Like watching movies on the edge of your seat? We’ve got thoughts.
Here’s a list of 12 suspense movies that we strongly suspect will leave you questioning everything. From Tom Cruise battling to clear his name in Minority Report, to Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio working to unwind mysteries in Chinatown and Shutter Island, respectively, these films will get inside your head (even as, yes, you sit on the edge of your seat).
And here’s one bit of reassuring news for you: All the films here are streaming now on Paramount+ with a subscription. So, get started – and be careful watching movies out there.
Note: Some titles require the Paramount+ Premium plan to stream.
1. Shutter Island
What it’s about: In the 1950s, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives at an insane asylum at Boston Harbor’s Shutter Island to investigate a case involving drowned children.
Why you should watch: Because you should. The less said about this 2010 Martin Scorsese gem the better. Just watch it – all the way to the end.
WATCH NOW: Shutter Island
2. Minority Report
What it’s about: In 2054 Washington, D.C., PreCrime officer John Anderton (Tom Cruise) uses psychic “precogs” to arrest criminals before they act. When the system predicts that Anderton himself will commit a murder, he goes on the run to prove his innocence and expose flaws in the technology.
Why you should watch: Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a story by Philip K. Dick, 2002’s Minority Report expertly mixes high-tech spectacle with old-fashioned suspense. Cruise’s encounters with futuristic malls, jetpacks, and spider drones are thrilling, but the real tension lies in the film’s central question: Can free will exist if your future is already known?
WATCH NOW: Minority Report
3. Smile (2022)
What it’s about: Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) witnesses a patient die in front of her, smiling in a grotesque, unblinking way as she does so. Rose sees more and more people with the same chilling grin plastered on their faces, and becomes convinced that she is cursed. As she slowly unravels the mystery, she learns that the phenomenon passes from victim to victim, with each new host headed to their doom.
Why you should watch: Smile turns a benign expression into one of horror’s most effective tools of suspense. Bacon (Mare of Easttown) grounds the supernatural premise in a very human portrayal of trauma, and director Parker Finn uses lingering shots and silence as weapons. The result is a film that feels as much like a psychological trap as a horror movie.
WATCH NOW: Smile (2022)
4. Chinatown
What it’s about: Private investigator Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired to trail a woman’s husband, only to uncover a web of corruption involving Los Angeles water rights, incest, and murder. As Gittes digs deeper, he finds himself ensnared in one of cinema’s most tragic conspiracies.
Why you should watch: Roman Polanski’s Chinatown is widely considered to be one of the greatest suspense films ever made. The film’s devastating final line — “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown” — cements it as a timeless masterpiece of noir suspense.
WATCH NOW: Chinatown
5. Smile 2
What it’s about: Pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is staging a comeback after the tragic car crash that claimed the life of her boyfriend, actor Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson). But just as she embarks on a global tour, she begins experiencing unnerving hallucinations and unshakable dread. The “Smile Entity” returns, more ruthless than ever, and Skye must fight to separate reality from hallucination before the curse consumes her.
Why you should watch: Writer-director Parker Finn expands Smile into a larger, darker world, pushing the horror into public arenas and turning the pressures of fame into a minefield. Scott carries the film with vulnerability and resolve, and Smile 2 leans into escalating violence, psychological torment, and a haunting atmosphere that lingers with the viewer long after the credits roll.
WATCH NOW: Smile 2
6. Vanilla Sky
What it’s about: David Aames, Jr. (Tom Cruise), a wealthy publishing executive entangled with a jealous lover (Cameron Diaz), falls for another woman (Penélope Cruz). When David experiences a disfiguring car crash, a series of surreal events blur dream and reality.
Why you should watch: Cameron Crowe’s 2001 remake of Alejandro Amenábar’s Open Your Eyes is a suspenseful blend of romance, sci-fi, and psychological thriller. The film keeps viewers guessing — is the unraveling of David’s world real, imagined, or the product of corporate manipulation? It’s Inception before Inception was made.
WATCH NOW: Vanilla Sky
7. Shooter
What it’s about: Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), a former Marine sniper living off the grid, is recruited for what he thinks is a government training exercise. When he’s framed for attempting to assassinate the president, Swagger must use his skills to outwit corrupt officials and prove his innocence, with rookie FBI agent Nick Memphis (Michael Peña) as his unlikely ally.
Why you should watch: 2007’s Shooter builds suspense through precision; every bullet, every calculation, and every betrayal matters. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) turns wide-open landscapes into arenas of paranoia.
WATCH NOW: Shooter
8. Collateral
What it’s about: Max (Jamie Foxx), a Los Angeles cab driver, picks up a passenger who turns out to be contract killer Vincent (Tom Cruise). Forced to drive Vincent to a series of hits across the city, Max must figure out how to outwit his passenger before becoming the final target.
Why you should watch: Director Michael Mann’s neon-soaked thriller from 2004 is a masterclass in urban suspense. The nighttime cityscapes, the pulse-pounding club shootout, and the final subway chase make Collateral a high point of 21st century suspense cinema.
WATCH NOW: Collateral
9. World War Z
What it’s about: In this 2013 hit, Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a retired U.N. investigator, is thrust back into service when a fast-moving zombie pandemic overwhelms cities worldwide. Racing from Philadelphia to Jerusalem to South Korea, Gerry searches for patient zero and a way to slow the outbreak before governments collapse.
Why you should watch: Unlike most zombie films, World War Z is built on suspense rather than gore. The swarming undead scale walls, airplanes turn into death traps, and quiet lab corridors turn into threatening mazes where the smallest noise could mean death.
WATCH NOW: World War Z
10. The Ledge (2011)
What it’s about: Gavin (Charlie Hunnam) stands on the ledge of a high-rise building, preparing to jump. While Det. Hollis Lucetti (Terrence Howard) attempts to talk him down, flashbacks reveal a dangerous love triangle between Gavin, his devout neighbor Joe (Patrick Wilson) and Joe’s wife Shana (Liv Tyler). As the clock ticks, the reason for Gavin’s desperate act comes into focus.
Why you should watch: A thriller that mixes faith, obsession, and forbidden love, The Ledge draws its suspense from the moral dilemmas posed as much as the physical danger the characters find themselves in. Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and Wilson (The Conjuring) play men locked in a battle of belief systems, with Tyler caught in between.
WATCH NOW: The Ledge (Paramount+ Premium plan)
11. Parallel (2024)
What it’s about: Vanessa (Danielle Deadwyler) and Alex (Aldis Hodge) stumble across a shimmering portal inside their home that leads to alternate versions of their lives. At first, it feels like possibility incarnate, a chance to undo mistakes and start fresh. But each world reveals darker compromises, and soon they’re confronted with realities where their love, their future, and even their identities fracture into dangerous opposites.
Why you should watch: Though this 2024 film has an out-there enough premise, it grounds its suspense in real emotion.
WATCH NOW: Parallel (Paramount+ Premium plan)
12. Good Kill
What it’s about: Maj. Thomas Egan (Ethan Hawke), a former fighter pilot, now operates armed drones from a Las Vegas base, conducting strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As civilian casualties mount, Egan struggles with the morality of his work, questioning whether he’s protecting lives or fueling endless war. As his stress-level mounts, his marriage to Molly (January Jones) unravels.
Why you should watch: Directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca), 2014’s Good Kill takes the adrenaline out of the cockpit and manages to place it in a cramped trailer, where the disconnect between the humble setting and the consequences of his day-to-day actions creates unbearable tension.
WATCH NOW: Good Kill (Paramount+ Premium plan)
Availability of titles is subject to change.
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