Independent Thrillers on Netflix
Last updated April 29, 2024
The Red Violin
1998 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWhen the long-lost "red violin," a rare instrument crafted during the Italian Renaissance, shows up at a modern auction, it reveals its mysterious history -- and the lives of its previous owners -- in a series of flashbacks spanning three centuries.
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Donnie Darko
2001 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWriter-director Richard Kelly's trippy, mind-bending feature debut stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled Midwestern teenager plagued by incessant sleepwalking, family drama and visions of a menacing 6-foot-tall, doomsday-prophesying rabbit. Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle also star in this dark and intriguing psychological fantasy that swiftly earned a cult following.
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King of New York
1990 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsFresh out of a long stint in prison, New York drug lord Frank White is determined to gather his crew and get back to the top of the empire. White aims to give back charitably to the city, but his release angers the cops, who are intent to stop him.
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Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade
1993 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThe short film that inspired the Oscar-winning feature takes a controversial look inside the mind of mentally challenged murderer Karl Childers. Shot in stark black-and-white, the movie stars Billy Bob Thornton as Childers and Molly Ringwald as the reporter who interviews him on the day of his release from an insane asylum. The film derives its title from the infamous killer's description of the weapon he used to murder his mother.
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Deadline
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFollowing a fateful meeting with an altruistic woman, a young man sets out to solve the long-forgotten murder of a black youth in rural Alabama. A seasoned newspaper reporter joins him in the investigation, despite opposition from many sources.
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The Ledge
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis unusual, character-driven thriller follows young hotel manager Gavin (Charlie Hunnam), who steps out onto a high ledge to commit suicide. World-weary police officer Hollis (Terrence Howard) is assigned to talk him down but is tormented by traumatic issues of his own. The men find themselves debating atheism, faith and the meaning of life, and soon are embroiled in a battle of wills that has each man questioning his commitment to his chosen path.
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Brotherhood
2010 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsA college student's final night of pledging a fraternity takes an ominous turn when he's ordered to hold up a convenience store as part of his initiation. He complies, but everything goes wrong.
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American Psycho
2000 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsWith a chiseled chin and physique, Patrick Bateman's looks make him the ideal yuppie -- and the ideal serial killer. Bateman takes pathological pride in his business card and his CD collection, all while plotting his next victim's vivisection.
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Street Thief
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn this fascinating A&E IndieFilm, professional thief Kaspar Carr divulges his trade secrets when it comes to cracking safes, holding up stores, tapping phones and walking away with thousands of dollars in priceless merchandise. An inventive blend of fact and fiction, Street Thief is hardly a documentary, as its protagonist and story line are made up -- but the information it reveals about the criminal mind is shockingly true.
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Boy Wonder
2010 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsA young Brooklyn boy witnesses the brutal murder of his mother and grows up obsessed with finding her killer. By day, he's a quiet, straight-A student; by night, he's a vigilante who patrols the streets.
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Brick
2005 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsWhen a secret crush turns up dead and the murderer is anyone's guess, teenage loner Brendan Fry is forced to navigate his school's social network through intense interactions with thespians, band geeks and druggies.
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Restraining Order
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsWhen Diane McNeil seeks marital advice from her longtime friend, attorney Russ Jenkins, the pair becomes increasingly close -- pushing Diane's possessive husband, Dontae, to the brink of insanity in this taut indie thriller.
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Comes a Bright Day
2012 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsSam visits a posh jewelry store to ask sales assistant Mary on a date, but he becomes a hostage when thieves storm the place. Sam and Mary get to know each other while trapped with her boss and the crooks in a tense standoff with the police.
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Extracted
2012 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThomas Jacobs can enter a person's mind and view their memories, until a freak accident leaves him trapped inside the mind of a criminal. For four years, Jacobs fights to break free, until he makes a desperate bargain with the convict's own thoughts.
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Stolen
2009 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsAs this indie thriller unfolds through flashbacks, the mummified, half-century-old remains of a boy found in a box at a construction site yield key clues to the disappearance of the investigating detective's son eight years earlier.
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The Escapist
2008 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsWhen Frank Perry, a con serving a life sentence, learns that his estranged daughter has fallen terminally ill, he enlists a hapless group of inmates to help him escape the maximum-security facility so he can reconcile with her before it's too late.
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Repeaters
2010 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsAfter recovering drug addicts Michael (Richard de Klerk), Kyle (Dustin Milligan) and Sonia (Amanda Crew) spend a tough day outside their rehab clinic trying -- and failing -- to make amends to their families, a time loop forces them to relive the wretched day over and over again. But is their predicament a golden opportunity to hone their apologies, or a chance to freely indulge their addictions? Carl Bessai directs this provocative thriller.
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Pi
1998 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsDarren Aronofsky's jarring black-and-white brain-bender is a haunting examination of one man's numerical obsession. The story follows a fragile number theorist who's on the trail of a 216-digit number that could unlock the secrets of the universe.
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Killing Zoe
1993 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsIt's Bastille Day, and the only Parisian bank open for business is about to be robbed -- by a group of hung-over crooks. One of the thieves arrives at the heist to find that his lover from the night before is the bank teller.
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Amber Alert
2012 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsWhile on a road trip, friends Nate and Samantha notice that the car in front of them is the same as one being described on an Amber Alert sign. Unable to get timely police help, they assume the task of tracking down a vicious predator on their own.
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Cookie's Fortune
1999 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 Stars"Cookie" Orcutt (Patricia Neal) -- salt of the earth and cornerstone of her small Southern town -- leaves a terrible void as well as a huge fortune when she dies. So her two estranged, greedy nieces (Glenn Close and Julianne Moore) angle for the estate. Meanwhile, Cookie's man Friday (Charles Dutton) and grandniece (Liv Tyler) attempt to unravel the intrigue surrounding Cookie's fortune. Legendary director Robert Altman helms this ensemble dramedy.
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Abandoned
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsMary Walsh finds her sanity in question when her boyfriend Kevin mysteriously vanishes from a hospital where he was taken for outpatient surgery. Now, Mary must not only prove her sanity but locate Kevin before his captor kills him.
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A Lonely Place to Die
2011 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsFive mountaineering friends on vacation in the Scottish Highlands stumble upon a tiny chamber in the woods, in which a young Serbian girl is trapped. But when they free her and try to take her to safety, they become the kidnappers' next targets.
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Following
1998 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsA seedy young Brit obsessed with following people -- harmlessly at first -- meets a like-minded bloke, and the pair soon graduate to breaking and entering. But they meet their match in a tough blonde dame who may have dubious plans of her own.
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Clay Pigeons
1998 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsDeath seems to follow small-town Montanan Clay Birdwell wherever he goes. But the death toll climbs even higher when a fast-talking serial killer forges a friendship against Clay's will, attracting the attention of a feisty FBI agent.
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