacation turns into a living nightmare when they encounter a gigantic megalodon shark that will stop at nothing to protect its territory. Stranded and under constant attack, Paul and his family must somehow find a way to get back to shore alive before it strikes again.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Adrian Grunberg
52When a dispute over a winning lottery ticket turns into a deadly hostage situation, the witnesses must decide exactly how far they're willing to go -- and how much blood they're willing to spill -- for a cut of $156 million.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Daniel Brown
53Eight-year-old Vicky has a hyperacute sense of smell, which she enjoys exploring. When her mysterious aunt bursts into her life after being released from prison, her presence brings back the past in a violent, magical way.- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Léa Mysius
- 54An accountant sees her fiancé's betrayal as an opportunity for a sexual awakening, with dangerous consequences.
- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Diego Freitas
55In the year 2063, unchecked and rampant climate change has caused temperatures and sea levels to rise catastrophically. Surrounded by an endless ocean thousands of miles from home, four soldiers stand as the last bastion, defending their homeland from an invasion by an enemy they've never seen. Alone and uncertain as to what fate awaits them, the simmering tension amongst the crew escalates when a mysterious boat drifts into range.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Tanel Toom
56An operative of the Indian spy agency known as R&AW is assigned to track down a mole who is selling defense secrets while grappling with her dual identity as a spy and a lover.- Released: 2023
- Directed by: Vishal Bhardwaj
