This Year’s Most Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Thriller is Now Streaming

Lethal choreography takes center stage on streaming platforms this week. The John Wick universe expands with the bloody debut of Ballerina on HBO Max. Meanwhile, Prime Video introduces Pretty Lethal, where a Los Angeles dance company is taken captive by a syndicate led by a formidable former prima ballerina, portrayed by Uma Thurman.

On Netflix, director Tom Gormican delivers a self-aware reimagining of the 1997 creature feature Anaconda, blending creature-based thrills with meta-commentary. For those seeking multitasking-friendly entertainment, Hulu offers Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice; director BenDavid Grabinski ensures the time-travel mechanics are explained thoroughly enough to follow while handling daily chores.

Explore our comprehensive guide to the week’s most significant digital premieres, covering high-profile streaming debuts and the latest VOD releases.

New on Netflix

Anaconda

• Genre: Action Comedy
• Runtime: 1h 39m
• Director: Tom Gormican
• Cast: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn

This meta-reboot follows a group of lifelong friends attempting to realize their childhood ambition: filming a remake of the classic Anaconda. Their journey into the Amazon takes a dangerous turn when they encounter a terrifyingly real predator, though they receive unexpected assistance from original franchise star Ice Cube.

Sisu: Road to Revenge

• Genre: Action
• Runtime: 1h 29m
• Director: Jalmari Helander
• Cast: Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake, Stephen Lang

In this sequel to the 2022 hit Sisu, battle-hardened Finnish commander Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) goes head-to-head with ruthless Red Army officer Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang). While attempting to relocate his home across the Soviet-occupied border, Aatami triggers a series of violent, high-stakes confrontations.

“Road to Revenge embraces a distinctive, poker-faced absurdity. Much of this stems from the astronomical level of physical punishment Aatami survives without yielding. The film explores ‘Sisu,’ a Finnish concept of unbreakable resolve, as he utilizes brutal ingenuity to dismantle a significantly better-equipped force.”

New on HBO Max

Ballerina

• Genre: Action Thriller
• Runtime: 2h 05m
• Director: Len Wiseman
• Cast: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne

Chronologically situated between the third and fourth John Wick films, Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve, an assassin fueled by a singular need for retribution. Her path eventually intersects with Wick (Keanu Reeves) as she navigates the stylish, high-stakes underworld of the Continental’s most dangerous affiliates.

“While the narrative serves primarily as a framework for the action, the film delivers sequences that rival the franchise’s most ambitious work. Once the momentum builds, the choreography is breathtaking, solidifying Eve’s place in this brutal universe.”

New on Hulu

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice

• Genre: Sci-Fi Action Comedy
• Runtime: 1h 47m
• Director: BenDavid Grabinski
• Cast: Vince Vaughn, James Marsden, Eiza González

Vince Vaughn plays Nick, a criminal who utilizes time travel to prevent the death of his partner, Mike (James Marsden). The mission is complicated by Nick’s own past self, who originally orchestrated Mike’s demise. The film offers a streamlined, comedic take on the temporal mechanics seen in Rian Johnson’s Looper.

New on Paramount Plus

Primate

• Genre: Horror
• Runtime: 1h 29m
• Director: Johannes Roberts
• Cast: Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Victoria Wyant

Channeling the spirit of Cujo but with a simian twist, Primate follows a college student’s Hawaiian vacation that descends into chaos. When the family’s pet chimpanzee contracts a violent strain of rabies, the idyllic getaway becomes a fight for survival against a highly agile predator.

New on Peacock

Bambi: The Reckoning

• Genre: Horror
• Runtime: 1h 21m
• Director: Dan Allen
• Cast: Roxanne McKee, Tom Mulheron, Nicola Wright

From the creative team that reimagined Winnie-the-Pooh comes a dark transformation of another childhood icon. In this version, Bambi is a mutated force of nature stalking a family and a group of hunters in a forest riddled with unnatural terrors.

New on Prime Video

Mercy

• Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller
• Runtime: 1h 40m
• Director: Timur Bekmambetov
• Cast: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis

Detective Christopher Raven (Chris Pratt) finds himself on the wrong side of the law he once upheld. Facing an AI-driven court system, he has mere minutes to prove his innocence to a digital judge (Rebecca Ferguson) or face immediate execution in this high-concept dystopian thriller.

Pretty Lethal

• Genre: Action Thriller
• Runtime: 1h 28m
• Director: Vicky Jewson
• Cast: Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds

Stranded in the Hungarian wilderness, a group of competitive dancers seeks shelter at a remote estate. They soon discover their host, a legendary ballerina (Uma Thurman), heads a dangerous criminal organization, forcing the troupe to use their athleticism to survive.

New on Shudder

The Mortuary Assistant

• Genre: Supernatural Horror
• Runtime: 1h 31m
• Director: Jeremiah Kipp
• Cast: Willa Holland, Paul Sparks

Based on the cult-favorite indie game, this adaptation follows Rebecca Owens as she begins her apprenticeship at a mortuary. Her first night shift turns into a psychological nightmare as she confronts demonic entities that feed on her deepest traumas.

New on The Criterion Channel

Resurrection

• Genre: Science Fiction
• Runtime: 2h 36m
• Director: Bi Gan
• Cast: Jackson Yee, Shu Qi, Mark Chao

Bi Gan presents a visually stunning odyssey set in a future where humanity has sacrificed dreaming for eternal life. A wandering entity known as the Deliriant seeks a way back into the subconscious by traversing a century of cinematic history.

New to Rent (VOD)

Goat

• Genre: Animated Sports Comedy
• Runtime: 1h 40m
• Director: Tyree Dillihay
• Cast: Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre

Underdog Will Harris dreams of roarball stardom despite his diminutive stature. Joining a struggling franchise, he must unite a dysfunctional team to break a decade-long losing streak in this vibrant animated feature.

How to Make a Killing

• Genre: Black Comedy Thriller
• Runtime: 1h 45m
• Director: John Patton Ford
• Cast: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick

Glen Powell stars as a man determined to reclaim his family’s lost wealth. Rather than wait for an inheritance, he adopts a more proactive—and lethal—approach to eliminate his relatives and secure his place in the high-stakes world of finance.

Redux Redux

• Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller
• Runtime: 1h 49m
• Directors: Kevin and Matthew McManus
• Cast: Michaela McManus, Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm

A grieving mother utilizes multiverse-spanning technology to repeatedly hunt her daughter’s killer across different realities. Her cycle of vengeance is altered when she encounters a teenager with her own score to settle.

Send Help

• Genre: Survival Horror
• Runtime: 1h 53m
• Director: Sam Raimi
• Cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert

In this Sam Raimi-helmed survival tale, an office manager and her difficult boss are the sole survivors of a plane crash in the Pacific. To survive the elements and each other, they must forge an unlikely alliance in a desperate struggle for rescue.

Sirât

• Genre: Thriller
• Runtime: 1h 54m
• Director: Óliver Laxe
• Cast: Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona, Richard Bellamy

A father and son trek into the Moroccan desert following the trail of a missing family member last seen at a remote celebration. Their search for answers leads them into an unforgiving landscape where the environment is as dangerous as the secrets they uncover.

Wardriver

• Genre: Crime Thriller
• Runtime: 1h 33m
• Director: Rebecca Thomas
• Cast: Dane DeHaan, Sasha Calle, William Belleau

Dane DeHaan plays a brilliant hacker coerced into a digital heist against an innocent target. Upon discovering the funds belong to a lethal underworld syndicate, he pivots to protect the victim, sparking a high-stakes game of cat and mouse.

 

Source: Polygon