Cillian Murphy’s Bleakest Pandemic Thriller Is Free to Stream in December 2025
Before Cillian Murphy became Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders — and after outrunning doom in 28 Days Later — he plunged into his bleakest pandemic role with 2011’s Retreat, a chilling isolation thriller that’s ripe for rediscovery.
Before Cillian Murphy put on the cap as Tommy Shelby, and years after he was sprinting through empty London in 28 Days Later, he made a small, nasty pandemic thriller that most people missed. It is called Retreat (2011), and it just popped up on streaming this month. If you like contained, psychological, who-can-you-trust stories, this one is very much that.
Where to watch right now
The movie is streaming free on Tubi in December. It is also on Prime Video's lineup for December 2025. As always, availability can vary by region, but if you have been curious, this is the easiest it has been to find in a while.
What Retreat is actually about
Kate and Martin, a married couple reeling from a personal tragedy, head to a remote island to regroup and get some quiet. No neighbors, barely any contact with the outside world, and a lot of sea. Then a stranger stumbles into their isolation with a terrifying claim: a lethal airborne virus is sweeping across the globe, and they might be among the last people left uninfected.
From there it becomes a tense little pressure cooker. Is the outside world really gone, or is their intruder spinning a story and tightening the screws for his own reasons? The film keeps you boxed into that cottage with them and lets paranoia do the heavy lifting.
Why you probably never heard of it
This one barely made a peep when it opened. The release in 2011 was tiny, the marketing was minimal (first feature from director Carl Tibbetts, who would later work on Black Mirror), and reviews were split. Critics who found it liked the claustrophobia and the slow-burn dread; others dinged the pacing. Add it all up and the theatrical gross was microscopic, which is why Retreat has lived more as a word-of-mouth title than a hit.
Worth your time?
If you are into closed-door thrillers or you are doing a Cillian Murphy deep dive, absolutely give it a shot. It is lean, grim, and more about head games than spectacle, which feels oddly current for a movie made in 2011.
- Title: Retreat (2011)
- Directed by: Carl Tibbetts (his feature debut; he later worked on Black Mirror)
- Cast: Cillian Murphy, Jamie Bell, Thandiwe Newton
- Premise: A grieving couple isolates on a remote island; a stranger arrives claiming a deadly airborne pandemic has wiped out the world, forcing them to question whether to believe him or assume he is dangerous
- Release date: October 14, 2011 (UK)
- IMDb rating: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes score: 62%
- Worldwide box office: $5,717
- Production company: Magnet Films
- Where to watch in December: Free on Tubi; also listed on Prime Video's December 2025 slate
Short version: a moody, under-the-radar pandemic potboiler with three strong leads. Not flashy, but it sticks the atmosphere and keeps you guessing.