Best Thriller Movies of 2017
Unforgettable Chills and Suspenseful Cinema Classics
Explore the best suspenseful cinema with our ranked list of psychological masterpieces and intense edge-of-your-seat mystery films.
About 2017 Thriller Movies
The year 2017 felt like a fever dream for cinema, but for the thriller genre, it was a moment of profound evolution. If the decade leading up to it had been defined by grit and grounded realism, 2017 was the year the genre decided to get strange, political, and deeply psychological. It was a period where the traditional boundaries between a scary movie and a prestige drama began to blur into something far more sophisticated.
At the center of this cultural shift was Jordan Peele with his directorial debut, Get Out. While technically classified by many as horror, its skeletal structure was that of a classic paranoia thriller. It revived the spirit of The Stepford Wives but injected it with a sharp, modern commentary on racial dynamics that felt electric. It was the kind of movie that forced audiences to lean in, proving that a thriller could be a massive box office hit while simultaneously being the most talked about intellectual property of the year. It shifted the landscape by showing that the greatest threats were not masked killers, but the polite neighbors behind white picket fences.
While Peele was dissecting society, Taylor Sheridan was stripping the genre down to its bones with Wind River. As a neo-western thriller set in the frozen isolation of a Wyoming reservation, it reminded us of the power of location. It was patient and punishing, focusing on the procedural elements of an investigation to build a sense of inescapable dread. In a year of high concepts, Wind River stood out for its stark simplicity and its refusal to look away from uncomfortable systemic truths.
The year also saw the return of the stylish, mid-budget adult thriller, a species many feared was extinct. Ben and Joshua Safdie gave us Good Time, a neon-soaked heart attack of a movie that reinvented Robert Pattinson as a frantic force of nature. It was a relentless piece of filmmaking that used a pulsing electronic score and tight close-ups to create a sense of claustrophobia that lasted long after the credits rolled. It felt dangerous in a way movies rarely do anymore.
International cinema contributed one of the year's most haunting entries with Hany Abu-Assad's The Mountain Between Us and the more visceral foreign language offerings like the Spanish film The Invisible Guest, which kept the spirit of the classic whodunit alive with modern flair. Even Christopher Nolan got in on the tension with Dunkirk. Although technically a war film, its triptych structure and ticking clock transformed the historical event into a survival thriller that operated on pure, wordless suspense.
Looking back, 2017 was the year the thriller became the primary vehicle for our collective anxieties. Directors were no longer content with just providing a few jumps or a clever twist. They wanted to explore grief, identity, and the rot beneath the surface of the American dream. Whether it was the high-concept tension of A Quiet Place being filmed that year or the slow burn of psychological collapses, the genre proved it was the most flexible tool in the cinematic kit. It was a year that traded cheap thrills for lasting impact, leaving the audience looking over their shoulders long after they left the theater.
Memoir of a Murderer
2017A former serial killer with Alzheimer's fights to protect his daughter from her mysterious boyfriend who may be a serial killer too.
The Book of Henry
2017Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother. When Henry discovers that the girl next door has a terrible secret, he implores Susan to take matters into her own hands.
Mom
2017After her stepdaughter is sexually assaulted at a party, a furious mother sets out to destroy the lives of the four perpetrators who walked free.
The Outlaws (The Roundup)
2017In Chinatown, law and order is turned upside down when a trio of feral Chinese gangsters arrive, start terrorizing civilians, and usurping territory. The beleaguered local gangsters team up with the police, lead by the badass loose cannon Ma Seok-do, to bring them down. Based on a true story.
Fabricated City
2017In real life, Kwon Yoo is unemployed, but in the virtual game world he is the best leader. Kwon Yoo is then framed for a murder. With the help of hacker Yeo-wool, he tries to uncover the truth behind the murder case.
V.I.P.
2017A son to a high-ranked official in North Korea commits a series of murders going across the countries around the world. The movie depicts the following events as South Korea, North Korea and Interpol start chasing down after him.
