Best Russian thriller movies
Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch thriller films from Russia, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
Guardians 2017
During the Cold War, an organization called "Patriot" created a superhero squad, which includes members of multiple Soviet republics. For years, the heroes had to hide their identities, but, in hard times, they must show themselves again.
56Night Watch 2004
Among normal humans live the "Others" possessing various supernatural powers. They are divided up into the forces of light and the forces of the dark, who signed a truce several centuries ago to end a devastating battle. Ever since, the forces of light govern the day while the night belongs to their dark opponents. In modern day Moscow the dark Others actually roam the night as vampires while a "Night Watch" of light forces, among them Anton, the movie's protagonist, try to control them and limit their outrage
67The Blackout 2019
Contact between most towns on Earth has been severed. A small ring-like area in Eastern Europe still has electricity, and maybe even life is being reported from space. What military forces find outside the ring is shocking.
62Day Watch 2006
A man who serves in the war between the forces of Light and Dark comes into possession of a device that can restore life to Moscow, which was nearly destroyed by an apocalyptic event.
65The Witch 2015
75Project Gemini 2022
After depleting Earth's resources for centuries, humankind's survival requires an exodus to outer space. An international expedition is quickly formed to find a suitable new planet, but when plans go awry, the crew is suddenly stranded without power on a strange planet, where something unimaginable lies in wait.
49Superdeep 2020
In 1984, a Russian research team goes below the surface to find out what secret the world's deepest borehole is hiding. On their expedition, something unexpectedly gruesome awaits the researchers.
54The Spacewalker 2017
March 1965. In the heat of the Cold War, the USA and the USSR are competing for supremacy in space. What both superpowers aim for in this race, is to be the first to have a man walk in outer space. To accomplish that, no price is too high and no risk is too great. Now it’s up to the unlikely duo of a seasoned war veteran and a hot-headed test-pilot to fulfill this mission. Two men in a tiny spaceship, without proper testing, facing the complete unknown. They were supposed to do what no man has done before—and no man imagined what would happen next.
73Forbidden Empire 2014
Early 18th century. Cartographer Jonathan Green undertakes a scientific voyage from Europe to the East. Having passed through Transylvania and crossed the Carpathian Mountains, he finds himself in a small village lost in impassible woods. Nothing but chance and heavy fog could bring him to this cursed place. People who live here do not resemble any other people which the traveler saw before that. The villagers, having dug a deep moat to fend themselves from the rest of the world, share a naive belief that they could save themselves from evil, failing to understand that evil has made its nest in their souls and is waiting for an opportunity to gush out upon the world.
56Metro 2013
Terror strikes the underground train system in Moscow in the form of a flood from a collapsed tunnel. The film follows a diverse group of Moscow citizens who find themselves trapped in the city’s underground rail network, their train derailed and virtually crushed after an aging tunnel collapses. Amongst this band of survivors is softly spoken surgeon Andrey (Sergei Puskepalis), whose wife is having an affair with the conceited businessman Vlad (Anatoly Beliy). Fate brings these two men together on the same doomed train, but there is little time to resolve their differences, as the tunnel begins to quickly fill with water, forcing them to work together with the others and find a way back to the surface.
64Why Don't You Just Die! 2018
Andrey, a detective and the world's most horrible father, brings together a terrible group of people in his apartment: his resentful actress daughter, an angry thug, and a cheated cop. Each one of them has a reason to want revenge..
67Cargo 200 2007
While returning to Leningrad from a visit to his brother, Professor Artyom's car breaks down and he finds assistance at an isolated farmhouse occupied by Alexey, his wife, a Vietnamese laborer, and a stranger who wanders around the farm. When his car is repaired, Artyom leaves, drunk on moonshine, and students Valera and Angelika arrive. After Valera gets drunk, the stranger abducts Angelika.
68Elena 2011
Elena is a woman of a certain age, living in a chic Moscow apartment with her wealthy businessman husband Vladimir. While Vladimir is estranged from his daughter, he does not mask his contempt for Elena's own child, who seems to be in constant need of financial assistance. When Vladimir suddenly falls ill and his volatile, nihilistic daughter comes back into the picture, Elena must hatch a plan for her own survival.
71Break 2019
The company of three guys and two girls makes their way to the old funicular to have an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration at the top of the mountain. A fun adventure turns into a nightmare when the funicular stops over the abyss. Coldness, height and fear of a slow death make them reveal their true essence and get in a fight with each other.
