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The Best Thriller Movies on HBO Max Right Now (October 2026)

By Matt Oakes · October 25, 2026

A good thriller is the easiest thing to put on and the hardest thing to find, because every service is stuffed with interchangeable airport-novel adaptations. These are the best thrillers on HBO Max that I’ve reviewed, from War for the Planet of the Apes and One Battle After Another to Marty Supreme. Horror lives in its own guide, so this one sticks to crime, suspense, and paranoia.

Every pick links to my full review, and the list gets refreshed as titles come and go.

Critics and Audience scores from Rotten Tomatoes; ratings from IMDb. Scores as of October 2026.

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025)

94%Critics 85%Audience 7.6IMDb

O ne Battle After Another is another masterwork from American auteur Paul Thomas Anderson, who turns his incisive storytelling toward contemporary America and uses it as a battle-bound backdrop for a story about fighting for what matters. Every single thing works.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

SALTBURN (2023)

72%Critics 79%Audience 7.0IMDb

Emerald Fennel’s venereal second feature is an explosive satire of inheritance and deception framed as a simmering psychosexual thriller. The entire cast is wonderful but Barry Keoghan proves himself as a truly one-of-a-kind talent.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

SICARIO (2015)

91%Critics 85%Audience 7.7IMDb

Emboldened by Roger Deakins ’s screamingly accomplished cinematography, Jóhann Jóhannsson ’s hypnotic score, Benicio Del Toro’s unforgettable performance and Denis Villeneuve ’s prudent, cold-blooded direction, Sicario commits cinematic terrorism against our desire for narrative order. It’s time to welcome Villeneuve to the Masters circle.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

JOKER (2019)

Todd Phillips’ deliriously provocative Joker is a risky endeavor that shirks the load-bearing staples of comic book movies past to focus on a richly-textured character study of a lost soul. Joaquin Phoenix is instantly iconic as the damaged king of the villains in this grounded story of how madness manifests itself.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

HELL OR HIGH WATER (2016)

97%Critics 89%Audience 7.6IMDb

A cops and robbers movie with real bite, David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water offers genre thrills amidst a thoughtful examination of modern American idealism. Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster each offer excellent performances as the “last of their kind” in a film plump with unforgettable character work and outstanding sequences.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

BALLERINA (2025)

75%Critics 92%Audience 6.8IMDb

Ana de Armas is a welcome new face (successor?) in the John Wick universe as a freshly minted female assassin on her own vengeance trail. The highs and lows should be familiar at this point, but so too should the consistency. These things just know how to get ’em to rip just right.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

GREENLAND (2020)

Gerard Butler grabs his family and races for a government bunker as a shattered comet starts wiping out cities. It’s a disaster movie that cares more about people than spectacle, and it’s tenser and more grounded than you’d expect.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

ATOMIC BLONDE (2017)

79%Critics 64%Audience 6.7IMDb

Charlize Theron plays an MI6 agent tearing through Cold War Berlin in search of a stolen list of spies. The plot is a tangle, but David Leitch’s action is bruising and gorgeous, and a single-take stairwell brawl is worth the price of admission alone.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review

AMERICAN MADE (2017)

Crackling editing, a gum-grin Tom Cruise performance and eye-catching direction from Doug Liman make American Made an easily consumable serving of anti-hero biopic. Telling the story of CIA-operative-turned-drug-smuggler Barry Seal, Liman’s film tries to distinguish itself from the pack but won’t likely be remembered beyond its snappy production aspects and as a sizzling Cruise showcase.▶ Streaming on HBO Max · Read the full review