Best Polish thriller movies

A duplicitous young man finds success in the dark world of social media smear tactics — but his virtual vitriol soon has violent real-life consequences.

When a girl's body is found on a beach in Poland's Tricity, a prosecutor teams up with the victim's mother on an impassioned quest for the truth.

Tadek, a Polish detective, becomes suspicious of a controversial author when the incidents described in his unpublished novel resemble the inner workings of an unsolved murder.

Warsaw, Poland, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. Josh Mansky, a troubled math genius and former US chess champion, is recruited to hold a dangerous public match against the Soviet champion, while playing the deadly game of espionage hidden in the darkest shadows of a hostile territory.

A group of friends at a New Year’s Eve party go through a whirlwind of events that exposes secrets, breaks hearts — and leads to a shocking outcome.

Two mermaid sisters, who end up performing at a nightclub, face cruel and bloody choices when one of them falls in love with a beautiful young man.

Moody, dark and handsome Dominik is tormented by his classmates after video footage of his drunken kiss with bully Alex is spread across the Internet. Grappling with the public humiliation Dominik seeks solace in an avatar based “suicide room” where the pink-haired rebel Sylvia consoles him.

Every day at 6 pm a serial killer kills another person. Police officer Helena Rus thinks the killings are done by one man only and decides to reveal the killer's identity by getting back in 18th century history of the city.

On their way to an afternoon on the lake, husband and wife Andrzej and Krystyna nearly run over a young hitchhiker. Inviting the young man onto the boat with them, Andrzej begins to subtly torment him; the hitchhiker responds by making overtures toward Krystyna. When the hitchhiker is accidentally knocked overboard, the husband's panic results in unexpected consequences.

Nina, a former NATO special operations agent living in hiding, has to use all her deadly skills to rescue her son who has been kidnapped by ruthless gangsters. Finding Max is a double opportunity for her. A chance to feel the adrenaline rush again, and an opportunity to get back into the life of the son she had to abandon years ago.

When something horrible happens to the only survivor of a bloody massacre, an insecure rookie cop must overcome his fears to stop further carnage.

A bridegroom is possessed by an unquiet spirit in the midst of his own wedding celebration, in this clever take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk.

Poland, 1970. Firmly determined to fight against Soviet tyranny and prevent the destruction of the world, the high-ranking officer of the Polish army Ryszard Kukliński makes a serious decision that will put his life, his family and the fate of an entire nation at risk.

Policemen from two precincts are joining forces to fight the Mokotowska Group.

A story about Janina Duszejko, an elderly woman, who lives alone in the Klodzko Valley where a series of mysterious crimes are committed. Duszejko is convinced that she knows who (or what) is the murderer, but nobody believes her.

Not satisfied with the result of a murder investigation in Warsaw's gay community, an officer in 1980s communist Poland resolves to uncover the truth.

In good old days Franz Maurer and his partners from secret police used to live like kings. Now, they all must adapt to new post-communist environment where they are scorned and losing all the privileges. Some, like Franz, are like ordinary police fighting against drug dealers. But Franz would soon find that some of his friends are on the other side.

Two brothers are trying to find out the truth from years ago. The whole town is against them.

Based on a true story, Emi — a young, ambitious girl, dreams about life outside her small town. When an opportunity arises to become an exclusive escort, she jumps in without hesitation. Soon she climbs the ranks and starts her own VIP escort service; recruiting Polish celebrities, actors, singers, and models. However, the luxurious and enticing world eventually shows its dark side.

Inspired by true events from the 1970s, the story revolves around a young detective who becomes the head of a police unit focused on catching a rampant serial killer of women, nicknamed 'The Silesian Vampire'.

Three days in the life of fitness motivator Sylwia Zając, whose presence on social media has made her a celebrity. Although she has hundreds of thousands of followers, is surrounded by loyal employees and admired by acquaintances, she is looking for true intimacy.

After his brother dies in a car crash, a disgraced MMA fighter takes over the family nightclub — and soon learns his sibling's death wasn’t an accident.

A Taliban soldier struggles to survive after he escapes his captors and flees into the Polish countryside.

Poland, 1978. Edward Srodon, a zootechnician, makes an accidental stop at the Dziabas family farm, located in the remote area of the Bieszczady Mountains. Years later, on a winter day during Martial Law, a People's Militia investigation team examines a crime scene.

On the last day of 1999, 20-year-old Sebastian locks himself in a TV studio. He has two hostages, a gun, and an important message for the world. The story of the attack explores a rebel’s extreme measures and last resort.

"Botoks" is intended to be a record of the authentic history of strong, determined and expressive physicians who struggle with life's decisions and problems: discrimination, maternity pressures, the pursuit of youth, the fight for the right to free choice and own views.

An American writer moves to Paris to be closer to his daughter and finds himself falling immediately on hard times.

In 1983, communist Poland is shaken by the case of high school student Grzegorz Przemyk, who is beaten to death by police. The only witness of the beating becomes the number one enemy of the state.

