Latest news with #RearWindow
Tom's Guide
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 best single-location thrillers on Netflix — stream these gripping movies now
I love a good thriller movie, but the only thing I love more than a compelling thriller is one that takes place entirely within one setting. There's something about the claustrophobic nature of a single location that reels me in every single time. Single-location movies are among my favorite subgenres, and fortunately, Netflix has a pretty great selection of flicks that take place primarily in the same setting. Yes, some of my picks below open and/or close in a different place, but for the most part, all the action is contained to just the one spot, whether that's a plush holiday home or a futuristic tower block prison. So, if you also have a love for movies confined to just one setting, here are the best single-location thrillers that you can watch on Netflix right now. 'Gerald's Game' is a rare psychological thriller that has forced me to avert my eyes from the screen as one truly wince-inducing moment had me feeling a little queasy. To dive into specifics would encroach on spoiler territory, but I'll just say ... maybe don't munch on snacks during this one. Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, it comes from Mike Flanagan, a real titan in the horror genre after his Netflix series 'The Haunting of Hill House,' 'Midnight Mass' and 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' it's a tense exploration of one womens drive to survive. Carla Gugino plays Jessie, a frustrated wife looking to spice up her struggling marriage by bringing some spice into the bedroom. Only her attempts to inject some excitement result in her being stuck handcuffed to a bed in an isolated holiday house with no means of escape. What follows is a desperate attempt to free herself, both literally and metaphorically, as the flick explores not just her dire present circumstances but also her past trauma and the demons that have haunted her whole life. Watch "Gerald's Game" on Netflix now In many ways, 'Rear Window' is the single-location thriller. This Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece has been gripping audiences for more than 70 years, and while decades have passed since it originally hit theaters, none of its potency has been lost. Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, it centers on a photojournalist who is cooped up in his sweltering apartment after breaking his leg. He passes time by watching his neighbors out of a large window, but soon becomes convinced that something sinister is afoot and that the man across the courtyard from him is a murderer. Combining paranoia with eager curiosity, 'Rear Window' plays on the fact that we often only see a snapshot of other people's lives, and that hiding behind closed curtains can be some pretty dark secrets. It all ratchets up to a suspenseful ending and is often cited as one of the best movies ever made. How is this for a hooky premise for a sci-fi thriller: 50 people awaken in a dark room, standing in several large concentric circles. Every two minutes, one of them randomly dies. Soon, the remaining survivors realize they can select who is killed, and now each participant in this deadly game must make a desperate case for why they shouldn't be chosen as the next victim. 'Circle' is extremely minimalistic. The setting is a single dark room with ominous red lights on the floor, and a large white skylight overhead (which somehow manages to make bright light feel threatening). The focus is very much on increasingly erratic and hostile conversations. Kudos to the movie's creatives for managing to make such a simple premise hold your attention for 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the ending is more than a little outlandish. It's a shame 'Circle' ends on a disappointing bum note. But, still, the journey to get there is never less than engaging. Watch "Circle" on Netflix now I've long ranked 'Windfall' as one of Netflix's most overlooked original movies, so I'm thrilled to have another chance to highlight it here. Released in 2022, it stars Jesse Plemons, Jason Segel and Lilly Collins, and mixes effective crime thrills with biting dark comedy. Segel plays a desperate man, who breaks into the vacation home of a wealthy CEO (Plemons) only to get in way over his head when the unnamed CEO and his wife (Collins) arrive for a relaxing trip. Forced to take them hostage and demand a ransom in exchange for their freedom, events spiral out of control as the burglar tries to keep things under his control, and his motives are revealed. The chemistry between the three leads is just right in 'Windfall,' and the movie gets great mileage out of its habit of making you question who the true villains and victims of the piece are. Plus, its comedic streak is remarkably effective, but not so overbearing as to take away from the drama. Watch "Windfall" on Netflix now 'The Platform' (and its sequel, "The Platform 2") are excellent dystopian thrillers that center on a tower block prison where inmates are paired up across dozens of individual vertical levels