slow-burn backdrop

Movies with slow-burn vibe

Gerald's Game

1. Gerald's Game

Horror Thriller Psychological Horror Kidnapping & Captivity Thriller
6.5
20171h 44min

Overview

When her husband's sex game goes wrong, Jessie (who is handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house) faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.

Themes

Power dynamics in intimate spaces, Abuse and agency tension, Memory reframing self-perception, Trauma memory shaping identity, Isolation and survival under pressure, Survivor empowerment after trauma

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House

2. Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House

Drama History Thriller Historical Drama Political Thriller
6.4
20171h 43min

Overview

The story of Mark Felt, who under the name "Deep Throat" helped journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate scandal in 1974.

Themes

Bureaucratic pressure and control, Investigative independence, Political scandal and oversight, Media-government tension, Institutional accountability risk, Power dynamics under scrutiny

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Papillon

3. Papillon

Adventure Crime Drama Adventure Epic Prison Crime
7.2
20172h 14min

Overview

Henri “Papillon” Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, where he forges a strong friendship with Louis Dega, a counterfeiter who needs his protection.

Themes

Survival under confinement, Fragile alliances, Isolation and endurance, Resilience under duress, Wrongful conviction, System injustice

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

God's Own Country

4. God's Own Country

Romance Drama Passionate Romance Relationship Drama
7.6
20171h 45min

Overview

A young farmer in rural Yorkshire numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker.

Themes

Loneliness and longing, Rural isolation, Sexuality and masculinity, Migrant labor dynamics, Aging and responsibility, Tradition vs care

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Wind River

5. Wind River

Crime Mystery Drama Police Procedural Investigation Mystery
7.7
20171h 47min

Overview

An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.

Themes

Violence against women, Grief and intergenerational loss, Missing indigenous women crisis, Interagency tension and limits, Trauma and resilience in communities, Justice under resource constraints

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Hero

6. The Hero

Drama Entertainment Industry Drama
6.5
20171h 37min

Overview

Lee, a former Western film icon, is living a comfortable existence lending his golden voice to advertisements and smoking weed. After receiving a lifetime achievement award and unexpected news, Lee reexamines his past, while a chance meeting with a sardonic comic has him looking to the future.

Themes

Cancer-driven priorities, Estranged daughter tensions, Marijuana-use coping, Aging actor pressures, Audition pressures, Award-driven fame

Available on

Apple TV
fuboTV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

It Comes at Night

7. It Comes at Night

Drama Horror Mystery Psychological Horror Locked-Room Mystery
6.1
20171h 31min

Overview

Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.

Themes

Survival under isolation, Resource scarcity pressure, Mistrust and deception, Fragile domestic order, Fear amid contagion, Ethics of sharing

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Overview

Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.

Themes

Power dynamics, Manipulation and coercion, Isolation and confinement, Coercive control, Claustrophobic tension, Threat and survival

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Wall

9. The Wall

War Thriller Drama Action Military Action
6.2
20171h 30min

Overview

An American sniper and his spotter engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with an Iraqi sniper.

Themes

Desert isolation, Survival under siege, Deception under pressure, Miscommunication under fire, Cat-and-mouse dynamics, Resourceful improvisation

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Stephanie

10. Stephanie

Horror Mystery Supernatural Horror Whodunit
5.8
20171h 26min

Overview

After a mysterious global crisis, a young girl is left alone to hide from a malevolent power that stalks her home. Her parents eventually return and the struggle begins to save their daughter.

Themes

Power redefining family roles, Domestic isolation danger, Parental abandonment risk, Science against suppression, Apocalyptic outbreak anxiety, Uncontrollable power emergence

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.