53The Bride 2017
This is a story of a small town girl named Nastya. Her newly married husband Ivan drives her to his hometown to meet his family. Upon their arrival Nastya feels she made a wrong decision: she is surrounded by weird people and she sees creepy photos all around the house. Ivan disappears while his family prepares Nastya for a mysterious traditional Russian wedding ceremony. She struggles to calm herself down hoping all this will end and they will live happily ever after. Only if she stays alive...
50Dead Man's Bluff 2005
Sergei and Simon have to deliver a suitcase full of heroin to Mikhalych or else they will be killed. There is one minor detail: the only problem-solving technique they are familiar with is a shot in the head.
73Papers, Please - The Short Film 2018
An official adaptation of the award winning game "Papers, Please" by Lucas Pope.
77Row 19 2021
A young female doctor and her 6-year-old daughter are on an overnight flight in a violent storm. When passengers on the half-empty plane inexplicably begin to die, the woman’s grip on reality weakens and she is forced to relive her worst childhood nightmare.
56How I Ended This Summer 2010
polar station on a desolate island in the Arctic Ocean. Sergei, a seasoned meteorologist, and Pavel, a recent college graduate, are spending months in complete isolation on the once strategic research base. Pavel receives an important radio message and is still trying to find the right moment to tell Sergei, when fear, lies and suspicions start poisoning the atmosphere...
71Text 2019
Ilya Goryunov has spent seven years in prison on false charges of drug trafficking. When Ilya is free he realizes that the old life that he yearned for is no more. Although he did not intend to take revenge on the man who sent him to prison, now there is no other way out.
69Gogol. The Beginning 2017
The year 1829. Nikolay Gogol, a young Third Section clerk, is desperate: his own books seem shallow and mediocre, so he keeps buying entire print runs just to burn them all. He is suffering from violent epileptic seizures and struggles to keep on working. Investigator Yakov Guro accidentally witnesses one such fit and realizes that Gogol's visions contain clues that could help solve actual crimes. Together, Gogol and Guro take on a particularly weird and baffling case that brings them to a small village of Dikanka, where everyone has a huge secret to hide.
66Calculator 2014
Ten prisoners condemned to exile on a hostile planet XT-59 must pave the way through swamp to reach the Islands of Happiness, the only safe area on the planet, before the harsh climate or the underground horrors kill them all.
48Collector 2016
An unscrupulous debt collector who is a prominent member of the Moscow elite has just a few hours to refute an accusation that might cost him his job and his life.
72The Factory 2018
When a factory is bound to close, a group of workers decides to take action against the owner.
69Captain Volkonogov Escaped 2023
Captain Fedor Volkonogov works in law enforcement. He is on the good books of the management, and his colleagues respect him. But one day, his life abruptly changes: he is declared a criminal. The Captain manages to run away before he is arrested. Suddenly he turns into an outcast, whom his former colleagues search across the whole city. At night Volkonogov is visited by a messenger from the other world, who warns him that after death he will go hell and be tormented forever. But he has an opportunity to change his fate and get to paradise if he repents, and at least one person forgives him. The Captain embarks on his way to find forgiveness. But he cannot even fathom what tests are awaiting him on this way.
67The One 2022
On August 24, 1981, the newlyweds Larisa and Vladimir Savitsky stepped on board the plane following the flight Komsomolsk-on-Amur - Blagoveshchensk. 30 minutes before landing, the civilian aircraft AN-24 collided with another aircraft and broke into pieces at an altitude of more than 5 kilometers above the ground. No one was supposed to survive ... but a miracle happened. Larisa Savitskaya woke up in the middle of the wreckage of the plane in the impenetrable taiga. Now she herself had to create a real miracle, which only a strong-minded person is capable of.
62The Execution 2022
When the police finally catch an elusive serial killer, no one can prove his guilt, resulting in the lead detective making it personal.
66The Ninth 2019
Petersburg at the end of the 19th century was embraced by a massive enthusiasm for the occult sciences and esotericism. British medium Olivia Reed arrives in the capital of the Russian Empire on tour and gathers crowds of people at her public spiritualistic sessions. At this time, a series of ritual mysterious murders takes place in the city. Girls are abducted on the streets, their mutilated bodies are found in various parts of the city. The investigation is carried out by a young police officer Rostov and his assistant Ganin. With each new victim, things are becoming more confused. Suspicion leads Rostov to Olivia, and he decides to turn to her in the hope that her genuine or imaginary ability to summon the spirits of the dead can help to get on the trail of the killer.
