01 Three young idealists break into rich people's homes to rearrange the furniture, not to steal.
Directed by Hans Weingartner · 2h 07m · Rated R
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video
10 Best German Thrillers and Crime Films
By Vlad Zakh · February 2, 2026
Germany Action intensethought provoking
What interests German thrillers is how an ordinary system, a school, a police unit, a psychology experiment, tips over into cruelty. The tension is colder and more clinical than in most crime cinema. The Edukators has three idealists rearranging rich people’s furniture rather than stealing it, Barbara follows an exiled East German doctor plotting her escape west, and The Silence revives a decades-old child murder when the crime is repeated. Phoenix, Das Experiment, The Wave, Requiem, In the Fade, Victoria and Perfume round out the list.
01 
02 An East German doctor, exiled to the provinces, plans a secret escape to the West.
Directed by Christian Petzold · 1h 45m
Where to watch
Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Rent: JustWatch TV, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
03 A concentration camp survivor, reconstructed by surgery, tests whether her husband recognises her.
Directed by Christian Petzold · 1h 38m · Rated PG-13
Where to watch
Stream: Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Sundance Now, MUBI Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel · Rent: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store, BFI Player · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store
Rent: JustWatch TV, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
04 A decades-old unsolved child murder resurfaces when the crime is repeated.
Directed by Baran bo Odar · 1h 58m
Where to watch
Stream: fuboTV · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
05 A young woman's worsening seizures are treated as demonic possession instead of illness.
Directed by Hans-Christian Schmid · 1h 32m
Where to watch
Stream: Sooner Amazon Channel
06 A widow seeks justice, then revenge, after a neo-Nazi bombing kills her husband and son.
Directed by Fatih Akin · 1h 46m · Rated R
Where to watch
Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Dox Amazon Channel, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Stream: Curzon Amazon Channel · Rent: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Curzon Home Cinema, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Sky Store, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, FlixFling, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fetch TV
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
07 A young Spanish woman's chance encounter with four Berlin locals spirals into an increasingly dangerous night.
Directed by Sebastian Schipper · 2h 18m · Rated NR
Where to watch
Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Curzon Home Cinema, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Sky Store, YouTube
Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: Stan · Rent: JustWatch TV, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fetch TV · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fetch TV
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
08 A man with a perfect sense of smell commits murder chasing the ideal human scent.
Directed by Tom Tykwer · 2h 27m · Rated R
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, CosmoGo, YouTube, Amazon Video
Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
Stream: Lionsgate Play, Lionsgate Play Apple TV Channel, Lionsgate Play Amazon Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
09 A teacher's classroom experiment in authoritarianism gets out of his students' control fast.
Directed by Dennis Gansel · 1h 47m
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store
Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video
10 A prison-simulation study for cash spirals into real abuse within days.
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel · 2h 00m
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.
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