The best Amazon Prime Video movies December 2022

From intense thrillers to fun romcoms, here are the best Prime Video movies you can watch right now

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If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, there’s a huge library of the best Prime Video movies that you can watch right now at no extra cost. Prime Video is Amazon’s streaming service, filled with TV shows, movies and documentaries. You’ll have to pay extra to rent or buy some of them, but a huge number are available to watch for free as part of your Amazon Prime subscription. 

At the time of writing, Prime Video has just overtaken Netflix as the top streaming service in the US, according to stats from stats from Deadline (opens in new tab), and its selection of movies is excellent. Many of the best Prime Video movies are also Amazon Originals, which means they were either created or made available by Amazon Studios. Many more are known as Amazon Exclusives, which means they may not have been made by Amazon, but aren’t available anywhere else to watch – at least right now. 

But in this guide we’ve chosen mostly Amazon Originals and Amazon Exclusives because they’ll be available whichever region you’re in, and won’t disappear from the platform without warning. The availability of other movies can vary by region, so not everything here may be available where you are. We’ve got thoughtful and intense thrillers that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat through to funny and heartwarming romcoms. Some of the best Prime Video movies are bone fide classics – Silence of the Lambs and It’s a Wonderful Life are two of our top picks.

Don’t forget we’ve also got lists of the best Netflix movies, best Disney Plus movies, and best HBO Max movies if you’re looking for more options!

The best Prime Video movies: our picks

Sound of Metal

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Riz Ahmed shines in the lead role of Sound of Metal, a thoughtful and provocative movie about grief, addiction and identity. He plays Ruben, a metal drummer who begins to experience hearing loss. He’s told to eliminate loud noises, but continues to perform, worrying that his career, relationship and life as he knows it could soon be over. 

Sound of Metal is a challenging watch at times, but one of the best Prime Video movies as it’s also deeply moving and introspective – you’ll need to be in a certain mood to watch it, but when you do, you’ll be blown away. This film was very well received when it was first released in 2019, nominated for Academy Awards and winning in the Best Sound and Best Film Editing categories. 

The Big Sick

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Here’s a cool fact about The Big Sick: it’s written by writer, producer and podcast host Emily V. Gordon, and actor, comedian and screenwriter Kumail Nanjiani. The two are married and the movie is inspired by their real-life relationship. It’s a story about an interracial couple, played by Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan, who have to deal with cultural differences when Emily becomes seriously ill. 

It’s a funny and heartfelt movie, but feels fresher and smarter than a lot of more recent rom-coms. And others agreed; it was chosen by American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of the year when it came out in 2017 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. 

Paterson

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This 2016 drama is directed by Jim Jarmusch, the man behind hit movies like Stranger Than Paradise, and Only Lovers Left Alive. The story takes place over the course of a week, following the life of Paterson (played by Adam Driver), a hard-working bus driver and poet who follows the same routine everyday. 

This isn’t for anyone who wants action or thrills, it’s more of a slow and thoughtful film about the beautiful moments in everyday life. A must-watch for any Driver fans, too, as he’s been applauded for his performance. 

One Night in Miami

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One Night in Miami is directed by Regina King in her directorial debut. The story is from a 2013 stage play of the same name written by filmmaker and playwright Kemp Powers, but it’s based on a real meeting that took place in February 1964 at the Hampton House in Miami. 

Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr) were all celebrating Ali’s title win against Sonny Liston. Events unfold over the course of a single night as these historic men talk about power, race, discussing their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and the culture of the era. It’s one of the best Prime Video movies around right now and when it was first released it was nominated for several Academy Awards. 

You Were Never Really Here

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This movie is hard to categorise, but it’s best to think of it as a crime psychological thriller. It’s written and directed by Lynne Ramsay, of Ratcatcher and We Need to Talk About Kevin fame, and based on a 2013 novella of the same name by Jonathan Ames. It’s about a traumatized veteran and hired gun called Joe (played by Joaquin Phoenix) who’s tasked with finding the daughter of a politician who has been kidnapped by a human trafficking ring.

It’s an intense movie with some violence, but mostly focuses on Joe and his troubled past. It received critical acclaim when it was released, with Ramsay’s direction and Phoenix’s performance getting high praise.

Manchester by the Sea

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Manchester by the Sea is a heavy movie. It’s about a depressed and grief-stricken man who needs to care for his teen nephew after his brother dies and focuses on themes of guilt, responsibility and families. 

It’s masterfully told and beautifully acted by Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams in the lead roles. The film received critical acclaim, winning Academy Awards for Best Actor for Affleck and Best Original Screenplay, and was considered one of the best films of 2016 by most critics.

Love & Friendship

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Based on Jane Austen’s epistolary novel Lady Susan, written in the 18th century, Love & Friendship is a period comedy and drama about recently widowed Lady Susan (played by Kate Beckinsale) and her schemes to find a wealthy husband for herself and her daughter Frederica (Chloë Sevigny). 

The film didn’t get a wide release, but was a box office success. It was praised for the fact it’s funny and self aware. And fans of the story applauded Beckinsale for doing a great job at bringing the charming and charismatic Lady Susan to life. 