58The Widow 2020
Based on real events. In a densely forested area north of St. Petersburg people have been going missing for three decades. The few corpses ever found were naked. On October 14, 2017 a team of volunteers went out into the woods in search of a missing teenager. Soon, all communication with them was lost. Locals believe they were taken by the same dark spirit that took the others. They call it the Limping Widow.
54Gogol. A Terrible Vengeance 2018
Soon after Gogol's death, Binh names him guilty for the deaths of the Cossacks and the young women at the hands of the Dark Horseman, since he was the one who ordered them to be hidden in the barn. Bomgart is unable to perform a post-mortem analysis on the Gogol's body, while Vakula's daughter Vasilina (who secretly has magic abilities) proclaims denial about Gogol's demise.
70Queen of Spades: Through the Looking Glass 2019
The sinister ghost of the Queen of Spades is out for blood, her victims the students of an old boarding school shrouded in gloomy rumors. Exploring the school’s abandoned wing, the teenagers discover a mirror covered in mysterious drawings. Facing it, they playfully recite an incantation which renders their innermost desires a reality - at the expense of nothing less than their souls.
55Terra Nova 2008
A story, which takes place in 2013, describes the world overflowing with "dangerous" criminals due to the official termination of death penalty. The UN "blue helmets" under the directive from the central authority (i.e., One World Government) decided to conduct a social "experiment" by forcibly dumping the outlaws on the deserted island...
65Centaur 2023
Liza works at night, a taxi ride for her is a moment of much-desired peace. The driver Sasha inspires confidence, he knows the approach to the most demanding client. There are many unexpected turns in the lights of the big city, behind each of which lies a terrible threat. And perhaps the main danger is closer than it seems.
68The Green Elephant 1999
Two Russian prisoners are abused mentally and physically.
58Whisper of the Witch 2024
Mara, an ancient pagan spirit, hunts a group of teenagers taking their body parts to be reborn. A disillusioned and desperate investigator has to face his deepest fears to save the teenagers.
56The Ice Demon 2021
Ksyusha barely remembers her father: he went missing when she was a child. Incredibly, he is showing signs of life, despite being in a coma. The man is returned home in this condition. His wife has now remarried. The family is thrown into disarray by the return of the former master of the house – terrifying things are happening in the house, and Ksyusha’s mom starts acting weird… Ksyusha begins to suspect that something supernatural, icy, and lifeless has come home with her father. And now Ksyusha and her stepfather are about to find themselves protecting their family from a demon.
55Free Fall 2025
In the near future, humanity has successfully colonized space and build a giant orbital station "Delta". Max is a repairman working on the station. After a disaster caused by a proton storm, he is left alone without his crew members, drifting into space. His space suit is broken, he is exhausted, and he lacks communication with people. But suddenly a dispatcher named Anna comes to help. She is the only one who can guide Max through difficulties and get him to the station. Max has to risk everything to save his life, but he has no idea what Anna is up to.
54Night Guards 2016
When eighteen-year-old Pasha rescues a beautiful young woman from a band of strangely powerful attackers, he discovers an underworld of supernatural beings living among us.
51The Watchman 2019
The protagonist Vlad is a man of about forty; he lives and works as watchman in an old sanatorium that is due to be demolished. He obviously needs this work to live the life of a hermit. One night a married couple appears at the sanatorium: Vera and Stas. They are on the run. They are pursued by former friends and business partners of Stas. Vlad decides to help them, because he too is hiding from the past. Each character is threatened with the inevitable payment for wrong choices in the past, but helping each other, they try to expiate these faults.
62Vamps 2017
The story takes place in 18th century russia. empress elizabeth’s confessor, monk named Lavr, is exiled to a monastery in a haunted mountainous region, taking his secret ancient knowledge with him. Years later, the empress sends her godson Andrey to bring the monk back. Andrey travels to the ill-famed place and meets with Lavr, but before they can return to St. Petersburg they must face evil forces and creatures of the dark side.
51III 2015
A small European town, where sisters Ayia and Mirra live, gets struck down by an unknown disease which takes many lives. Following their mother's death, the younger sister falls ill. Having realized that conventional medicine is useless in the face of the sister's disease, Ayia seeks help from Father Herman, a parish priest and a close family friend. In his house she finds books that are very far from the conventional religion. She gets to know that only penetration into Mirra's sick subconscious mind and discovery of the true cause of her disease will give her a chance to save her sister. Ayia is ready to go through this terrifying ritual, dive into the depths of the subconscious mind, and face the demons residing there. But will she cope with her own fear when she discovers the mysteries of her sister's past? Since the closer to the bottom of the ocean, the darker it gets.
