8 Best Thrillers on Peacock Right Now (January 2026): ‘Bugonia’ and More

Peacock has a great selection of movies, and that’s especially true in January.

The streamer has added a slew of great titles, from new releases like Black Phone 2 starring Ethan Hawke to old favorites like The Hunger Games trilogy.

This month, Watch With Us is highlighting some new-to-Peacock thrillers that are worth your time.

Whether you choose to watch Bugonia with Emma Stone, the real-life thriller Changeling or the Oscar-winning Misery, you’re guaranteed to have a good time and leave shaken — and maybe a little stirred.

‘Bugonia’ (2025)

It’s hard to classify a movie as weird as Bugonia, but it has enough suspenseful moments to qualify as a thriller. It’s also one of 2025’s best movies, a sly satire on conspiracy theory culture and — possibly — the end of humankind.

Teddy Gantz (Jesse Plemons) is convinced aliens are plotting to eradicate humanity. He’s so sure of his theory that he kidnaps Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), a well-dressed pharmaceutical CEO, because he believes she’s an alien who is slowly poisoning humanity. Along with his cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis), Teddy shaves Michelle’s head, ties her up and interrogates her about her plans for Earth’s future. She’s naturally scared but humors him until she can come up with a plan to escape. The only hitch? Teddy has done this before, and he’s unfortunately very good at it.

It would be a crime to share anything else about Bugonia, which skillfully reveals its many secrets with intelligence and dark humor. Michelle’s plight is genuinely suspenseful, and the film’s twisty narrative will keep you guessing until the last minute. Stone’s in fine form as always, but it’s Plemons who makes the most lasting impression as a seemingly sane man who needs to believe in a far-out theory to justify his many failures.

‘Changeling’ (2008)

Truth is stranger than fiction, and it doesn’t get much stranger than what happened to Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie). In 1928 Los Angeles, single mom Christine is frantic after her 9-year-old son, Walter (Gaitlin Griffith), goes missing. He’s eventually found by the cops, but after he returns home Christine realizes something is terribly wrong — he’s not her son! The panicked mom tells several doctors and the police, but no one believes her and she’s eventually committed to a mental institution. Is Christine right? Or has she truly lost her sanity?

Director Clint Eastwood milks this amazing real-life scenario for all its worth, but he never makes Christine a two-dimensional character. She’s adamant she’s right and wants to find out what really happened to her son — and why the cops would want her to raise a child who isn’t her own. Jolie received an Oscar nomination for her performance, and it’s one of her best — committed, emotional and always convincing. It makes you wish she played more roles like this one.

‘Misery’ (1990)

Stephen King is the master of horror, but he also writes a pretty good thriller, too, and one of his best is Misery, which was adapted into a terrific 1990 movie by the late director Rob Reiner. When bestselling romance author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) crashes his car in the snowy Colorado wilderness, he’s saved by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who turns out to be his No. 1 fan. Annie is attentive and caring, but when she finds out Paul intends to kill off her favorite character, Misery, she reveals a darker side that isn’t so nice.

Misery is a claustrophobic thriller that concentrates on a battle of wills between Annie and Paul. With limited mobility and resources, Paul has to somehow find a way out of a cabin that’s miles from civilization, while Annie has to convince Paul to write a new book “saving” Misery or else she will kill him. The movie’s bloody climax is memorable and unsettling — you’ll never look at an iron doorstep the same way ever again.

‘Inside’ (2023)

Nemo (Willem Dafoe) is an art thief who is good at what he does, but he gets more than he bargains for when he breaks into a high-rise Manhattan penthouse to steal some expensive paintings. Just before he is about to leave, the apartment’s security system seals the apartment, effectively imprisoning him. With no way to contact the outside world without incriminating himself, Nemo will have to find a way out of his luxury jail before he’s discovered.

Inside is a different kind of thriller in that the hero’s main enemy is his location. Nemo’s battle is with four walls and a state-of-the-art security system that won’t let him out. As the film goes on, Nemo’s desperation mounts as his food runs out and water becomes scarce. You’re left guessing not whether Nemo will be captured, but rather if he’ll make it out alive at all.