The Cabin in the Woods

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This is one of the older picks on our list, but it still feels like a smart and a fresh take on traditional scary movies. It’s best described as a horror comedy, and it follows a group of college students who retreat to a remote forest cabin where they fall victim to a variety of monsters. But things aren’t what they seem. 

We’ll leave it there because revealing anything else would give too much away. The story is from the minds of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, who have worked together previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. They allegedly wrote the screenplay in three days, intentionally as a refreshing interpretation, and even satire, of the horror and slasher movie genres.

The Handmaiden

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This 2016 Amazon Original is directed by acclaimed South Korean director Park Chan-wook, who made Oldboy, Stoker, Snowpiercer and, more recently, Decision to Leave. With help from an orphaned pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean con man (Ha Jung-woo) devises an elaborate plot to seduce a Japanese woman (Kim Min-hee) and steal her inheritance. But there are lots of twists and turns along the way. 

The Handmaiden is inspired by the 2002 novel Fingersmith by Welsh writer Sarah Waters, except the setting has been changed from Victorian era Britain to Korea under Japanese colonial rule. It’s a very entertaining thriller with fantastic art direction – it’s one of those films that’s a real joy to watch – and plenty of black humor, which is typical of Park’s work. 

Herself

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This 2020 drama is directed by Phyllida Lloyd, known for mainstream films like Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady. Irish stage and screen performer Clare Dunne stars in the leading role, and she also co-wrote the screenplay. 

Herself is about a single mom called Sandra (played by Dunne) who is struggling with her two young daughters after leaving her abusive husband. She’s not able to get a new home, so she builds one herself with the help of her friends and community. This helps Sandra to rediscover who she is, well, until her abusive husband shows up on the scene again. It’s a sad and yet heart-warming story of one woman’s empowering journey to finding community and independence.

The Vast of Night

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The Vast of Night is a 2019 sci-fi mystery set in 1950s New Mexico. It’s loosely based on real events, including the Kecksburg UFO incident, when a fireball was spotted in the sky, and the Foss Lake disappearances, when a group of teens and a group of adults mysteriously went missing. 

The film follows young switchboard operator Fay Crocker (played by Sierra McCormick) and radio DJ Everett Sloan (Jake Horowitz) who discover an audio frequency that they think could be extra terrestrial. It’s an engrossing thriller that’s lo-fi and yet shows a lot of film-making skill.

Honey Boy

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Honey Boy is loosely based on actor Shia LaBeouf’s childhood and his relationship with his father – the title of the movie comes from his nickname as a kid. LaBeouf wrote the screenplay and also stars in it, playing the role of his dad. It follows the troubled relationship between 12-year-old Otis, who is finding some success as a TV star, and his abusive father, who takes over as his guardian.

LaBeouf allegedly wrote the script as a form of therapy when he was in rehab. For that reason, it’s a difficult watch and feels very raw. Although, in a strange way, it’s oddly therapeutic for the viewer too. Because at its core, this is a movie about a man’s struggles to understand himself and forgive himself, as well as his past trauma.

True Grit

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True Grit is a 2010 American Western film directed, written, produced, and edited by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. Also known as the Coen Brothers and famous for movies like Fargo, The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men. 

The movie is about a 14-year-old girl (played by Hailee Steinfeld) who hires Rooster Cogburn, a drunk and trigger-happy man (Jeff Bridges) to track down an outlaw named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) who murdered her dad. They’re joined by a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) who is also tracking Chaney because he killed a State Senator, and the three begin on a dangerous adventure. This is a slick, exciting, action-packed movie and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, but unfortunately didn’t win any. 

Licorice Pizza 

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Licorice Pizza is a US comedy-drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, a filmmaker famous for movies like Boogie Nights, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood. 

It’s one of the best Prime Video movies available today and follows the development of a young couple’s relationship in the early ’70s, played by Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman, who give exceptional performances. There’s a kind of dreaminess to the movie at times because it’s laidback, meandering and doesn’t unfold in a conventional way. And although it’s a comedy, it’s heartfelt with unexpected action and tension too. There are also some huge cameos from well-known stars, too. 

Suspiria

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This Amazon Original is a supernatural horror that’s inspired by Dario Argento’s classic 1977 Italian film of the same name. It stars Dakota Johnson as an American woman who enrolls at a prestigious dance academy in Berlin, but, unfortunately for her, it’s run by a coven of witches. Tilda Swinton bizarrely but convincingly co-stars in three roles. 

Not for the faint-hearted, expect weirdness, gruesome scenes, and lots of deliciously diconcerting atmosphere. Unlike the original film, which used exaggerated colors, it has a bleak and bare palette – there’s a notable absence of primary colours. Although Suspiria wasn’t a box office hit, if you like odd, atmospheric movies, it’s a great choice, and has a major fanbase now.

Becca Caddy

Becca is a contributor to TechRadar, a freelance journalist and author. She’s been writing about consumer tech and popular science for more than ten years, covering all kinds of topics, including why robots have eyes and whether we’ll experience the overview effect one day. She’s particularly interested in VR/AR, wearables, digital health, space tech and chatting to experts and academics about the future. She’s contributed to TechRadar, T3, Wired, New Scientist, The Guardian, Inverse and many more. Her first book, Screen Time, came out in January 2021 with Bonnier Books. She loves science-fiction, brutalist architecture, and spending too much time floating through space in virtual reality.