This Collider feature rounds up six recent thriller films the writer considers gripping from beginning to end, arguing that modern thrillers generate suspense through tight emotional stakes—control, trust, betrayal and the drive to uncover truth—rather than relying on large action set pieces. The selections range across subgenres, from tense domestic and dating scenarios to espionage and sci-fi thrillers, and are compared favourably to genre touchstones such as Gone Girl and Taken.

Highlighted titles include the 2025 releases Drop, Companion and Black Bag, each praised for confined, high-tension settings and strong central performances. Drop follows a woman on a first date who receives anonymous threats via her phone; Companion centres on a robotic companion confronting the manipulated nature of her programmed devotion; and Black Bag sees an intelligence officer investigating his own wife amid a compromised cyberweapon plot. The full list extends to three further films not detailed in the excerpt provided.