A Day
2017Three years ago, a father saved his daughter's life. After she's involved in a car accident, it looks like he'll have to do it again, no matter how many attempts it takes.
Bad Genius
2017Lynn, a brilliant student, after helping her friends to get the grades they need, develops the idea of starting a much bigger exam-cheating business.
All That Divides Us
2017A middle-class house in the middle of nowhere. A council estate in Sète. A mother and daughter. Two childhood friends. A vanishing. Blackmail. A clash between two worlds.
Forgotten
2017When his abducted brother returns, seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, Jin-seok chases after the truth behind the mysterious kidnapping.
Gun Shy
2017A mega-platinum, aging rock star's supermodel wife is abducted by pirates while vacationing in Chile.
Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds
2017Having died unexpectedly, firefighter Ja-hong is taken to the afterlife by 3 afterlife guardians. Only when he passes 7 trials over 49 days and proves he was innocent in human life, he’s able to reincarnate, and his 3 afterlife guardians are by his side to defend him in trial.
The Invisible Guest
2017Barcelona, Spain. Adrián Doria, a young and successful businessman accused of murder, meets one night with Virginia Goodman, an expert interrogation lawyer, in order to devise a defense strategy.
1987: When the Day Comes
2017In January 1987, a 22-year-old college student dies during a police interrogation. Under the orders of Director Park, the police request the body to be cremated in order to destroy evidence. Public Prosecutor Choi, who was on duty on the day of the incident, denies the request and calls for an autopsy. The police maintain the lie that the death was a simple accident, resulting from shock. The autopsy results, however, point to torture as the cause of death. Yoon, a journalist following the case, reports that the death was a result of asphyxiation during torture. Director Park attempts to conceal the truth by ending the case, arresting two detectives including inspector Cho. While in prison, inspector Cho reveals the truth to prison guard Han Byung-yong, who embarks on a dangerous mission to relay the information to an opposition politician through his niece, Yeon-hee.
Wheelman
2017A getaway driver for a bank robbery realizes he has been double crossed and races to find out who betrayed him.
Darkland
2017Zaid is a successful heart surgeon with an expensive apartment and pregnant girlfriend. One night he gets a visit from his brother Yasin, who is desperate for money, but he refuses. Soon after, Yasin is found beaten to death and Zaid is overcome with guilt. As guilt gives way to anger, Zaid becomes a masked avenger and takes on Copenhagen's criminal underworld in his quest for justice.
Atomic Blonde
2017An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
The Wall
2017An American sniper and his spotter engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with an Iraqi sniper.
Shimmer Lake
2017Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Berlin Syndrome
2017A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship when an Australian photojournalist wakes one morning in an abandoned Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.
The Circle
2017A young tech worker takes a job at a powerful Internet corporation, quickly rises up the company's ranks, and soon finds herself in a perilous situation concerning privacy, surveillance and freedom. She comes to learn that her decisions and actions will determine the future of humanity.
A cynical look at the erosion of privacy, this tech-noir translates modern digital anxieties into a sterile, corporate haunting. It captures the terrifyingly bright and sanitized aesthetic of a future where total transparency is the ultimate weapon.
Kidnap
2017A mother (in her Minivan) stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.
Halle Berry carries this lean, high-concept pursuit film through sheer maternal ferocity. By tethering the stakes to a relentless vehicular chase, it strips the thriller genre down to its most fundamental and adrenaline-fueled impulses.
Sleepless
2017Undercover Las Vegas police officer Vincent Downs, who has a lot of enemies, is caught in a high stakes web of corrupt cops and the mob-controlled casino underground. When a heist goes wrong, a crew of homicidal gangsters kidnap Downs’ teenage son T. In one sleepless night, Downs will have to rescue his son, evade an internal affairs investigation, and bring the kidnappers to justice.
Jamie Foxx drives this propulsive, neon-drenched kinetic exercise that prioritizes breakneck pacing over narrative intricacy. It is a gritty, time-sensitive descent into a localized underworld where the momentum rarely pauses for breath.
