This summer has been a season of Spider-Men, Greek heroes with zero sense of direction and a buff Nicholas Galitzine in a leather harness and skit.
Movies in August tend to be less big and noisy and more dark and, well, thrilling. That’s why Watch With Us has put together a list of some of the best thrillers to watch on streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and more.
At the top of our list is the premiere of the 2026 Netflix original The Whisper Man, a serial killer thriller starring Adam Scott and Robert De Niro.
We also recommend streaming the underrated 2024 sequel MaXXXine, starring a never-better Mia Goth as an erotic film actress fighting for her life in a sleazy 1980s Hollywood.
Last but not least, take a trip back to the ‘80s and watch No Way Out, a political suspense flick starring Kevin Costner as a man framed for a crime he didn’t commit — or did he?
‘The Whisper Man’ (2026) — Netflix
When Tom Kennedy’s (Adam Scott) 8-year-old son Jake (Acston Luca Porto) is abducted from their home one night, he has no choice but to contact the one man who can help him – his estranged father, Pete Willis (Robert De Niro). He’s a detective who caught a serial killer known as the Whisper Man 30 years ago, and he thinks that case might hold clues to Jake’s abduction. But the Whisper Man is still behind bars and has had no contact with the outside world. Who kidnapped Jake, and why are they mimicking the crimes of a notorious criminal the world has largely forgotten about?
Based on the hit novel by Alex North, The Whisper Man delivers all the late-summer/early-fall thrills you could ever want. The film conjures a spooky atmosphere filled with dark shadows and strange sounds in the night, which is exactly what a thriller like this should do. It also has a genuinely intriguing mystery, which plausibly connects Tom and Pete’s past with the Whisper Man to Jake’s present disappearance without making your eyes roll. The top-notch supporting cast includes Michelle Monaghan, Hamish Linklater and Michael Keaton.
The Whisper Man begins streaming on August 28.
‘MaXXXine’ (2024) — Hulu
Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) always wanted to be a Hollywood star, and she eventually got her wish – albeit one with a big asterisk next to it. She’s a porn actress who is at the top of her very adult industry, but she longs to be “legitimate” and act in mainstream movies. She thinks she has a shot when she nabs a part in the cheap horror flick The Puritan II, but Maxine’s shot at stardom is jeopardized by a stalker who is gradually killing all of her friends. Who is this mysterious murderer, and why is he — or she — linked to a past traumatic incident from her past she’d rather forget?
MaXXXine is the third chapter in Ti West’s X horror trilogy, but it’s more satisfying as a Brian De Palma-like erotic thriller than it is a traditional slasher like 2022’s X and 2023’s Pearl. There’s genuine mystery surrounding Maxine’s deadly stalker, with a lineup of suspects that include a scuzzy private investigator played by Kevin Bacon and even Maxine herself. As the unstable but magnetic Maxine, Goth is terrific — she never lets her heroine get lost in a story that’s a bit too complicated for its own good. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but the movie is so entertaining up until then that it’s still worth watching.
‘No Way Out’ (1987) — Prime Video
Navy officer Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) is normally a level-headed guy, but when he meets the alluring Susan Atwell (Sean Young) at a party, his caution and restraint go out the window. Against his better judgment, he begins a passionate affair with her, but there’s just one problem — she’s already someone’s mistress. Even worse, that someone is David Brice (Gene Hackman), the U.S. Secretary of Defense who is prone to wild fits of jealousy. He’s not happy when he finds out Susan is cheating on him, and he’s determined to find out who it is. Tom’s identity is unrevealed for now, but soon rather than later, he’ll be exposed, and he’ll learn there’s truly no way out once Brice comes after him.
One of the great ‘80s thrillers, No Way Out has more twists than an overpriced baseball pretzel. There’s so much more to the plot, which includes a gruesome murder, a manhunt, political sabotage and foreign spies, that your head will get whiplash trying to figure out what’s going on. But it somehow all makes sense, with a thrilling story that always manages to include just enough depth to make you care about Tom and Susan as they become embroiled in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game. No Way Out also features some pretty steamy sex scenes, including one in a limo that might make you think twice before ordering that Uber Black car to ride to the airport.
