The best thrillers to watch on Netflix this June

Summer is heating up, even as the box office cools down. You'd rather stay home and watch a movie this weekend, right?

Each month, we select a few Netflix thrillers that fit that time of year. Maybe there's a connection to a new release. Maybe it's good viewing in the summer. Maybe it's new to Netflix. Or maybe it's that good.

This month's picks include a new shark movie, a new-on-Netflix comedy thriller, and a standout Liam Neeson thriller from the creator of The Queen's Gambit and Mr. Spade.

Editor's Choice: A Walk Among the Tombstones

Photo: Atsushi Nishijima/Universal Pictures via Everett Collection

Director: Frank Scott
Cast: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook

This dark neo-noir is a bright spot in Liam Neeson's late turn toward action and action-focused thrillers. He plays a retired NYPD detective who now works as a private investigator. When he is hired to investigate a brutal murder case, he finds himself drawn into a dark web of crime and conspiracy.

Based on the novel by Lawrence Block, it's the rare Neeson action (or action-adjacent) vehicle that really allows the Oscar-nominated actor to show off his acting chops. Neeson's Matt Scudder is worried, but determined… and you really don't want to mess with him. Add in a compelling supporting cast with Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook, and David Harbour, and you have a modernized throwback to a detective movie.

There are some reasons that A walk among the tombstones is relevant this year: director Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit) recently teamed up with Clive Owen for another IP throwback on the AMC Plus show Mr. Spade. Frank also co-wrote loganwhich I guess is relevant again with Deadpool and Wolverine Just around the corner. And it's been a summer for Dan Stevens, with abigail, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empireand Cuckoo They will all come out this year.

A content warning: This film is, in part, about sexual violence and directly addresses that topic. —Pete Volk

a simple favor

Photo: Peter Iovino/Lionsgate via Everett Collection

Director: Pablo Feig
Cast: Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Henry Golding

a simple favor It's every ounce of the delicious comedy-suspense you want and more. It helps that the movie knows (and loves) what it is. Single mom and vlogger Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) strikes up a surprise friendship with ultra-cool and stylish Emily (Blake Lively), only for Emily to suddenly disappear completely. That sounds like any pulpy lit mystery, but a simple favor It has a laugh and an edge that those stories don't have. As Stephanie becomes more attracted to Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) following his disappearance, the film builds its plot around their characters in the same way Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are tied to a post. . The result is a fun and eye-catching little thriller about a murder mystery, with fantastic costumes (excellent suits) and a nerve far beyond his veneer. —Zosha Millman

Under Paris

Image: Netflix

Director: Xavier Gens
Cast: Bérénice Bejo, Nassim Lyes, Léa Léviant

Without a doubt, this is the best thriller on this list that begins with a quote “based on Charles Darwin.” And for those who crave the punch and bite of a good shark movie, Under Paris (of Violence! director Xavier Gens) will certainly satisfy, although it takes some time to build. Three years after losing her team to a shark attack, Sophia (Bérénice Bejo) retreats to Paris to recover. But trouble, like a shark in the Seine, follows her house and threatens the city's prosperity.

If you are thinking, Well, how much trouble could a shark in the Seine really cause? — Under Paris He will be happy to clarify that for you. Delicately balanced as a film that takes the threat seriously enough to help you cheer when a shark leaps majestically out of the water with a Parisian in its jaws. Under Paris It is a platonic ideal to watch the sharks pass through the heart of the city of love. —ZM