Two strangers, Jerzy and Marta, accidentally end up holding tickets for the same sleeping chamber on an overnight train to the Baltic Sea coast. Also on board is Marta's spurned lover, who will not leave her alone. When the police enter the train in search of a murderer on the lam, rumors fly and everything seems to point toward one of the main characters as the culprit.

Director of detention, director Nowacki finds Sergeant Zawada, who is hiding from the world. An experienced officer returns to the game and gets a new task - he becomes the commander of the convoy, who is to transport a very dangerous prisoner to a psychiatric hospital. Members of his team are people with a complicated past. Among them is also Feliks, full of ideals, privately the husband of Nowacki's daughter, who should never have found himself in a prisoner. The prison director, having lost control of the convoy, chases to repair, and may hide the uncomfortable truth for him. The real purpose of the convoy is slowly coming to light. Conflicts arise between men and tension increases, with unexpected twists every minute. From now on, justice can be done on its own.

A big shot prosecutor Teodor Szacki divorces his wife and leaves Warsaw to “start a new life” in picturesque town in south­east Poland ­ Sandomierz. After a short while he is called in to investigate a strange and mysterious murder case. Alienated in provincial reality he struggles to find a killer, when he stumbles upon more victims. While the investigation continues he realizes that all murders are connected to alleged historical Jewish ritual killings. Those murders prompt a wave of anti­Semitic hysteria in the town. In his investigation Szacki must wrestle with the painful tangle of Polish­Jewish relations and real findings of his work ­ that roots of some legends arefantasy, not a grain of truth…

A father and his two teenage sons travel to a small mountain cabin for a male bonding adventure. When a lost tourist arrives at the cabin, their male-bonding outing turns into a struggle for survival.

In Stalinist Poland, cabaret singer Tonia decides to spend the evening drinking with a group of friends. The next morning, she awakes to find that, for reasons unknown to her, she has been jailed as a political prisoner. As prison officials interrogate, torture and humiliate her, she fights for survival and to maintain her innocence by refusing to sign a false confession. As her years of imprisonment pass, her relationship with her captors grows more complicated.

Told across a number of years, part of the ever waging war between the police and the criminal empires spanning Eastern Europe, we follow one young man's life, his childhood and adolescence and ultimately his descent into the criminal underworld. His path soon crosses with a policeman who will stop at nothing to catch him.

A seeming coincidence makes the paths of a police officer Daniel and two twin brothers from Ukraine cross. Thanks to the information acquired from Zenia and Alex and their contacts with the local underworld, the young policeman is quickly promoted and becomes an officer of the Central Anticorruption Bureau.

A story about women, set in the present and in 1950s Warsaw. Sabina, a quiet, shy woman who has just turned thirty lacks a man in her life. Her mother knows all about it and tries at all costs to find her daughter a good candidate for a husband. The whole situation is controlled by the grandmother, an eccentric lady with a sharp tongue from whom no secrets can be kept.

The story unfolds about the murder of an old man living in a remote village and six locals who may have been connected with the murder. Things get messy when the dead man turns out to be an ex convict. The accused ones find it very hard to deal with the preconceived attitude. The villagers, led by the families of the accused, have to fight for their innocence.

In Nazi-occupied Warsaw, an investigator tries to unravel the mysterious murder of a prominent attorney's wife.

A portrait of a formidable political figure, unraveling the contrasting facets of an iron-fisted tyrant and a man haunted by fear.

Imagine that you have the power to decide on people's lives. Who would you condemned, and whom he saved? In the center of Europe suddenly, without a trace, people begin to disappear. The investigation goes into the hands of Vulture (Michal Zebrowski) - a police officer who appears to be devoid of feelings. Tough, incorruptible, no obligations and favors to others. Until he meets Natasha (Anna Przybylska) - a woman other than those that he met so far. Vulture begins a dangerous game with the enemy ahead of him is still a step. Discovers a world in which people are leading a double life. For the first time, logical thinking will drive him into a trap with no way out. Suddenly, the hunter turned into animals. Balancing on the border between passion and reason, the world of logic and clever manipulation, you will have to answer the question: is there anything more important than life?

A man is murdered, but the person responsible avoids being discovered and arrested. A few years later a police inspector suspects he has found evidence in a newly-published book entitled "Amok".

Marcin Krysztalowicz's film is both a partisan ballad, showing the real face of German occupation of Poland during WW2 and a startling war thriller. It tells a story of corporal "Wydra", struggling not only with Germans and Polish traitors but also with his own past...

A reporter, Alicja Tabor, after many years returns to her hometown of Wałbrzych to write a report about kidnapped children and also to face her own dark family history.

It's the end of the school year and today is the last chance for 12-year-old Gabrysia to tell her classmate that she has fallen in love with him. She sets up a secret meeting and blackmails the boy to show up. But what was supposed to be an intimate talk spins out of control and leads to an unexpected ending.

After a spate of mysterious disappearances in 1950s Kraków, young investigator Karski believes he's on the trail of a vicious serial killer. When his investigation points to wealthy and respected playboy Wladyslaw Mazurkiewicz,Karski finds himself up against his own supervisors, a mysterious woman and the hypnotic charms of Beautiful Wladek himself.

Three men, one place and one event that will change the life of each one of them.

