7 thrillers to watch if you liked Red Eye
Red Eye (2005) takes a simple premise—a woman trapped next to a stranger on a flight—and spins it into something sharp, tense, and deeply unsettling. Rachel McAdams plays Lisa, smart and composed, just trying to get home. Enter Cillian Murphy as Jackson, charming at first, then suddenly, horrifying. The entire film unfolds over a single flight, yet never loses momentum.
Director Wes Craven, best known for horror, keeps the suspense grounded and real, and that’s what made Red Eye stick. The film portrays the kind of fear that creeps in quietly, then takes over completely.
If you liked the tight suspense and psychological pressure of Red Eye, then here are seven thrillers that deliver the same jolt, with their own clever twists.
Non-Stop, Speed, and 5 other movies for fans who enjoyed Red Eye.
1) Non-Stop (2014)
Non-Stop (2014) throws Liam Neeson into yet another crisis—this time, mid-air. He plays Bill Marks, a US Air Marshal with a drinking problem and a phone full of threats. Soon passengers start dying as he gets a mysterious text demanding $150 million.
Much like Red Eye (2005), the action unfolds almost entirely on a plane, turning a confined space into a nerve-wracking maze of suspicion. Both films thrive on paranoia, sharp pacing, and that uneasy feeling that danger is just one row away. Fans of Red Eye appreciated the relentless suspense, and Non-Stop delivers that in spades.
2) Speed (1994)
Speed (1994) is pure adrenaline with a pulse-pounding premise: a city bus rigged to explode if it drops below 50 mph. Keanu Reeves plays Jack, the cop trying to outsmart the bomber, while Sandra Bullock’s Annie is suddenly forced behind the wheel. What follows is part action movie with tight streets, sharp turns, and zero room for error.
Like Red Eye (2005), it traps its characters in a moving vehicle and refuses to let the pressure ease. Both films thrive on momentum and smart, real-time problem-solving. The thrills aren’t just about explosions—they’re about decisions made in the moment. That’s what hooked fans. No frills, just speed, tension, and survival.
3) Flightplan (2005)
Flightplan (2005) dives straight into paranoia at 35,000 feet. Jodie Foster plays Kyle, a grieving mother who wakes mid-flight to find her young daughter missing—except no one on board remembers seeing the child at all. The twist? She helped design the plane. So every corridor, hatch, and compartment becomes part of the search.
Flightplan traps its tension in a claustrophobic space, turning a routine flight into a psychological minefield. Both films blur the line between fear and delusion, keeping viewers guessing until the final act. Fans of Red Eye appreciated the tight pacing and high-stakes mystery—Flightplan brings all that, with a deeper emotional undercurrent and a mother’s desperation driving the plot forward.
4) Disturbia (2007)
Disturbia (2007) is a suburban thriller with a modern edge. Shia LaBeouf plays Kale, a teenager under house arrest who starts spying on his neighbors out of boredom—until one of them starts looking a little too suspicious. The film is less about jump scares and more about creeping tension, the kind that builds with every blindsided glance.
Fans of Red Eye were drawn to the slow-burn suspense and sudden bursts of action. Disturbia taps into that same rhythm, just from behind a bedroom window.
5) The Guilty (2021)
The Guilty (2021) strips the thriller down to its bare essentials—a man, a headset, and a single room. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Joe, a demoted police officer working as a 911 operator. The entire film unfolds through phone calls, yet the tension never drops. Every voice on the line adds another layer to the puzzle.
Much like Red Eye (2005), it traps the lead in a confined space and builds suspense through urgency, not spectacle. Both films lean hard on performance and pacing, proving that a limited setting doesn’t mean limited stakes. Fans of Red Eye will recognize that same breathless anxiety—the kind that grips tight and doesn’t let go until it’s all over.
6) Phone Booth (2002)
Phone Booth (2002) places Colin Farrell inside a phone booth, while a sniper has him in their sights. He’s trapped, alone, and the sole barrier between survival and demise is the voice coming through the receiver. The movie progresses in real time, increasing the suspense with each passing minute. Like Red Eye (2005), it confines its characters in a limited area, with hazards waiting nearby.
The stakes seem urgent and intimate, and Farrell’s portrayal holds the audience in suspense. Enthusiasts of the thriller genre will identify the unyielding suspense that escalates, transforming Phone Booth into a gripping thriller.
7) Identity (2003)
Identity (2003) is a mind-bending thriller where nothing is what it seems. Ten strangers are trapped in a remote motel, and as the storm rages outside, they start getting picked off one by one. John Cusack plays a key role as the group tries to figure out who’s behind the killings. The film is a masterclass in tension with its confined setting and the slow burn of paranoia.
The atmosphere in Identity keeps you on edge, and just like Red Eye, it leaves you questioning what’s real and who can be trusted.
These seven films keep the tension high and the stakes even higher, just like Red Eye. Whether trapped in a plane or a phone booth, each one delivers the pulse-pounding suspense that thriller fans crave.
