July is often the hottest month of the year, but the weather outside doesn’t compare with some of the blazing thrillers that are set to hit streamers Hulu, Tubi and Amazon Prime Video in July 2025.
Yellowstone fans will get a kick out of seeing Kevin Costner have steamy sex in a limo in No Way Out.
More serious folks will marvel at Nicole Kidman in Destroyer, a cop thriller that will make you think twice about staging a bank robbery.
And it doesn’t get much hotter than in Flight of the Phoenix, which strands its all-male cast in the scorching Gobi Desert.
‘Flight of the Phoenix’ (2004) – Hulu
When an oil rig crew needs to be rescued in Mongolia, Captain Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid) flies in to save them. But when a major dust storm causes the plane to crash in the Gobi Desert, Frank and the remaining survivors must band together and save what little food and water they have left to survive. To make matters worse, desert bandits loom in the distance, and not every survivor gets along with the others. Can Frank and his men find a way out of a seemingly impossible situation?
Flight of the Phoenix is a different kind of thriller — instead of the threat coming from other humans, it stems from nature itself. The Gobi Desert is brutal and unforgiving, and it pushes each man to his limit. That’s hellish to experience in real life, but it’s endlessly entertaining to watch in a movie. Director John Moore generates just enough tension to keep you on your toes and make you wonder who will live and who will die. The answer isn’t always predictable, which is what makes Flight of the Phoenix so effective.
Flight of the Phoenix is streaming on Hulu.
‘Destroyer’ (2018) – Tubi
Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) is an LAPD cop with a lot of ghosts in her past and no future to look forward to. When she receives a $100 bill stained from a dye pack, she instantly recognizes it as a souvenir from a botched heist that happened years ago. Her lover and fellow cop, Chris (Sebastian Stan), died during that shoot-out and she’s never forgiven herself for it. Now, she’s determined to bring his killer to justice, even if it destroys her in the process.
Destroyer is a violent cops-and-robbers story where the cops — at least Erin — aren’t as brave and noble as you’d like them to be. Kidman is unrecognizable as the plain, severe Erin, who keeps punishing herself for things that were beyond her control. By the end, the title takes on a whole new meaning as Erin herself becomes a destroyer. Of what? Well, you’ll just have to watch the film to find out.
Destroyer is streaming on Tubi.
‘No Way Out’ (1987) – Amazon Prime Video
As a Lieutenant Commander with the U.S. Navy, Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) is used to living life on the edge. Maybe that’s why he initiates a reckless affair with Susan Atwell (Sean Young), who is the mistress of the Secretary of Defense, David Brice (Gene Hackman). Tom genuinely loves Susan, so it’s a shock when he witnesses David, angry that she’s seeing someone else, accidentally push her over a railing, causing her death. To make matters worse, Brice covers up the murder and asks Tom to help pin the blame on her other lover — him.
No Way Out is a classic thriller that combines sex, politics and spies in one deliciously entertaining package. Costner and Young generate real heat as the forbidden couple, and Hackman is terrific as a bad guy who doesn’t think he’s evil at all. The film’s twisty plot will keep you guessing, with a doozy of a third-act surprise that elevates a slick thriller into one of the all-time great suspense flicks.
No Way Out is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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