Best African thriller movies

Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch thriller films from Africa, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!

  • Poster for Zulu

    Zulu 2013

    As a child, Ali Neuman narrowly escaped being murdered by Inkhata, a militant political party at war with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. Only he and his mother survived the carnage of those years. But as with many survivors, the psychological scars remain.

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  • Poster for Hijack '93

    Hijack '93 2024

    In an effort to dismantle their military-backed government, four men hijack an airplane, leveraging passengers onboard in the name of social change.

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  • Poster for Saloum

    Saloum 2023

    Three mercenaries extracting a druglord out of Guinea-Bissau are forced to hide in the mystical region of Saloum, Senegal.

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  • Poster for The Blue Elephant

    The Blue Elephant 2014

    After a five-year hiatus, psychiatrist Yehia returns to work at Abbasiya Hospital. He’s assigned to evaluate a patient who turns out to be his old friend. As events unfold, Yehia uncovers dark secrets that challenge his understanding of reality.

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  • Poster for Collision

    Collision 2022

    Over the course of one fateful day, a corrupt businessman and his socialite wife race to save their daughter from a notorious crime lord.

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  • Poster for Clash

    Clash 2016

    In 2013, in Cairo, a tragic fate brings together several detainees from different political and social backgrounds inside a police truck, during the turmoil that followed the ousting of president Morsi.

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  • Poster for Cairo Station

    Cairo Station 1958

    Qinawi, a physically challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the central Cairo train station, is obsessed with Hanuma, an attractive young woman who sells drinks. While she jokes with him about a possible relationship, she is actually in love with Abu Siri, a strong and respected porter at the station who is struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss' exploitative and abusive treatment.

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  • Poster for The Black Book

    The Black Book 2023

    After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.

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  • Poster for The Blue Elephant 2

    The Blue Elephant 2 2019

    A meeting with a new inmate in the psychiatric hospital flips Dr. Yehia's life upside down. She prophecies that the death of his entire family is only three days away.

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  • Poster for Perfect Strangers

    Perfect Strangers 2022

    A dinner party unravels when a tight group of friends agree to leave their phones unlocked on the table, exposing juicy interactions and dark secrets.

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  • Poster for Indemnity

    Indemnity 2022

    An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.

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  • Poster for Tòkunbọ̀

    Tòkunbọ̀ 2024

    An ex-car smuggler is given three hours to deliver a government official's daughter to her captor — or else his family will suffer the consequences.

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  • Poster for Hunting Emma

    Hunting Emma 2017

    Emma le Roux just wants to go home for the holidays. Gentle, beautiful, pacifist Emma. She's made the trip to her father's farm a thousand times. Piece of cake. But not today. Today she will cross paths with members of a violent drug syndicate. Everything starts falling apart, and fast. At first they were driven by hate and revenge. Suddenly, it's survival.

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  • Poster for Diamond Dust

    Diamond Dust 2018

    Taha works as a pharmacist and lives a normal life with his disabled father. When a mysterious murder occurs, Taha's world changes forever. He starts tracking down many secrets that leads him to unlocks a whole melancholic world of crime!

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  • Poster for Can’t Complain

    Can’t Complain 2007

    A comedy about triplet brothers with only one birth certificate.

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  • Poster for Five Fingers for Marseilles

    Five Fingers for Marseilles 2018

    Years ago, the young Five Fingers fought for the rural town of Marseilles against brutal police oppression. Now, after fleeing in disgrace, Tau, one of them, returns to Marseilles, seeking only a peaceful life. When he finds the town under new threat, he must reluctantly fight to free it.

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  • Poster for Glasshouse

    Glasshouse 2021

    A mother and her three daughters — romantic Bee, sensible Evie, and child of nature Daisy — occupy the titular glass building, which has been completely sealed off to protect its occupants from a dementia-inducing toxin called the Shred that’s poisoning the air outside. Fearful of becoming like the lost souls who wander the abyss outside, the family keep a grasp on their past by performing sacred rituals. When Bee breaks the rules and lets an injured stranger into their midst, the family dynamic is shattered forever, as hidden truths upend the illusions the women have worked so hard to protect.

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  • Poster for Citation

    Citation 2020

    A bright student in Nigeria takes on the academic establishment when she reports a popular professor who tried to rape her. Based on real events.

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  • Poster for Ibrahim El-Abyad

    Ibrahim El-Abyad 2009

    After witnessing the murder of his father as a child, Ibrahim is drawn into the criminal underworld of Egypt. While making a name for himself with his best friend Ashri, he finds his high school sweetheart Houria and manages to rekindle their love, but paths intertwine with Abdel Malik Zarzor, the city's crime lord, who is connected somehow to Houria.

