5 Great Thrillers You Didn’t Know Were Streaming on Tubi

Tubi has continued to expand and diversify its catalog of movies and TV shows over the last few years, so if you jump into its current lineup you’ll find everything from blockbusters (Furious 7, Angel Has Fallen) and action adventure (The Mummy, Knight and Day) to horror (Sinister, Scary Stories to tell in the Dark) and comedy (Idiocracy, Monty Python and the Holy Grail), not to mention several films in the superhero genre like Watchmen and Hellboy. Today, we’re focusing on the thriller genre, and Tubi is actually pretty stacked in that regard. That’s why we are highlighting 5 thrillers you might not know about so you can check them out right now before they are gone.

5. Alone

We’re starting this list with a relatively recent film that adapts several foundational elements of the thriller genre, and the film is titled Alone. The John Hyams-directed film follows a woman named Jessica (played by Jules Willcox) who is abducted and taken into the wilderness, and upon escaping, has to find a way to survive on her own against her unhinged captor. Not only will she need to fight the elements as she stays ahead of her pursuer, but she’ll need to use those elements to her advantage.

The film creates an eerie tension as soon as Jessica crosses paths with her disturbed captor, and the intensity continues to ratchet up as the story plays out from there. While stories like this have been told through film previously, there’s a grittiness and isolation on display here that comes through more than other interpretations, and it’s balanced out with the more eccentric performance from Marc Menchaca, creating something truly unique.

4. Red Lights

Next up is a film from 2012 that is stacked with big names, though you might not have necessarily heard of it. The film is the Rodrigo Cortés-directed film Red Lights, which follows a paranormal researcher named Tom Buckley (played by Cillian Murphy). Buckley works alongside his fellow paranormal debunker Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) to disprove psychics and other paranormal assertions, but there is one person to stay away from.

That comes in the form of Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a famous blind psychic who steps back into the public eye for a special event. Looking into Silver is a much different beast, and this is where the film steps into a series of twists and turns that have you questioning if there are supernatural elements at play. The fact that you have Murphy, Weaver, and De Niro in the mix only heightens all this tension and drama, and that all sets the stage for a twist you likely won’t see coming. This might be a slow burn, but it’s one that rewards the time investment.

3. Donnie Darko

For the third entry on our list, we’re moving to a cult favorite from 2001. That film is the Richard Kelly-directed Donnie Darko, which starred Jake Gyllenhaal and a large rabbit with a creepy mask. The film tapped into classic thriller concepts but also jumped into the realms of time travel and multiversal collapses, so to say the film was ambitious would be an understatement.

After being introduced to Donnie, we learn that he sees visions of a large rabbit wearing a disturbing mask, whom he has named Frank. Over the course of the film, Donnie is persuaded by Frank to do some heinous things, which lead to ripple effects that Donnie only starts to realize as the film nears its end. You’re constantly questioning Donnie’s sanity throughout, but the final act (and final moments especially) blow that wide open, leaving the viewer dizzy and captivated at the same time.

While Donnie Dark isn’t going to be for everyone, it certainly grabs your attention, and you’ll likely be glued to the screen until you have the answers you seek.

2. We Need to Talk About Kevin

It’s time to move into disturbing and sadly tragic territory with our next film, which is the Lynne Ramsay-directed We Need To Talk About Kevin. The 2011 film features Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly as parents of a boy named Kevin, and Kevin’s older self is played by Ezra Miller, allowing viewers to see Kevin’s evolution and descent into darkness.

The big question throughout is what has led to Kevin’s descent, though the film presents some compelling theories regarding that. For parents, this will likely be a difficult watch, as it explores the lack of a familial bond and discipline and the impact that can have, and yet there’s also the overarching question of whether that matters, since maybe they were going to turn out a specific way regardless of how you raised them.

This is a core concept in what is ultimately a truly tragic and disturbing story, and it will likely be a film that sticks with you for a while after watching.

1. Snowpiercer

We now arrive at our favorite Thriller currently on Tubi, and that’s the 2013 film Snowpiercer. Director Bong Joon-ho and star Chris Evans delivered a thriller set on a train that never stops moving in order not to be caught in the new ice age that has overtaken a dystopian Earth.

Snowpiercer isn’t shy about its real-world parallels to class systems, societal tendencies and behaviors, child labor, and the impact of fear-based decisions, and these parallels are unearthed in several unexpected ways throughout the film. Alongside those more macro themes is a truly compelling story of survival and rebellion, and all of it is delivered beautifully to the screen, with impressive effects and set pieces that can’t help but captivate from beginning to end.

It may end rather bleakly, but there is a kernel of hope, and amongst this list, it may in fact be one of the more hopeful endings here.

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