All movie fans love films that make us feel something. Generally, we are looking to witness exciting, romantic, or dramatic stories in order to experience certain things that are not so frequent in our daily lives. Perhaps that is why the crime thriller sub-genre has turned into one of the most popular ones of recent times: it invites the audience to take part in adrenaline-filled stories that explore the darkest human behaviors one could ever imagine. There is something magnetic about crime thriller movies, and it's the way they also engage the audience's brain: nothing beats the thrill of solving a good mystery, and if one can enjoy the performances of the industry's greatest stars while doing so, then that's even better.

Updated July 26, 2023: If you are a fan of thrillers, you will be thrilled to know that this list has been updated with a few more entries to make it even more interesting.

Crime thrillers have been reinvented over the years, with filmmakers coming up with both classic and groundbreaking stories that managed to hook audiences alike. There is no foolproof formula for producing a hit in this sub-genre: what's important is to deliver a nice mix of suspense, tension, and a few unexpected plot twists to keep the audience on their toes until the very end of the film. Here are eight of the best crime thriller movies of the 2010s that are worthy of a prime spot on anyone's watchlist.

10 A Simple Favor

A Simple Favor walks the audience down a path packed with unexpected twists and turns, proving time and time again that things are not always what they seem. This 2018 film was directed by Paul Feig, inspired by the novel of the same name by Darcey Bell, and starred Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. It follows Stephanie, a young mom, and blogger living in a small town, who eventually befriends Emily, her son's schoolmate's mysterious mother.

Related: Most Underrated Crime Movies from the 90s, Ranked

All of a sudden, Emily vanishes without a trace, prompting Stephanie to set out on a quest to find her and dig up a few secrets along the way. This film was highly praised, particularly for the actors' performances, and last May, it was confirmed that a sequel is already in the making.

9 Prisoners

Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Paul Dano star in the 2013 film Prisoners, directed by Denis Villeneuve. This lauded production, which also became a box office hit, focuses on two families whose lives are turned upside down after their daughters are kidnapped. Initially, they all turn to the police, but before long, they discover that the investigation is going nowhere. Therefore, Keller, who fathered one of the girls, takes matters into his own hands and embarks on a quest to track down the abductor and get revenge.

8 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

After being accused of a crime that threatens to ruin his career, journalist Mikael Blomkvist receives an unbeatable deal: a millionaire offers him information that may help him fight the accusation in exchange for Mikael investigating the unsolved death of his grandniece. In order to carry out this investigation, Mikael relies on the help of Lisbeth Salander, a world-class computer hacker. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 film directed by David Fincher from the novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson and stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

7 Headhunters

Starring the ever-charming Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as a slick antagonist, Headhunters tells the story of an HR manager with art thievery as his side hustle. Things seem to be going well for him until he ends up stealing from the wrong sort of people, and his life goes through a domino effect of worse decisions that make him land in the worst situations with new secrets about his own life unfolding before his eyes a little too late to do anything about them.

Related: Best Psychological Thriller Movies of the 2010s

The movie is almost claustrophobic in its nerve-wracking entirety, where you can't help but keep your eyes glued to the screen, knowing just how badly things might end. This 2011 Norwegian thriller might be one of the best and most underrated crime dramas the decade has offered and is definitely worth being added to the watchlist as soon as possible.

6 Good Time

Good Time is a 2017 film directed by the Safdie brothers and written by Josh Safdie alongside Ronald Bronstein. Starring Robert Pattinson and Benny Safdie, Good Time follows Nick, a mentally disabled man who gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong led by his brother Connie and winds up in jail. Out of this, Connie sets out to rescue his brother, undertaking a race against the clock to achieve his goal without being caught. Rounding out the cast are Buddy Duress, Barkhad Abdi, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

5 The Town

Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively, Jeremy Renner, Pete Postlethwaite, and Chris Cooper star in the 2010 film The Town, directed and co-written by Affleck. This production is set in Charlestown, a neighborhood that has been home to a number of burglary rings across the generations, focusing on one of them: Doug MacRay, son of one of the area's most prominent thieves. Doug followed in his father's footsteps and became the leader of a gang that is currently plotting a bank robbery. But this criminal must cope with the FBI on his trail as well as with his feelings for Claire, the manager of a bank that Doug has robbed in the past.

4 Gangs of Wasseypur

Spanning years, decades and even generations of vengeance, betrayal and rivalry between two families, Gangs of Wasseypur marks one of the absolute masterpieces of crime thrillers of the past decade. Hailed as Anurag Kashyap's magnum opus, this 2012 thriller's astonishing storytelling, brutal and almost unprovoked action sequences, magnificent cinematography, delightfully despicable characters, dark humor, and plot twists keep the audience hooked throughout the two-part fever-dream of this Indian epic crime drama.

The mesmerizing performance from its spectacular cast leads the audience on a tour of crime and its consequences through small-town India, spanning almost 7 decades until it reaches its shockingly violent and morbidly satisfying end that is bound to stay with the viewers forever.

3 Gone Girl

On the day of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick comes home only to discover that his wife Amy has mysteriously vanished without a trace. And while he tries to project the image of a concerned husband who is part of a happy marriage to the police and the media, he quickly becomes suspicious due to his shady behavior. But eventually, however, one discovers that things are not quite what they appear to be. Gone Girl is David Fincher's highest-grossing production, per Screen Rant, first released in 2014 and based on Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name. It stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon, among other actors.

2 Wind River

Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, castmates in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, teamed up in 2017 to star in Wind River, a film directed and written by Taylor Sheridan to raise awareness about the huge number of Native American women who are raped and murdered each year. In this production, Renner and Olsen are Cory Lambert and Jane Banner, a park ranger and an FBI agent, who team up to solve the gruesome murder of young Natalie Hanson on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.

1 Nightcrawler

The top spot in this ranking goes to Nightcrawler, a film that criticizes shameless journalism and the morbid demands of society. This 2014 production marked Dan Gilroy's directorial debut, who also wrote the screenplay. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a young unemployed thief who, after witnessing a horrible accident, decides to make his way into the world of freelance journalism by diving deep into the criminal world of Los Angeles in order to obtain the bloodiest footage and sell it to local news stations. Joining Gyllenhaal in the cast are Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton, Kevin Rahm, Michael Hyatt, and Ann Cusack.