Most people are familiar with Netflix’s top psychological thrillers like Bird Box or the hit show You, but if you dig a little deeper, there is a treasure trove of lesser-known amazing thrillers that will keep you up at night just trying to wrap your mind around them. Plus, the genre is flexible enough to fit most tastes, containing all the flavors of sci-fi, horror, and surrealist psychedelia one might be craving. Let us help you find your next watch — and perhaps your next favorite — with our list of the most underrated psychological thriller movies on Netflix.

For more recommendations, check out our list of the best psychological thriller movies and shows on the platform, as well as the best movies and shows on Netflix across all genres.

Disclaimer: These movies are available on US Netflix.

‘It’s What’s Inside’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | IMDb: 6.6/10

Writer and director Greg Jardin makes his feature film directorial debut with this freaky take on the body-swap genre that weaves an intricate tale using a simple concept as its impetus. It’s What’s Inside is an ensemble sci-fi horror that goes hard when it comes to testing the limits of what’s possible when people can hop into one another’s bodies with a press of a button. The story is a fairly contained affair, taking place mainly in a single location during a party where a group of friends gather before a wedding and experiment with a mysterious brain-switching machine. Beyond being immensely visually engaging, the big draw is the performances delivered by the cast, who quickly establish their mannerisms and solid personalities to make the switches distinct and recognizable. (Plus, watching them take on each other’s characteristics is an absolute delight.)

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‘Of Good Report’ (2013)

Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 6.3/10

This award-winning South African film directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka (Sew the Winter to My Skin) is unlike anything you will see coming out of Western studios — the vibe is like Lolita mixed with Eraserhead as told through the prism of African patriarchy. The story follows a high school teacher who becomes obsessed with his young student, an affair that ultimately leads down a dark and bloody road. Of Good Report is a thoughtful film that feels more like an interpretive art piece than a traditional movie, offering contemplative sequences that prefer to let the images tell the story while begging the viewers to connect with the characters.

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‘Gerald’s Game’ (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% | IMDb: 6.5/10

Co-written and directed by filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep), Gerald’s Game is his first major adaptation of a Stephen King work, and he manages to break the adaptation curse by pulling it off stunningly. This harrowing horror film sticks close to the source material, even getting King’s notoriously difficult approval. The story follows a married couple who travel to a remote cabin to rekindle their relationship. Unfortunately, the husband has a heart attack during an argument, which leaves the wife handcuffed to the bed with no one in earshot to help. Carla Gugino (The Fall of the House of Usher) shows off her immense talent, effectively carrying the movie on her back as her character battles isolation, hallucinations, and her past trauma.

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‘The Call’ (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.1/10

Loosely based on the British-Puerto Rican film The Caller, this South Korean time-bending thriller of murder and mommy issues is a fantastic entry into the canon of great sci-fi thrillers. The Call stars Park Shin-hye (The Royal Tailor) and Jeon Jong-seo (Burning) as two women who connect across 20 years of time-space through a mysterious phone that allows them to share their knowledge of the past and future to change both of their lives. The film uses a similar mechanic to Frequency while having the disturbing temporal consequences of The Butterfly Effect, a collision of concepts that results in a wonderfully unsettling story filled with great turns and heartbreaking character moments.

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‘The Platform’ (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes: 81% | IMDb: 7.0/10

Though I prefer the original Spanish-language title El Hoyo, meaning “the hole" (which really captures the dark, maddening prison themes of the film), The Platform embodies the soul-crushing dystopic vibes of this psychological thriller that uses its platform to present an allegory about the prison industrial system and wealth inequality. The film takes place in a narrow tower deep underground in an experimental prison that shifts food from top to bottom on a single platform through a hole in the center, often leaving those at the bottom with less than crumbs. The decadence of the food juxtaposed with the harsh environment of the dog-eat-dog fight among the prisoners to obtain it is a beautiful commentary that is only enhanced by the acting of lead Iván Massagué. Any fans of Squid Game or Snowpiercer will enjoy this brutal descent into a dystopia metaphorically similar to our own.

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‘Cam’ (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% | IMDb: 5.9/10

Despite the premise surrounding a young woman in the sex work industry, Cam is anything but a simulation of a gratifying experience. The film is filled with biting commentary on the social struggles camgirls face that engages audiences by representing a traumatizing experience that many of them grapple with by literalizing the anxiety of having someone steal their image for nefarious purposes. Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid's Tale) leads this horror film written by Isa Mazzei — a former camgirl herself — and together, they tackle the complexities of content theft and deep fakes/AI-generated duplicates that plague both online sex work creators and mainstream media in general. The story follows Brewer as a popular cammer whose account is taken over by an exact replica of herself. When this replica shuts her out of the system, she sets off on a frantic search for the identity of the impostor who has stolen her image and livelihood.

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‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | IMDb: 6.5/10

Written and directed by a master of surrealist cinema, Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an adaptation of the Iain Reid novel that is all vibes and visuals from start to finish. A literal reading of this unreliably narrated psychological mind-warp about a couple on the verge of separating would leave any viewer scratching their head until their scalp bleeds, but anyone who has followed Kaufman since the days of Being John Malkovich will know that his movies rarely deliver the story in a straightforward manner, preferring instead to prioritize invoking an emotion over linear plot. Helping Kaufman along this journey are Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons, who deliver stellar performances as the primary constants in this ever-shifting narrative.

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‘Fair Play’ (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes: 86% | IMDb: 6.4/10

Written and directed by Chloe Domont (Ballers), Fair Play follows two financial analysts, Emily and Luke, having a scandalous affair while competing for the same position at a ruthless hedge fund. Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) and Alden Ehrenreich (Oppenheimer) lead this dance of deception and betrayal as the main focus of this sensual thriller that uses the structures of corporate hierarchy to pit them against one another in a story that explores how that environment is capable of bringing out the worst in people. Dynevor and Ehrenreich are great together, even when they are at each other’s throats, perfectly balancing a contentious relationship with the passion of attraction.

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