I Watched 3 Intense Thrillers on Netflix—2 Were Incredible But 1 Was...Oof

There is nothing quite like a good ole thriller movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Recently, I was able to check out three thrillers on Netflix that were quite interesting: Anna Kendrick’s 2023 directorial debut Woman of the Hour, The Guilty starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Idris Elba’s Luther: The Fallen Sun, which is a film continuation of Elba’s hit series Luther. Two of them were incredible, keeping me thoroughly entertained throughout with their tense, complicated storylines, and one of them…well, not so much.

Below is my honest review of each film.

As obsessed as I am with the ‘70s, there was no way I wasn’t going to watch Woman of the Hour the night it premiered on Netflix. Serving as the directorial debut for Anna Kendrick (who also stars), the film is based on the chilling true story of a young aspiring actress who meets the match from hell on a dating game show when she is paired with a serial killer named Rodney Alcala (whose goal of going on the show in the first place is to target his next victim). What’s interesting about Woman of the Hour, is that the story is told from a woman’s perspective. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way, which is to be expected with a film centered around a serial killer, but Kendrick is able to strike a balance to create something that is entertaining, while still being sensitive to the delicate subject matter, as you are given the backstory of Alcala’s brutal crimes committed throughout the course of the 1970s. 

When it comes to period pieces, I also pay attention to whether the film nails the costuming, set design etc., as I believe it can throw a movie off completely if those details aren’t accurate. Woman of the Hour checks out in that department, as from a visual perspective, it indeed looks like a film that could have come from the ‘70s era. My only issue was with the diction/cadence of the actors:  People back in the ‘60s/’70s spoke/enunciated differently, and that difference is very clear when you have familiarity with that time period. Nonetheless, Woman of the Hour is still an interesting movie with a different approach compared to what a lot of filmmakers and studios are currently putting out.

I have long felt that we need less remakes, and more unknown stories being brought to the forefront, so again, kudos to Kendrick for bringing this story that many people (myself included) didn’t know about to life.

I had The Guilty sitting in my watchlist for longer than I care to admit, but I’m happy I finally had the opportunity to give it a watch because I am a huge fan of Antoine Fuqua—especially when he directs action/thriller films. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled police officer who gets demoted to a 911 operator, The Guilty is quite wild, as it chronicles a distressed caller in danger. A remake of the 2018 Danish film Den Skyldige directed by Gustav Möller (I know…I’m contradicting what I just said about remakes), it takes a new angle on a real 20-minute 911 call listened to by Möller, which served as the inspiration for his version. The caller-in-question, a kidnapped woman named Emily (portrayed by Riley Keough), seems to have a new revelation every single time she calls the station. Emily has been kidnapped by her children’s father, Henry, who has a documented history of abuse.

The children, a six-year-old named Abby and her infant brother Oliver, are now left alone as a result of the kidnapping. Oh, and there is a truly terrible plot twist that you won’t see coming. The Guilty is a well-acted and well-directed film with a plot layered in a unique manner. Gyllenhaal delivers a strong performance as the lead, and I continue to believe Keough is an underrated actress with the potential to win an Oscar with the right role and opportunity. (When that happens, remember you read the prediction here first.)