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  • Poster for Suspicion

    Suspicion 2024

    A young man delves into the sinister world of black magic after the brutal murder of his best friend and his daughter. As he hunts for vengeance, he faces moral dilemmas and shocking betrayals that threaten to shatter his closest relationships. In this gripping tale of friendship, love and revenge, he must confront his newfound powers and decide how far he's willing to go to deliver justice.

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  • Poster for Escaping Tel Aviv

    Escaping Tel Aviv 2009

    A seemingly ordinary life is shattered when a woman uncovers a hidden truth about her husband, plunging her into a high-stakes international conflict. As loyalties blur and danger escalates, an Egyptian intelligence officer is tasked with a critical mission where failure is not an option.

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  • Poster for The Originals

    The Originals 2017

    Samir is the head of a small family and a bank employee and stable in his work, but separated after the decision to reduce the employment and then surprise that his bank balance zero and after days find a box with a mobile phone to meet a call changed his life by recruiting him to spy on people through an organization called The Originals.

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  • Poster for iNumber Number: Jozi Gold

    iNumber Number: Jozi Gold 2023

    When an undercover cop is tasked with investigating a historic gold heist in Johannesburg, he’s forced to choose between his conscience and the law.

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  • Poster for 122

    122 2019

    During a bloody night, a young man and his lover are struggling, not to get to the hospital, but to escape and survive.

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  • Poster for Flight 404

    Flight 404 2024

    A few days before she travels to Mecca to perform Hajj, Ghada faces an emergency which forces her to reach out to people from her tainted past with whom she had cut off contact in order to collect a large sum of money. So, as she collects the money, will she manage to go to Mecca, or get tangled up in the past's webs?

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  • Poster for The Cell

    The Cell 2017

    During an operation to capture the head of a terrorist cell, special operations officer Saif, is injured while his partner, Amr, is killed. Saif vows to take revenge with the help of officer, Saber, who's working the same case.

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  • Poster for The Consul's Son

    The Consul's Son 2010

    After spending 30 years in prison, a man comes out to find out he has a son. Together with his son and a newly-acquired friend he resumes his criminal life.

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  • Poster for Forced Escape

    Forced Escape 2017

    Follows the escape journey of 4 complete strangers who were accused of a murder they did not commit.

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  • Poster for Laser Mission

    Laser Mission 1989

    A CIA agent is sent to get Professor Braun before the KGB can seize him as the Prof's knowledge, together with a recently stolen diamond, could be used to make a laser cannon.

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  • Poster for The Island 2

    The Island 2 2014

    Following the events of the first part, Mansour Al-Hefni escapes from prison and reunites with his son Ali and brother to return to the island to recover what they have lost. Mansour must stand against his old love Karima while the leader of the travelers tribe Sheikh Jaafar enters the conflict for rulership

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  • Poster for The Diesel

    The Diesel 2018

    Stuntman Badr the Diesel lives in a poor neighborhood. He meets Donia El- Sayad, a famous movie star, whose assistant, Afaf, is Badr’s Fiancée. When Afaf gets killed, he decides to seek revenge and find those who are responsible for her death

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  • Poster for Beauty

    Beauty 2011

    François van Heerden, a mid-40s Afrikaans family man, has become devoid of any care or concern for his own measure of happiness, and so convinced of his ill-fated existence, that he is wholly unprepared when a chance encounter unravels his clean, controlled life.

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  • Poster for Sons of Rizk 3: Knockout

    Sons of Rizk 3: Knockout 2024

    Years have passed since the brothers have separated in their different ways of life. But one day, a ghost from the past returns to cast a shadow over the sons of Rizk, forcing them to return to a life of crime and theft once again in order to save themselves, in a fateful operation that is the largest, most dangerous, and most important in the history of the sons of Rizk.

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  • Poster for Shark Attack 2

    Shark Attack 2 2000

    A biological experiment goes bad, this time releasing a gaggle of mutated great white sharks with a taste for human flesh. Soon enough, shark expert Nick West is on the case, leading a crew to study them and eventually bring them back into captivity. West's plans hit a snag, however, when Australian shark hunter Roy Bishop is called in to wipe out the fishy menace.

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  • Poster for Breathing In

    Breathing In 2023

    1901, South Africa. As the Second Anglo-Boer War rages on, a wounded General seeks refuge in the small home of a woman and her young daughter. As the hurt man settles in, he begins noticing that something is off about the two women, particularly the daughter, and before long, he’ll learn the real reason for why they’ve invited him and for how they’ve survived on their own for so long.