43Kicking Off 2013
This movie is about soccer hooligans, the most aggressive and violent soccer aficionados. They are an exclusive group, the elite of all soccer fans. Whoever they may be in their everyday lives—college students, bankers, musicians, or car mechanics—they are a “firm.” It’s easy to get into a firm, but once you’re in, it’s for life. There’s no going back. The movie is based on actual events
62Guests 2019
Young Katya meets a merry company of visiting guys who have a specific entertainment - to organize parties in other people's empty houses. And Katya knows the right place: an old country house on the coast, the owner of which left for a long time. The secluded house, in which the spiritualist salon was at the beginning of the last century, seems to everyone an excellent option. Alarming, even the terrible abandonment of this place does not frighten anyone ... In the midst of the party, someone whom Katya never expected to see appears: the mysterious master of the house ... The man she loved. A man in the grip of otherworldly forces.
54In August of 1944 2001
The movie is set in Belarus, where a team of counter-intelligence officers is given only three days to find a German radio operator posing as a Soviet soldier, behind soviet lines, on the eve of a major offensive.
71Without Me 2018
Two girls, who used to be in love with the same man, are starting to get texts and other mysterious messages after his death, and the only person, who could’ve possibly sent them, is him. The messages from the gone man send two rivals to the south of the country, when they have two unravel the mystery of their mutual loved one, understand themselves and deal with their own past.
72Succubus 2024
An erotic island retreat plays host to an exclusive couple’s retreat designed to rekindle the flames of passion. When Stacy and her boyfriend arrive, the sexy fun is quickly interrupted by a malevolent entity that feeds on their pain.
41Piranha Hunt 2006
Agent of special department "Piranha" Kirill Mazur and his colleague Olga go to the far north with the assignment to liquidate an underwater secret weapon lab in the guise of a mutual vacation. All of a sudden, they find themselves in the world where civilization laws are forgotten, and this deadly weapons are kept by gangsters who are controlled by a new "master of taiga" Prohor, whose leisure time is spent hunting at humans. Mazur didn't know that he would have to trade his familiar gun for a hand-made bone knife, and save his companion and himself instead of saving the world. For them, this safari in northern forests would be no less dangerous as for the live targets.
66Dark World 2010
On a college trip to remote Northern forests, one of the students - Marina - encounters a burial site of an ancient witch, and is possessed by the spirits of the past. Now Marina and her companions must take part in the millennia old fight between good and evil, involving lake witches, sorcerers, and ancient forces from the myths.
53Stray 2019
Igor is ready for anything for the sake of Polina’s happiness, and in order to compensate for the loss of her son, the couple opens up to a new child. But instead of an ordinary boy from a shelter, a mystical creature that can recreate the memories gets into their family ... There has not yet been found a recipe for centuries of suffering, but perhaps the key to salvation in selfless love for each other ... Open your heart! Let her in ...
66The Rage 2023
An unprecedented epidemic of rabies is breaking out in the taiga. Infected wolves become more and more ferocious, and even the slightest bite brings certain death. At the same time, a desperate father decides to forcibly isolate his son in one of the hunting lodges in order to save him from addiction. Soon, he and several local residents will have to fight not only with a rabid pack, but also with the most dangerous predator of the forest.
58About Love 2017
Beautiful Nina lives happily married, as she saw it, with intelligent Alexandr, professor of Sinology. But the debt for the mortgage begins to disturb the relationship of spouses. One day she meets Sergey, the head of the bank where her husband has debt, and so begins their passionate relationships. The story of the relationship with married Sergey hardly promises happiness, but Nina realizes that for the first time she feels true love.
55Silver Spoon 2021
The silver spoon masterfully escapes from prison and starts a new life. New sweet life! Sokolovsky joins the secular crowd, where everyone is sitting on a new synthetic drug, and he is again surrounded by cars, villas and top models. Friends, enemies and the FSB are following the trail of the silver spoon, trying to understand what game he has started and on whose side he is. Igor is trying to understand who he is - a traitor, a saint or is it the same ... silver spoon?
61Paragraph 78: Film One 2007
The peoples of the world has finally managed to agree on the most important issues on the planet and there was long overdue balance. Signed an agreement to terminate development of weapons of mass destruction, but in secret all the superpowers continue to build up military power on classified sites, which seemed never existed. Goodwin, a former commander of special forces, is tasked to collect his former people responsible for the mission. Something very serious has happened to the base where secretly working to develop a new combat the virus, and more recent cohorts, who have almost nothing left in common, have come together again...
