The best thrillers to watch on Netflix this January

The new year has begun, and that means it’s time for a fresh batch of Netflix thrillers to fill your days. Every month, we handpick a few of the best thrillers on Netflix that fit the current season. Sometimes they pair well with an upcoming release. Other titles might be new additions to the platform. This month, we’ve got an overlooked gem about Cold War spies with one of the most impressive casts ever assembled, a South Korean sci-fi thriller about a mysterious phone call, and a found-footage psychological thriller about the horrors of answering online ads. Editor’s pick: The Good Shepherd [Image: THE GOOD SHEPHERD, Matt Damon (left, front), William Hurt (second from right), 2006. ©Universal/courtesy Everett Collection https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/MCDGOSH_EC036.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Director: Robert De Niro Cast: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin If you’re looking for a slow-burn drama about Cold War-era spycraft and professional backstabbing, Robert De Niro’s fictionalized take on the birth of the CIA is a must-watch. Loosely based on the life of counterintelligence operative James Jesus Angleton, The Good Shepherd stars Matt Damon as Edward Wilson, a Yale graduate who is recruited to work for the CIA to combat the Nazis and, eventually, the Soviets. As the years wear on, Edward is forced time and again to confront the contradictions between his heart and his mind, between his conscience and his occupation, and face the truths about himself and his country he’d much rather leave buried. At a run time of nearly three hours, The Good Shepherd isn’t exactly a brisk watch, but it is nonetheless a rewarding one. —Toussaint Egan The Call [Image: THE CALL, PARK Shin-Hye, 2020. © Netflix /Courtesy Everett Collection https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/MCDCALL_ZX005.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Director: Lee Chung-hyun Stars: Park Shin-hye, Jeon Jong-seo, Kim Sung-ryung One of the twistiest thrillers in recent memory, The Call follows a young woman named Kim Seo-yeon who returns to her childhood home only to find a very strange phone that somehow connects her directly to the young woman who lived in the house 20 years earlier, Oh Young-sook. The two find they’re connected by more than the phone, however, discovering that certain parts of their lives have strange overlaps, including the difficult relationships both have with their mothers. But this exciting new connection quickly goes south when Seo-yeon discovers that Young-sook has a terrible secret and at least a few hidden agendas. This discovery leads the two on a bizarre game of cat and mouse that happens decades apart and across several different realities. —Austen Goslin Creep [Image: https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22954682/MV5BMTg5MDUyOTE2Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDE2MjE5NTE_._V1_.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Director: Patrick Brice Cast: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice Is there anything as terrifying and unpredictable as answering an ad online? Director Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass’ 2014 found-footage horror film taps that fear to its core, delivering a cinematic experience that’s one half My Dinner with Andre and the other half Misery. After responding to a Craigslist ad, Aaron (Brice) is recruited by Josef (Duplass) to help him film a goodbye letter to his unborn son. Y’see, Josef is dying… or at least that’s what he says. It’s not long before this strange encounter takes a turn for the sinister, as Aaron discovers that both Josef and the circumstances behind his “project” are not what they seem. The success of Creep has spawned two follow-ups, a 2017 theatrical sequel and a spinoff TV series, with a potential third film currently in development. If you’re looking for a surprising, offbeat psychological horror experience that’ll stay with you long after the credits roll, you absolutely must try this film out. —TE