Greetings, Polygon readers!
It’s a whole new year, packed with possibilities and exciting new releases ahead. This of course means that a whole new series of thrillers can also be seen on Netflix this month. We went through the streamer’s library and hand-picked the most chilling, suspenseful, and seasonally appropriate movies for you to watch at home.
This month’s picks include a quasi-slasher action thriller starring Denzel Washington, a Korean revenge thriller classic from Decide to leave director Park Chan-wook, and an award-winning crime drama starring Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. Here’s our list of the best thrillers to watch on Netflix in January.
Editor’s Choice: The Equalizer 3
Image: Columbia Photos
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Form: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, David Denman
What if it’s a revenge thriller, but shot like a slasher?
That is the basic retail price The equalizer 3, the first absolutely good film in the otherwise fun Denzel Washington action franchise. The film opens with a walk through a house littered with bodies, staged to make it look like Michael Myers was passing by, only to reveal a calm Robert McCall (Washington) waiting on the other side of the carnage.
This continues throughout: director Antoine Fuqua and legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson make great use of light and shadow to show just how terrifying McCall is (if you get on the wrong side of him). And Denzel is, of course, more than up to the task, outdoing many of his peers in the burgeoning “completely unstoppable badass” genre by scaring the hell out of his enemies.
The story is also compelling: McCall has settled in a quiet town in Italy, where he is embraced by the community and begins to find a semblance of peace. However, the mafia has other ideas and McCall must step in to set things right for his new home.
As a bonus, the film reunites Denzel with his own Man on fire co-star Dakota Fanning. And if The equalizer 3 makes you want to watch that great movie again (Man on fire streams on Max), which is just two for one. —Piet Volk
Old boy
Image: NEON
Director: Park Chan-wook
Form: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung
To say that Old boy was a turning point for the global reach of Korean cinema would be an understatement. The critical and commercial success of Park Chan-wook’s revenge thriller, which won the Grand Prix Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and grossed more than $15 million at the box office worldwide, paved the way for the films’ international success and shows like Parasite And Squid game. The film was recently re-released in theaters with a 4K 20th anniversary restoration, and with its recent addition to the Netflix library, now is the perfect time to experience this modern classic.
An exciting mix of Hitchcockian horror, Fincher-esque violence and a devastating finale worthy of a Greek tragedy. Old boy is one of the most important thrillers of the early 2000s. If you somehow haven’t seen it yet, you absolutely should. —Toussaint Egan
mystical river
Image: Warner Home Video
Director: Clint Eastwood
Form: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon
In Clint Eastwood’s 2003 crime drama, tragedy begets tragedy. mystical river follows the story of three men: Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), a police officer whose pregnant wife has mysteriously left him; James “Jimmy” Markum (Sean Penn), an ex-con and convenience store owner; and David Boyle (Tim Robbins), a working-class father haunted by his experiences with kidnapping as a child.
When James’ daughter is found dead, the investigation brings the lives of these three men together as secrets, lies and unresolved trauma come to a boiling point. Both Penn and Robbins won Oscars for their respective performances, but the truth is that almost everyone gives a great performance in this film. What struck me most in my last rewatch is how unresolved grief festers into misunderstandings, how an inability to communicate creates barriers within a community that ultimately tears it apart from within. In other words, tragedy begets tragedy. -AT