8 Perfect Netflix Thriller Movies That Hooked Us in the First 5 Minutes
A race against paralysis
In Don’t Move, grieving mother Iris, played by Kelsey Asbille, returns to the place where her son died. She encounters Richard, a seemingly kind man played by Finn Wittrock, who injects her with a slow-acting drug that will leave her unable to move in 20 minutes.
As Iris is pursued through the woods, ordinary obstacles become dangerous as the drug takes effect. Directors Adam Schindler and Brian Netto turn the ticking clock into a source of sustained tension, while Iris’s struggle rekindles her will to survive.
A dating show turns sinister
Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala, played by Daniel Zovatto, who appeared on The Dating Game in the 1970s. Anna Kendrick directs and stars as actress Sheryl Bradshaw, who reluctantly joins the show at her agent’s urging.
Viewers see Alcala’s crimes as Sheryl begins to find him charming, creating dread around their growing rapport. The contrast between his public manner and the violence shown to the audience drives the film’s unease.
Suspense confined to a call
In Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the Danish film The Guilty, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Joe Baylor, an LAPD call center dispatcher dealing with the aftermath of an on-the-job incident. He takes a call from a distressed woman, voiced by Riley Keough, who says she has been abducted.
Joe’s increasingly desperate efforts to find her draw him into an emotional spiral, as his need for control fuels impulsive decisions. The single-location setup traps both dispatcher and audience in a tense atmosphere.
Key points
- Don’t Move gives Iris 20 minutes before a drug leaves her unable to move.
- Woman of the Hour is based on Rodney Alcala’s appearance on The Dating Game.
- The Guilty centers on an LAPD dispatcher taking an abduction call.
- The three films build suspense through survival, true crime and a confined emergency call.