51#Blue_Whale 2024
Rebellious schoolgirl Dana grieves for her younger sister, a once-happy kid who suddenly stepped in front of a train. Desperate to learn what happened, she explores her sister's online history, discovering a sinister social-media game.
50Side Effect 2020
A traumatic experience leads to a break-up between a young married couple. In a desperate attempt to save their marriage, Andrey, the husband, seeks help from a psychic named Mara. His only wish is to make his wife Olga forget the past. Mara's magic works, but the second honeymoon soon turns into a living nightmare... Andrey gradually recognizes that he is dealing with a powerful evil that possesses his wife, and the price of the psychic's service is Olga’s life.
5572 Meters 2004
The film begins in the 1980s Soviet Union. Two best friends, Orlov and Muravyev, are serving at the Black Sea Navy Base in Sevastopol, Crimea. Both fall in love with one beautiful girl Nelly, and their friendship suffers a first blow. Because she picks Muravyev, his friend Orlov struggles with an inferiority complex and becomes a secretive alcoholic. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, both friends are transferred to the Northern Fleet on the Polar Ocean. One day their sub is performing a routine training. A disturbed WWII mine slowly moves on a collision course with the sub. A mighty blast knocks down everyone inside the wrecked sub, 72 meters below the sea level. Then ensues a nerve-racking struggle for survival.
66The Spy 2012
Spring 1941. Center of Moscow. Duel of the two intelligence services turns more and more tense.
58Liars All 2013
On New Year's eve in London, a provocative game spins out of control and ends in murder, the true killer elusive amidst conflicting testimony and hidden motives.
47The Guy from Our Cemetery 2015
Twenty five years old Kolya starts to work as a cemetery night guard after moving to Moscow from province.
61Chernobyl: Zone of Exclusion 2019
In the anomalous zone of Chernobyl, under the protective sarcophagus of the fourth power unit, the Global Kintek Corporation is carrying out illegal construction. A special interstate commission is trying to prevent these plans, but right during a press conference, a group of unknown terrorists attack its leader. And none other than Pasha leads them - he once successfully fought with the Zone, but it seems that now the Zone itself has captured it. His four friends - Ana, Lyokha, Nastya and Gaucher - have no choice but to jump back into the old Volga and go to Pripyat to try to save Pasha and prevent a global catastrophe.
82Deadly Still 2018
A group of friends decide to spend a weekend together at a country house, but an unexpected accident forces them to stop at a strange and remote estate. In this abandoned and eerie place, a rare antique camera is discovered. Slowly the camera draws them into a mystical and tragic chain of events that none of them could have seen coming. Anyone who has their picture taken by the camera sees a photo revealing their death. Many of them lose their lives in excruciating ways, as they race to solve the mystery of the camera.
45The Ghost 2008
A novelist struggling with writer's block enlists the aid of an assassin for some inspiration -- fully unaware that he is being set up to take the blame for a murder.
69Selfie 2018
He was his absolute copy – his gestures, body language and jokes were so real, no one suspected the change. Bogdanov looked at the screen as if it was mirror. the double has taken over his tV-show, held meetings with his fans, lived with his women and had drinks with his friends. Bogdanov’s life and identity were erased in an instant. Popular, successful and cynical writer Bogdanov lost everything he has been working on for years building his career. As he clearly sees that the double is better and sincerer than he, he realizes the battle of his life is lost. the only one who wants to have real Bogdanov back is his daughter...
58Quiet Comes the Dawn 2019
Female protagonist’s brother dies under mysterious circumstances. Extremely vivid nightmares begin to haunt her and she decides to turn to the Institute of somnology for help. Along with other patients, they are induced into a «collective lucid dream». But at the dawn, they will awake to a completely different reality that is more horrifying than any nightmare.
54Locust 2014
The innocent summer affair began as a love story between two young people. Lera and Artem could not break it off, as well as they didn`t have enough of faith, patience and desire to overcome all the obstacles on their life path. The Locust Generation wants to have all at once. The Locust generation will sweep everything on its way. The affair began as a naive young love and passion will turn into a series of bloody assassinations.
61Yulenka 2009
A university professor, who wants to slow down a little, moves with his wife and daughter, from the big city to a small town and starts a new job as a teacher in a girls' gymnasium. Something weird is happening with the class, they seem to hide a secret. As it turns out, these girls don't play with dolls...
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