August brought a strong mix of thrillers across Netflix, Prime Video, JioHotstar, ZEE5 and Apple TV, with stories ranging from murder investigations and revenge to psychological mysteries and alternate realities. If suspense is your favourite genre, these movies and shows offer plenty of dark secrets, dangerous cases and unpredictable situations.
15 Best Thrillers of August 2026 (Movies & Shows)
1. Babita Singh Reporting (Prime Video)
Rookie cop Babita “Baby” Singh deliberately lands herself a suspension so she can travel home for her sister-in-law’s baby shower. Her plans collapse when childhood friend Bansi is murdered on the very night she returns, pushing Babita to investigate the killing on her own. Following the clues soon exposes uncomfortable betrayals and secrets buried much closer to home than she expected.
2. Bandar (ZEE5)
Television actor Samar Mehra’s already struggling career falls apart after his former girlfriend accuses him of rape and the case explodes into a damaging media trial. While Samar is sent into a harsh and overcrowded prison, his sister tries to challenge a legal system that appears stacked against him. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and starring Bobby Deol, the film places its central character inside a brutal fight involving accusation, public judgment and justice.
3. Dark Matter Season 2 (Apple TV)
Jason Dessen’s journey through alternate realities is far from over, with Season 2 opening the door to new mysteries across different versions of existence. The choices he made while fighting his way back home now carry consequences of their own, forcing him into another dangerous reality-bending struggle. Joel Edgerton returns in the science-fiction survival thriller based on Blake Crouch’s novel.
4. Governor (Prime Video)
A Ramanan takes charge as RBI Governor at a time when India is facing a severe economic crisis in the 1990s. With the country moving towards financial collapse, he must find a way to stabilise the economy while facing resistance from powerful forces within the system. The political-economic thriller follows his fight to protect the nation when almost every institution seems to be working against him.
5. Alpha (Netflix)
Sita, played by Alia Bhatt, has been shaped into a deadly assassin without knowing the disturbing truth behind her unusual abilities. She later discovers that Colonel Fateh Singh Lakhawat, the man she grew up believing was her father, had kidnapped her as a child and used her in a secret Regenerative Serum Programme. Joining forces with her sister Durga, played by Sharvari, Sita sets out to expose her past and destroy Fateh’s criminal network while facing armed enemies, betrayals and dangerous missions.
6. Lanterns (JioHotstar)
Veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan and newly recruited John Stewart are brought together by a murder investigation taking place on Earth. What initially appears to be one criminal case gradually points towards a far more dangerous conspiracy. Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre lead the DC series alongside Kelly Macdonald, Poorna Jagannathan and Ulrich Thomsen.
7. Motor City (Prime Video & Apple TV)
In 1970s Detroit, factory worker John Miller becomes involved with a gangster’s girlfriend and is eventually framed for a crime he never committed. Years behind bars leave him with one clear purpose when he finally gets out: revenge against those responsible. Alan Ritchson stars alongside Ben Foster, Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber, Lionel Boyce and Amar Chadha-Patel.
8. Mousetrap (Netflix)
An isolated novelist’s life is stolen from him after a mysterious being known as the Rat takes over his identity. Inspired by a Korean folktale about a rat that can assume human form after eating fingernails, the story follows his desperate attempt to prove who he really is. To defeat the imposter, he is forced into an unlikely partnership with a tough loan shark and a determined detective.
9. Reacher Season 4 (Prime Video)
Jack Reacher notices a frightened woman during a subway ride in Philadelphia, and the encounter immediately tells him that something is wrong. His decision to get involved pulls him towards a much wider conspiracy connected to powerful people. Alan Ritchson returns as Reacher, with Maria Sten also reprising her role as Neagley.
10. The Last House (Netflix)
Riley, Jason and their children wake up one day to find their home completely sealed, with no visible way of getting outside. Days stretch into months as their supplies disappear and nobody can explain who or what has trapped them. The longer the family remains confined, the fight to survive begins putting both their relationships and their sanity under pressure.
11. The Secret Woman (Netflix)
Louise believes she has built a peaceful life on a Norwegian island until a stranger tells her that she is really Helene Söderberg, a Danish woman who vanished three years ago. The claim means she may have left behind not only another identity but also a husband and young son. Determined to understand who she really is, Louise travels to Denmark and begins uncovering secrets that completely change her understanding of the past.
12. The Whisper Man (Netflix)
Widowed crime writer Tom Kennedy is thrown into every parent’s nightmare when his eight-year-old son is abducted. His search brings him together with his estranged father, a former police officer, and DI Amanda Beck, who discover troubling similarities between the kidnapping and an old case involving the convicted serial killer called the Whisper Man. Adam Scott, Robert De Niro and Michelle Monaghan lead the thriller.
13. Uyir (JioHotstar)
Sub-Inspector Ajeeb Rahman has never fully escaped the trauma of his sister disappearing when they were children. When an unidentified woman’s body is recovered from an abandoned well, he and fellow officer Joy follow the investigation across state borders, only to find the case stirring memories Ajeeb has spent years suppressing. Roshan Mathew leads this Malayalam crime thriller where professional investigation and personal pain slowly collide.
14. Vadhandhi Season 2 (Prime Video)
Human remains found near a Jallikattu festival site bring an old disappearance back into focus when a bracelet connects the discovery to a local man, his girlfriend Nilavathi and his sister Venba. Investigator Moosa seeks answers from imprisoned suspect Mani, but doubts about the earlier evidence make him question whether the wrong person was punished. Challenging that possibility pulls Moosa into local politics, suspected cover-ups and a case that could put his own career at risk.
15. Women in Blue Season 2 (Apple TV)
Newly promoted lieutenant MarÃa is drawn into another difficult investigation after the body of a student activist is discovered. The case begins exposing links to Mexico’s political past and the 1968 student massacre, while a mysterious killer starts delivering a personal form of justice directly to the police. MarÃa and the Azules must uncover what connects the crimes before the situation becomes even more dangerous.
From personal murder cases and psychological traps to large conspiracies and reality-bending mysteries, these August movies and shows offer plenty of suspense for thriller fans.