Inside is streaming on Peacock.

‘Honey Don’t!’ (2025)

Honey O’Donahue (Qualley) is a small-town private eye who investigates a series of bizarre deaths that all seem to be linked to a suspicious church. When Honey is called to the scene of a car accident, she realizes that the victim was a prospective client who had called her that same day. Honey discovers that the victim, Mia, was a member of the Four-Way Temple led by the charismatic Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans), and her continued investigation leads her down a dark and dangerous path involving drug deals and dead bodies.

This neo-noir black comedy comes from one half of the Coen brothers directing duo, Ethan Coen, and leans heavily into the brothers’ known wheelhouse of combining gripping crime narratives with wacky, even slapstick humor. Honey Don’t! received praise from critics for its performances and world-building, finding that its consistent gags and silliness often made up for its lackadaisical narrative. Still, Qualley’s performance was noted as a standout and well worth the watch.

Honey Don’t! is streaming on Peacock.

‘Sicario’ (2015)

Moralistic FBI agent Kate Mercer (Emily Blunt) rises through the ranks of her stereotypically patriarchal profession and receives an important assignment. She is assigned by a mysterious government official (Josh Brolin) to join a task force to bring down a ruthless and powerful Mexican drug cartel. Working alongside the enigmatic Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), Kate’s ideals are tested, and the lines between good and evil are blurred as she descends into the crime and chaos of the US-Mexican drug trade.

Masterful direction from Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and breathtaking cinematography from Roger Deakins come together to create an unflinching portrait of the gray area of human morality and the war on drugs. In addition to being a wonderfully directed and stylized film, Sicario’s narrative is taut and completely engrossing, further elevated by superb performances from the entire cast. At the 88th Academy Awards, the film received nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Sound Editing.

Sicario is streaming on Peacock.

‘Borderline’ (2025)

Sofia Minor (Samara Weaving) is a pop star with a major problem — she has an obsessed fan, Paul Duerson (Ray Nicholson), who thinks they are in love. After an initial attempt to establish contact lands him in prison, Paul escapes and, with the help of fellow inmate Penny (Alba Baptiste), breaks into Sofia’s mansion to profess his love for her. But Paul’s best-laid plans come undone as Sofia teams up with a security guard (Eric Dane) eager for revenge to stop Paul’s stalking once and for all.

While Borderline’s plot is a standard psycho stalker story that Fatal Attraction perfected nearly four decades ago, what elevates the movie is the performances of the two leads. As Sofia, Weaving adds yet another formidable female to her scream queen resume, while Nicholson shows a talent for lunacy that he must have inherited from his famous father, Jack. He has a gift for playing men with madness that isn’t too far off from The Shining’s Jack Torrance.

Borderline is streaming on Peacock.

‘Memento’ (2000)

Before Christopher Nolan made his name directing the Dark Knight trilogy, his calling card in Hollywood was Memento. For his first trick, Nolan shows audiences the ending of Memento before they realize what it means. Then he lets the story unfold in two parallel narratives before catching up with the conclusion.

The film revolves around Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man who lost his wife and his ability to make new long-term memories due to a brutal attack. Now, Leonard’s memories reset nearly every ten minutes, and he’s not sure if he can trust the people around him, including Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano). Everyone seems to take advantage of Leonard’s condition, including Leonard himself.

Memento is streaming on Peacock.

Led by Senior Editor and experienced critic Jason Struss, Watch With Us’ team of writers and editors sees almost every movie and TV show from the distant past to the present to determine what’s worth your time and money. Our countless hours of multimedia consumption — combined with years of experience in the entertainment industry — help us determine the best movies and TV shows you should be streaming right now. 
 
To be considered “the best,” these films and series can be visually engaging, intellectually stimulating or simply just fun to watch, but the one trait they must have is that they are all, in some way, entertaining. We then check which platform they are streaming on and how you can access them as a subscriber. No algorithm nonsense or paid endorsements here — our recommendations are based purely on our love and interest for the films and shows we love.