From Rorschach to Bullet Train: Here’re the Best thriller movies and shows to grace the silver screen this year

The current year was certainly a good one for fans of all things thrilling and action packed. 2022 saw some of the finest thrillers, be it films or web shows, grace both the big screen as well as OTT. Across languages, viewers were treated to some of the best the genre has to offer, made all the more better with some exciting storylines to boot.

This year bore witness to thrillers who did not compromise on storytelling, offering a rich variety of stories that encompassed the genre- be it a story about bunch of assassins aboard one of the fastest trains in the world, one about a traumatised detective attempting to solve a baffling missing persons case, one involving a police officer investigating a series of heinous crimes, and, a tale of strange man who mysteriously arrives at a remote village looking for his missing wife, among others.

As we draw the curtain on yet another year, here are some of the best thrillers to hit the silver screen this year, which make for the perfect holiday watch.

Bullet Train

Coming off of a string of jobs gone horribly wrong, assassin Ladybug is adamant that his next job is carried out sans violence. When he is assigned a mission to retrieve a briefcase and finds himself on a bullet train surrounded by deadly assassins, he finds it more than a tad difficult to stick to his decision. The David Leitch directorial features an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt, along with Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny, and Sandra Bullock. The film can be streamed on Netflix.

Suzhal: The Vortex

When a small town is gearing up to celebrate the Mayana Kollai, the raid of the graveyard, festival, strange phenomena start to take place, including a factory fire and a teenager going missing. When the matter is investigated, the shocking truth comes out that similar things have happened before. The web series, starring R. Parthiban, Kathir, Aishwarya Rajesh and Sriya Reddy, is helmed by Pushkar-Gayatri and can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

Kooman

Despite being a skilled police officer, Giri finds himself constantly carrying grudges against those who he believes hurt his ego, using his position to get back at them. When he is humiliated by his new circle inspector, he devises an elaborate plan to get back at him, and soon finds himself with a dangerous addiction. The Jeethu Joseph directorial, starring Asif Ali, with Renji Panicker, Jaffar Idukki, Baiju, Baburaj, Riyas Narmakala and Hannah Reji Koshy, can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

The Peripheral

Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Gary Carr and Jack Reynor, The Peripheral is based on the 2014 book of the same name by William Gibson. The sci-fi series revolves around the story of Flynne Fisher, a skilled VR gamer. When she stands in for her brother to test a new VR game, she discovers that the game has a strange connection to alternate realities, and future timelines. The Amazon Prime Video series was created by Scott Smith.

Vikram

The second instalment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), the film sees Kamal Haasan reprise his role as the titular character, who first made his appearance in the 1986 film Vikram. The 2022 film follows Agent Vikram as he investigates the murders of narcotics officers, while also on the tale of a feared narcotic dealer who is suspected to be the murderer. The film, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, can be streamed on ZEE5 and Disney+ Hotstar.

Delhi Crime season 2

The second season of Delhi Crime sees Shefali Shah and Rasika Dugal reprise their roles from the first season. The second season of the series follows DCP Vartika(Shah) as she investigates a string of violent crimes in the city perpetuated against elderly citizens. The series, which can be streamed on Netflix, was also renewed for a third season.

HIT: The First Case

Starring Rajkummar Rao and Sanya Malhotra, the Sailesh Kolanu directorial is the Hindi remake of Kolanu’s 2020 Telugu film of the same name. The film follows the story of Vikram, a skilled, yet troubled police officer suffering from PTSD, who investigates a perplexing case involving a missing girl. The film is available on Netflix.

Vadandhi

A woman found dead on the site of a film shoot is mistaken to be the lead actress of the movie, until the real actress turns up. Amidst the confusion, a skilled inspector is called in to investigate. The series stars SJ Suryah, Laila, Sanjana, Nasser, Smruthi Venkat and Vivek Prasanna, and can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

HIT: The Second Case

The film is the standalone sequel to Sailesh Kolanu’s 2020 Telugu film, HIT: The First Case. Starring Adivi Sesh, Meenakshi Chaudhary and Rao Ramesh, HIT: The Second Case follows the story of Krishna Dev a skilled, no nonsense cop. When he investigates the murder case of a bar worker, he finds himself facing off against one the smartest criminals he ever encountered in his career.

Rorschach

Directed by Nissam Basheer, Rorschach follows the story of Luke Anthony, who frantically approaches a police station claiming that his wife has gone missing, after the two were in an accident. Despite the police giving up after there is no sign of the woman, Luke perseveres, and his presence starts to create ripples in the small town. The film, which stars Mammootty, Sharafudheen, Jagadish, Grace Antony, Bindu Panicker, Kottayam Nazeer, Sanju Sivram and Asif Ali, can be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.