and fed each day via a slowly descending concrete platform. The people at the top enjoy a lush banquet, while those towards the bottom are lucky if there's even scraps left by the time it reaches them. OK, so the political allegory here isn't exactly subtle. And frankly, lacking subtlety is a sort of running theme in 'The Platform,' but the bones of the movie are very solid, and watching protagonist Goreng (Iván Massagué) attempt to survive this nightmare prison is gripping. This is another one where you definitely won't want to be eating while watching. The scenes of inmates on the lower floors having to pick the remaining morsels of already chewed-up chicken bones and lick dirty plates clean just for meager sustenance are pretty revolting. Watch "The Platform" on Netflix now
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Good Burger,' ‘Hairspray' and ‘Rear Window' Among Vidiots Summer Matinee Series – Film News in Brief
Movie Den, a teen-centric matinee repertory series held in the MUBI microcinema, will run June 16 through August 27 at Vidiots. With programming focused on 'Engaging, delighting, and inspiring the next generation of film lovers,' screenings offered as part of the series include 'Rear Window,' 'Good Burger,' 'The Half of It' and 'Hairspray' (1988). 'As a Mom to teens, and a member of a community that has been through so much this year, it was important to me and our team, that we try to make what we know will be a hard Summer for so many a little easier by expanding programming with an intention to get us out of the house, off devices, and reconnected,' said Vidiots programming director Amanda Salazar. 'When I was a teenager, the movies were my sanctuary, and our kids (and their grown-ups) need that now more than ever. We can't wait to welcome you all to Movie Den.' More from Variety Criterion Collection's Mobile Closet Comes to Los Angeles Vidiots Sets Official Opening for New Theater, Bar and Video Store in June Vidiots Still Planning Eagle Rock Theater Opening as City Hearing Looms Movie Den screenings will be offered Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at 1PM, with tickets priced at $2 and free popcorn. Parallel programming offering teens 'Expanded opportunities to learn about Vidiots' will be offered before and after screenings. Movie Den is supported by Vidiots Founding Members MUBI and Golden Globe Foundation. A full schedule and ticketing information can be found at Gianna Toboni's film 'Just Kids' has been selected to receive a $25,000 grant from Subject Matter at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. Subject Matter has provided funds and resources for documentary films that highlight social issues and support nonprofits tackling featured projects since its launch in 2022. The nonprofit has awarded $484,000 in grants to twelve social issue documentaries, with 'Just Kids' being its latest project added to its roster. 'Just Kids' is a film that examines the nationwide bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender individuals. The film follows three families navigating the bans and illustrates how the laws and rhetoric surrounding the social issue have become politicized by targeting marginalized communities. Subject Matter will also award a corresponding $25,000 grant to the Campaign for Southern Equality's Trans Youth Emergency Project. The Campaign for Southern Equality provides logistical and financial support, as well as individual patient navigation services to identify unimpacted healthcare providers and emergency grants for travel expenses through their Trans Youth Emergency Project. Additionally, Subject Matter will further support their initiatives by collaborating with the Tribeca Film Festival to raise additional funding for the LGBTQ+ organization. Subject Matter will be onsite at the Tribeca Film Festival screenings for 'Just Kids,' rallying audiences to join them in donating to the Campaign for Southern Equality's Trans Youth Emergency Project. The non-profit organization will match donations up to $5,000. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
One Of The Best Thrillers Ever Made Just Landed On Netflix
Rear Window If you're looking for something great to watch, sometimes it's best to look to the classics. There are plenty of top-notch movies being made these days, but few promise to withstand the test of time. Fortunately, a number of really terrific films just dropped on Netflix and one of these in particular qualifies as one of the most brilliant thrillers of all time. Rear Window is often considered Alfred Hitchcock's best movie, though it ranks second in terms of Rotten Tomatoes scores, behind the much less-known Shadow Of A Doubt from 1943, one of the storied director's earliest films and Hitchcock's personal favorite. As far as I'm concerned, the 1954 thriller is the best of the bunch – up there with Vertigo and North By Northwest – a tightly-paced, incredibly intense movie that would work just as well as a theatrical production as a film thanks to its confined set and small cast. Few films reach this level of suspense, though it's far from the type of action-thrillers most modern