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  • Poster for Casanegra

    Casanegra 2008

    A Moroccan-Norwegian co-production about the dark side of Casablanca (Casanegra). In a country where good virtues are the norm in public, Casanegra shows the vices: domestic violence, alcohol abuse and drug abuse. Meet Karim and Adil and their struggle in the big city.

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  • Poster for Blood Vessel

    Blood Vessel 2023

    Brought together by chance, six people fleeing a town devastated by oil pollution stow away on a mysterious ship — not realizing the dangers that await.

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  • Poster for Huda's Salon

    Huda's Salon 2022

    A woman's visit to a hair salon turns into a nightmare when she is blackmailed by its owner.

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  • Poster for 30 Years Ago

    30 Years Ago 2016

    "Omar" is back from abroad to divide his fortune to his family of nine members equally, but he tells them that his money is cursed, and the curse haunt who get the money wherever he goes, and has already convinced his cousin "Emad" about it after the occurrence of the victims in a strange way between family individuals in a row, trying to uncover the mystery behind the curse

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  • Poster for Losing Lerato

    Losing Lerato 2019

    Thami has recently lost his job at a top firm following accusations of fraudulent activities. This is the last straw for his wife Noluthando who, fearing a drop in her standard of living, abandons her marriage, taking their daughter Lerato with her. Thami is desperate to maintain a relationship with his daughter, while Noluthando does everything in her power to ensure that Thami is denied access to Lerato. After exhausting all known avenues, and desperate to be reunited with his daughter, Thami kidnaps Lerato from school, intending to flee Johannesburg for Kimberley by bus. This is an ill-conceived move which angers Noluthando and puts him on a collision course with the law. Thami’s actions put his life, that of Lerato and their fellow passengers in danger and leads to a high-stakes hostage situation on the bus. Then a shot rings out…

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  • Poster for Mami Wata

    Mami Wata 2023

    In the oceanside village of Iyi, the revered Mama Efe acts as an intermediary between the people and the all-powerful water deity Mami Wata. But when a young boy is lost to a virus, Efe’s devoted but rebellious daughter Zinwe and skeptical protégé Prisca warn Efe about unrest among the villagers. With the sudden arrival of a mysterious rebel deserter named Jasper, a conflict erupts, leading to a violent clash of ideologies and a crisis of faith for the people of Iyi.

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  • Poster for Alexandria, Private

    Alexandria, Private 2005

    When a woman is accused of a high-profile murder, a young lawyer takes on her defense, only to uncover a web of secrets, deceit, and hidden motives. As he digs deeper, the case becomes more personal—and far more dangerous than he ever expected.

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  • Poster for The Egg and the Stone

    The Egg and the Stone 1990

    A philosophy teacher finds himself and his ethics surrounded by a corrupt society, and as he's mistaken for an exorcist and fortune-teller. He uses logic and psychological tricks to practice wizardry, until he masters it and controls people, meanwhile losing his ethics.

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  • Poster for Number 37

    Number 37 2018

    Entrapped in his apartment, Randal, a recent paraplegic, is given a gift of binoculars by his devoted girlfriend, Pam. But Randal is in financial debt to a sadistic loan shark, and when he witnesses a powerful criminal commit a murder while observing his neighbours through binoculars, he initiates a treacherous blackmail scheme.

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  • Poster for Birds of Darkness

    Birds of Darkness 1995

    Three lawyers, brought by friendship but separated by interests, Fathi Nofal, who turns from a committed lawyer to an opportunist, while Ali al-Zanati joins religious extremist groups to make financial gains , and the third Mohsen only works as a simple employee away from conflict.

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  • Poster for The Shame

    The Shame 1982

    A family inherits their father's drug business which leads to their undoing.

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  • Poster for Italia's War

    Italia's War 2005

    Yaseen is a lawyer who works for senior attorney, Kamaal. When he discovers that Kamal is involved in an illegal business with a tycoon, he gets publicly disbarred and loses his job. His fiance gets abducted to Italy when he tries to redeem himself, so he relentlessly forms a plan to set things right.

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  • Poster for Transit Prisoner

    Transit Prisoner 2008

    "Ali ileum" open safes talented thief, but even he was talent he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of security guard, and there recognize the Colonel, "Shawki", and the way the film mafia is recruiting

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  • Poster for The Prince of Darkness

    The Prince of Darkness 2002

    The film revolves around Saeed AL-Masri (Adel Imam), one of the pilots of the October War who lost his eye-sight after his plane crashed during the war. Saeed AL-Masri is forced to live in a home for disabled people that is managed by a very bureaucratic managers which they turn it into a prison.

