The best thrillers to watch on Netflix this January

The new year has begun, which means it’s time for a fresh batch of Netflix thrillers to fill your days.

Each month, we pick a few of the best thrillers on Netflix that are right for the current season. Sometimes they go well with an upcoming release. Other titles may be new additions to the platform.

This month we have a forgotten Cold War spy gem 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 horror to match an online ad.

Editor’s Pick: The Good Shepherd

Director: Robert De Niro
Cast: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin

If you’re looking for a slow-burning drama about Cold War espionage and professional backstabbing, Robert De Niro’s fictional take on the birth of the CIA is a must-see. Roughly based on the life of counterintelligence officer James Jesus Angleton, Good shepherd Matt Damon stars as Edward Wilson, a Yale graduate who is recruited to work for the CIA to fight the Nazis and eventually the Soviet Union. As the years go by, Edward must again and again face the contradictions between his heart and his mind, between his conscience and his profession, and face the truth about himself and his country, which he would rather leave buried. With a duration of work of almost three hours, Good shepherd it’s not exactly a fast watch, but it’s useful nonetheless. — Toussaint Egan

Director: Lee Jong Hyun
stars: Park Shin-hye, Jung Jung-soo, Kim Seong-ren

One of the coolest thrillers in recent times, A call tells the story of a young woman named Kim So 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 ago, Oh Yong Suk However, they discover that there is more to them than a phone, and they find that certain parts of their lives intersect in strange ways, including their complicated relationships with their mothers. But this exciting new relationship quickly goes awry when Seo Yeon learns that Yeon Suk has a terrible secret and at least a few hidden agendas. This discovery prompts them to engage in a whimsical cat-and-mouse game that takes place several decades apart and in different realities. —Austin Goslin

Director: Patrick Bryce
Cast: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice

Is there anything as terrifying and unpredictable as responding to an online ad? Directed by Patrick Bryce and Mark Duplass, this 2014 found-footage horror film taps fear to the core, creating a cinematic experience that is half My dinner with Andre and the other half Misfortune. After answering a Craigslist ad, Aaron (Bryce) enlists Joseph (Duplass) to help him film a farewell letter to his unborn son. You see, Josef is dying…or so he says. This strange encounter soon turns sinister as Aaron discovers that both Josef and the circumstances behind his “project” are not what they seem. Success creep spawned two follow-up films, a 2017 theatrical sequel, and a television series, with a potential third film currently in development. If you’re looking for an amazing, quirky psychological horror film that will stay with you long after the credits roll, you should definitely check this one out. -THAT