Unforgettable
2017Barely coping with the end of her marriage, Tessa Connover learns that her ex-husband, David, is now happily engaged to Julia. Trying to settle into her new life after moving in with David, Julia believes she has finally met the man of her dreams, the man who can help her forget her troubled past. Soon, Tessa's jealousy starts to consume her, and she will stop at nothing to turn Julia's paradise into the ultimate nightmare.
This stylish nod to the domestic obsessions of the nineties leans into its camp sensibilities with a sharpened edge. It operates as a polished exercise in escalating female rivalry, prioritizing glossy tension and theatrical confrontations.
Gerald's Game
2017When her husband's sex game goes wrong, Jessie (who is handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house) faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.
Mike Flanagan excels at turning internal monologues into a kinetic struggle for survival within a single, static location. The film succeeds by stripping away subplots to focus on the visceral, psychological heavy lifting of its protagonist.
The Snowman
2017Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose pink scarf is found wrapped around an ominous looking snowman.
Despite its fractured production history, the film remains a fascinatingly grim artifact of Nordic noir aesthetics. It leaned heavily into a bleak, atmospheric nihilism that attempted to transform the snowy landscape into a silent, recurring antagonist.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
2017Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his wife and two children. Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin, a fatherless teen who insinuates himself into the doctor's life in gradually unsettling ways.
Yorgos Lanthimos crafts a sterile, disturbing fable that operates with the cold efficiency of a surgical strike. Its rhythmic dialogue and escalating sense of cosmic doom force the viewer into a state of profound, unshakable discomfort.
Wind River
2017An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
Taylor Sheridan utilizes the haunting stillness of a frozen landscape to amplify a visceral sense of dread and isolation. This neo-Western thriller eschews flashy tropes for a raw, methodical examination of grief and peripheral justice.
Split
2017Though Kevin has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher, there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey, Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him — as well as everyone around him — as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
James McAvoy delivers a chameleonic tour de force that anchors M. Night Shyamalan’s claustrophobic return to form. The film thrives on a volatile unpredictability, shifting seamlessly between predatory tension and fractured identity politics.
Get Out
2017Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
Jordan Peele reimagines social commentary as a high-tension nightmare, weaponizing suburban hospitality to create a uniquely suffocating atmosphere. It is a masterclass in tonal precision that effectively dismantled the boundaries between prestige horror and the psychological thriller.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts
- 2017 marked a significant evolution in the thriller genre, blending psychological depth with political and strange elements. Films like Jordan Peele's directorial debut brought a fresh, sophisticated approach that blurred lines between horror, mystery, and drama.
- "Get Out" by Jordan Peele revolutionizes the thriller genre by combining suspense with social commentary and horror. Its unique blend of psychological tension and cultural critique has set a new standard for thrillers in 2017 and beyond.
- Films like "Split" and "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" excel at psychological tension, exploring complex characters with layered mental states. These movies deliver intense, mind-bending narratives that keep viewers on edge.
- Yes, movies such as "Wind River," "The Snowman," and "Shimmer Lake" highlight 2017's strong crime and mystery thriller offerings. They combine suspenseful storytelling with gritty investigations and dark atmospheres.
- Absolutely. Titles like "Atomic Blonde," "Kidnap," and "Sleepless" merge high-octane action sequences with gripping thriller elements, creating intense, edge-of-your-seat experiences that appeal to fans of both genres.
- Several thrillers like "Gerald's Game" and "Berlin Syndrome" incorporate horror elements to amplify psychological suspense. This blending of genres adds depth and terror, enriching the overall impact of these films.
- Drama intertwines with thriller elements in films such as "The Circle" and "Darkland," providing emotional weight and character development. This fusion enhances the storytelling by adding complexity and stakes beyond the suspense.
- Movies like "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" exhibit unconventional storytelling with surreal and cryptic approaches. This trend in 2017 thrillers reflects the genre's creative evolution toward more sophisticated and experimental narratives.