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  • Poster for The Escape

    The Escape 1991

    Ahmed Zaki plays a peasant, Mountasir, who gets involved in a criminal racket run by his friend Midhat. Mountasir is betrayed by Midhat and goes to jail. Upon discovering that his wife was forced into prostitution by Midhat, he swears to extract revenge when he leaves jail.

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  • Poster for Rise to the Abyss

    Rise to the Abyss 1978

    Abla travels to France and gets recruited by the Mossad under the pretext of working as a journalist. By the time she discovers the truth, she's already in too deep. As Abla recruits her fiancé, an engineer in the Egyptian army, the General Intelligence Directorate assigns Khaled to arrest her.

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  • Poster for The Second Wife

    The Second Wife 1967

    A story in the Egyptian countryside about an unjust mayor who controls everything in the village with his power.

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  • Poster for Badal Faqed

    Badal Faqed 2009

    The film's events revolve around twins separated by days, each of them raised in a different environment. One was adopted by a dancer and lived with her in a poor, marginalized life in a slum area, and the other was adopted by a good, high-ranking family, and the first became a drug dealer and the second a police officer.

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  • Poster for Mako

    Mako 2021

    Eight documentary makers decide to go to the location of Elsalam Ship which sunk years ago to make a new documntary where they face unforseen dangers.

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  • Poster for Beauty and the Beast

    Beauty and the Beast 2005

    Timeless tale of Beauty and the Beast set in the period of the Vikings. Freya, a warrior and the beautiful daughter of a Viking king, is held prisoner on an island castle by a Beast whom has been cursed by his god Odin.

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  • Poster for The Dealer

    The Dealer 2010

    Hatred generated from an early age between on and Yusuf, ended the first rings migration on to Ukraine and Prison Joseph on his hands in Egypt, and in Ukraine set to allow wife to and Habiba Joseph preceding her newborn son, and works with drug dealers and run away with money to an unknown location, and Joseph travels to Turkey to work in the drug trade, even above the star and Ahlgreman meet again, to finish the story, one of them killed.

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  • Poster for Chief Omar Harb

    Chief Omar Harb 2008

    Omar Harb runs a gambling casino. A quiet young man lands a job at the casino, despite his family's abhorrence and disapproval, to get the money necessary for his marriage. He excels at work and catches the attention of the manager who chooses him for a challenging task.

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  • Poster for Cry of an Ant

    Cry of an Ant 2011

    The role of the film as part of a comic story deals with the circumstances of life and social and economic conditions difficult, which became the Egyptian people suffering from high prices as an issue.

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  • Poster for Cairo 30

    Cairo 30 1966

    Mahgoub is a villager who moves to Cairo in search of a better life. When he enlists friend Salem's help to find him a job, Salem not only gets him a job at the ministry where he works but he finds him a bride as well. But the bride is the mistress of Qasem Bek, who will be visiting her once a week.

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  • Poster for Son of Adam

    Son of Adam 2018

    A family and businessman (Adam) is accused of running a criminal empire while he denies the accusation by being the one who take criminals down.

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  • Poster for October 1

    October 1 2014

    September 1960. As Nigeria prepares for independence from the British, a seasoned police detective rushes to find the serial killer slaughtering its native young women.

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  • Poster for After School Hours

    After School Hours 1998

    A possessed young girl wreaks havoc on her family as well as her school.

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  • Poster for The Thief and the Dogs

    The Thief and the Dogs 1962

    This film, inspired by Naguib Mahfouz' The thief and the dogs, tells the story of Mahran, a thief who quickly ascends to be the head of his gang. However, his second in command conspires against Mahran to take his position and his wife. After his prison term, Mahran is thirsty for revenge. But being chased by the police and by his new enemies destines him to a tragic life in hiding.

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  • Poster for Detention Letter

    Detention Letter 2017

    (Khaled Degwy) who are enrolled in one of the terrorist groups that the killings, believing they are fighting for the sake of God, and when his brother (Ahmad) tries to join this group (Khaled) refuses, he is trying to stop him, but he joins, and one day arise a dispute between (Ahmad) and one of the members of this community, (Ahmed) get killed, (Khalid) go mad who seeks revenge against the group, the same moment the issue Answer the arrest of the police against (Khaled).

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  • Poster for Shehata's Shop

    Shehata's Shop 2009

    Shehata is the son of a modest gardener who saved all his money to open a fruit stand and named it after his favorite son. Shehata's siblings get so jealous of their brother and plot against him. A representation of the downfall of society and its decaying morals.

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  • Poster for Buried Alive

    Buried Alive 1989

    A young woman goes to teach at the Ravenscroft Institute, a spooky old girls' school overrun by ants and staffed by some unusual types. Spurred on by a series of horrific hallucinations, she begins to investigate the mysterious disappearances of several students.

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