audiences are accustomed to these days. The story follows photojournalist L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies, played by James Stewart, as he recuperates with a broken leg in his Greenwich Village apartment. Jeff is a bit of a voyeur or peeping Tom, though not in a perverted way. There's an oppressive summer heat wave and he's confined to his apartment, with the occasional visit of his middle-aged nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his pretty socialite girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly). He's bored with nothing to do, so he watches his neighbors go about their lives. The neighbors are entertaining enough. One is a professional dancer. Another is a songwriter with writer's block. An old spinster puts on elaborately staged, and entirely fake, date nights with her pretend suitors. He refers to her as Miss Lonely-Hearts. But one couple in particular stands out: A traveling costume jewelry salesman, Lars Thorwald, and his nagging, bedridden wife. One night, Jeff hears a woman scream and notices some very suspicious activity in the Thorwald apartment. When Mrs. Thorwald is mysteriously missing the next day, Jeff begins to suspect foul play. With the help of Stella, he begins investigating the woman's disappearance. I won't spoil it any further. Suffice to say, what follows is a masterclass in filmmaking and the art of suspense, not to mention a brilliant study of voyeurism and our own morbid curiosity. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes was based on the 1942 short story It Had To Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich. The film was shot at stage 17 at Paramount Studios, with a massive set created to replicate the Greenwich Village courtyard and building. Despite the relatively limited setting, this was the largest set of its kind at Paramount at the time. The set designers even included a complex drainage system to accommodate the rain scenes. The lighting design was set up to portray an entire day and night cycle. The film uses primarily diegetic music – music characters can hear in the film also – rather than a traditional score. Jeff hears music drifting in from other apartments, including the piano from the songwriter's apartment and songs by Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Leonard Bernstein. Anyone interested in filmmaking or who just wants to enjoy an intense, suspenseful drama with some of the greatest actors of the era, should absolutely check this one out on Netflix as soon as possible. It's the perfect summer thriller. Even better, several other Alfred Hitchcock movies have also just landed on the streaming service, including Vertigo and The Birds. For all the new TV shows, movies and Netflix Original landing on Netflix in June, check out my streaming guide right here.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
One Of The Best Thrillers Ever Made Time Just Landed On Netflix
Rear Window If you're looking for something great to watch, sometimes it's best to look to the classics. There are plenty of top-notch movies being made these days, but few promise to withstand the test of time. Fortunately, a number of really terrific films just dropped on Netflix and one of these in particular qualifies as one of the most brilliant thrillers of all time. Rear Window is often considered Alfred Hitchcock's best movie, though it ranks second in terms of Rotten Tomatoes scores, behind the much less-known Shadow Of A Doubt from 1943, one of the storied director's earliest films and Hitchcock's personal favorite. As far as I'm concerned, the 1954 thriller is the best of the bunch – up there with Vertigo and North By Northwest – a tightly-paced, incredibly intense movie that would work just as well as a theatrical production as a film thanks to its confined set and small cast. Few films reach this level of suspense, though it's far from the type of action-thrillers most modern audiences are accustomed to these days. The story follows photojournalist L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies, played by James Stewart, as he recuperates with a broken leg in his Greenwich Village apartment. Jeff is a bit of a voyeur or peeping Tom, though not in a perverted way. There's an oppressive summer heat wave and he's confined to his apartment, with the occasional visit of his middle-aged nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his pretty socialite girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly). He's bored with nothing to do, so he watches his neighbors go about their lives. The neighbors are entertaining enough. One is a professional dancer. Another is a songwriter with writer's block. An old spinster puts on elaborately staged, and entirely fake, date nights with her pretend suitors. He refers to her as Miss Lonely-Hearts. But one couple in particular stands out: A traveling costume jewelry salesman, Lars Thorwald, and his nagging, bedridden wife. One night, Jeff hears a woman scream and notices some very suspicious activity in the Thorwald apartment. When Mrs. Thorwald is mysteriously missing the next day, Jeff begins to suspect foul play. With the help of Stella, he begins investigating the woman's disappearance. I won't spoil it any further. Suffice to say, what follows is a masterclass in filmmaking and the art of suspense, not to mention a brilliant study of voyeurism and our own morbid curiosity. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes was based on the 1942 short story It Had To Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich. The film was shot at stage 17 at Paramount Studios, with a massive set created to replicate the Greenwich Village courtyard and building. Despite the relatively limited setting, this was the largest set of its kind at Paramount at the time. The set designers even included a complex drainage system to accommodate the rain scenes. The lighting design was set up to portray an entire day and night cycle. The film uses primarily diegetic music – music characters can hear in the film also – rather than a traditional score. Jeff hears music drifting in from other apartments, including the piano from the songwriter's apartment and songs by Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Leonard Bernstein. Anyone interested in filmmaking or who just wants to enjoy an intense, suspenseful drama with some of the greatest actors of the era, should absolutely check this one out on Netflix as soon as possible. It's the perfect summer thriller. Even better, several other Alfred Hitchcock movies have also just landed on the streaming service, including Vertigo and The Birds. For all the new TV shows, movies and Netflix Original landing on Netflix in June, check out my streaming guide right here.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
The best movies coming to Netflix in June, from Hitchcock classics to a doc on the OceanGate disaster
Whether it's films from the Master of Suspense or must-watch documentaries, there are a lot of movies to stream on Netflix in June. Six Alfred Hitchcock classics (June 1) A half-dozen of Hitchcock's titles are available on the streamer. These include some of the works that would solidify him as the Master of Suspense, like "The Birds," "Rear Window," and "Vertigo." If you've never seen a Hitchcock movie or need a refresher on his mastery, this is a perfect way to start. Titles available: "The Birds" "Family Plot" "Frenzy" "The Man Who Knew Too Much" "Rear Window" "Vertigo" "Barbarian" (June 1) If Hitchcock movies don't deliver the chills you crave, check out Zach Cregger's acclaimed horror, which follows a young woman's twisted journey when she realizes the Airbnb she booked is nothing like what it seems. "The Blues Brothers" (June 1) This beloved musical comedy is based on the characters created by original "SNL" cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Director John Landis crafts an entertaining road trip movie as brothers Elwood (Aykroyd) and Jake (Belushi) Blues sing the blues, break hearts, and con their way across the country to fulfill their mission from God. "Focus" (June 1) Will Smith and Margot Robbie headline this clever dramedy, in which Smith plays a career con artist who takes an aspiring crook (Robbie) under his wing. They get romantically involved, which complicates things years later when the two reconnect on a high-stakes job. "The Great Outdoors" (June 1) With summer around the corner, it's a perfect time to watch this hit 1980s comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and John Candy as two dads who try to give their families a great vacation in very different ways. "Now You See Me" (June 1) Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Morgan Freeman star in this heist movie as a team of illusionists who use their sleight-of-hand skills to commit elaborate robberies. The sequel is also available to stream now. "The Town" (June 1) If you're looking for a more grounded heist movie, check out Ben Affleck 's beloved crime thriller in which he and Jeremy Renner lead a Boston-based bank robbing crew who put together one final score: robbing Fenway Park. "Us" (June 1) Jordan Peele's twisted horror stars Lupita Nyong'o as a woman who learns that she and her family are being hunted by doppelgängers who want to take over their lives. "Piece by Piece" (June 7) Pharrell Williams gets the biopic treatment, but in typical outside-the-box fashion for the multi-hyphenate, his life and career are recounted in Lego animation. "Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy" (June 10) On a November night in 2021, thousands watched Travis Scott perform at his own music festival, Astroworld. It ended horrifically with 10 dead and many wondering how an evening of joy could result in such terror. This documentary investigates the night, focusing on the survivors, paramedics, and security that were at the center of the crowd crush. "Titan: The OceanGate Disaster" (June 11) In 2023, a submersible known as Titan suddenly imploded while doing a deep-sea dive to the Titanic, killing all on board. Though at first many questioned how this could happen, over time, it was revealed just how unsafe the journey was. This documentary examines the bold vision of OceanGate founder Stockton Rush and why the trip was so dangerous.