Alicja suffers from memory loss and has rebuilt her own free spirited way of life. Two years later, she returns to her former family to assume against her will her role as wife, mother and daughter.

Lulek, a hit man, is released from prison and given an offer he can't refuse by the man who put him away. If he kills the chief of the Central Bureau of Investigations, he will earn a huge sum of money and have his record cleared so he can leave.

Hans and Jan Bitner live separated from each other by an iron curtain. Hans works in an office in Strasbourg, he leads a quiet, almost monotonous life. Bitner is a Polish patriot, involved in the affairs of "Solidarity" and the fight for a free Poland. He lives in Sopot with his family. Seemingly, their lives are completely different, but there is one detail that connected their lives forever. Both will have to answer very important questions about their identity.

Emilka meets the slightly-older Maciek out at a club one night. He shows Emilka—who was brought up by a single mom—a whole new world filled with desire, passion, restlessness and rebellion. The girl moves in with him and at first everything seems just perfect, but gradually Emilka discovers her separate identity, and starts to grow apart from him. When her dream of becoming a singer comes true, Maciek feels threatened. A toxic love game begins, full of lust and jealousy.

A veteran returns home for his father's funeral, only to find himself waging a new war when horrifying secrets come to light.

Martyna and Wojciech form a seemingly happy relationship. However, it is only a façade hiding a cruel truth. Martyna's friend Alicja is a single mother of 20-year-old Daniel, who is the apple of her eye. Alicja is unable to accept that her son has his own life. One day Daniel meets Adelina. A puzzling story in which we ask ourselves not only who killed and why, but above all who died!?

Bielecki becomes determined to become a famous writer, but the means he employs in achieving his goal are far from ethical. Bielecki discourages his friend Jerzy Gorski by telling him his new work is rather poor, driving him into despair. But Bielecki is such a good friend that he even provides Gorski with the morphine so he can overdose too. With Gorski out of the way, Bielecki can now peddle his friend's book as his own. However, it doesn't take long for Bielecki's evil ways to catch up to him.

A seasoned detective teams up with a novice cop to solve the mysterious murder of a world-class bone marrow transplant specialist.

Inspired by true events of 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash in Smolensk, the film tells the partially fictional story of crash and various people affected by the tragedy. The protagonist is a journalist Nina, who refuses to accept the official version of the story and pursues her own independent investigation.

Pawel, a Polish man in his early 30s, makes a living with his father Zygmunt importing second-hand clothing from the North of France to Southern Poland. On his way back from one of regular "business trips", Pawel is shocked to discover his father's picture on the cover of a Polish tabloid newspaper. The headline "traitor" is written next to his name. Zygmunt is a genuine hero of the struggle against totalitarianism and a recognized member of the "Solidarnosc" labor movement of the 80s. But now, Zygmunt is suddenly accused by the paper of having acted as a secret informer called THE MOLE by the communist regime.

Trying to check out a recording from his debut album, a street rapper and his friend run into trouble when a major drug deal turns into a total disaster for them.

Outraged by corruption in his small town, a family man runs for mayor but discovers that staying true to his principles may come at a devastating cost.

A journalist unearths a horrific conspiracy when she questions the events surrounding a celebrity’s death.

A rookie officer's career gets turned around when he is pegged as the prime suspect in a crime involving a senior policeman - his own father.

Petty thief Czarek takes part in a TV reality show to escape from the mafia. He is sent to a house on a desert island with 9 other contestants. Even the death of one of them does not stop the show.

The Photographer is an elusive serial killer operating in modern-day Moscow. He leaves numbered tiles at the scenes of his crimes, similar to those placed at crime scenes by forensic teams. The investigation points to the old Red Army barracks in Legnica, and to events dating back to the 1970s. One of the people involved in the investigation is Natasha - the only person to have survived an encounter with The Photographer.

Blacha, an ex-middleman in the criminal underground, is the key witness in an enormous Pruszkow mafia bust. As such he is kept under lock and key hidden away from the world. Intent on getting an interview with the ex-gangster is Marcin Kruk, whose pregnant wife was collateral damage in a mafia car-bomb several years back with Blacha being his main suspect. Fortunately Blacha holds Marcin's journalistic work in very high regard, hence agrees to an exclusive interview in a secluded hotel in the Hel peninsula. There he retreads his criminal life...

Story of four people in Sopot in 1933, mysteriously brought together to an old villa to reenact a murder ritual that took place 36 years earlier.

The peace of mind of a tenement house in Warsaw’s Mokotów district is shattered by the appearance of the alleged legal owner of the building. Using ruthless methods, the man starts forcing more families to move out. Janina Markowska is the most determined in her fight for the right to her apartment. When Janina disappears in mysterious circumstances, the police start investigating.

While living with her grandmother in Poland, a young woman falls in love. Her boyfriend is charming and suggests they travel around Europe and work here and there to pay for their trip. Unfortunately, the boyfriend isn't as he seems and the young woman is sold as a prostitute when they cross over to Germany. We follow her ordeal as she tries to free herself and stay sane as time goes by and her captors try to break and condition her to a new life of servitude.