Mind Game Thriller backdrop

Mind Game Thriller movies

Psychological pressure and manipulation: gaslighting, obsession, paranoia, and control as the core suspense engine.

The Iceman

1. The Iceman

Thriller Crime Drama Serial Killer Crime Mind Game Thriller
6.8
20121h 45min

Overview

The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man.

Themes

Double life tension, Loyalty under crime pressure, Family life vs crime life, Betrayals and consequences, Performative normalcy, Violence as livelihood

Available on

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

Berberian Sound Studio

2. Berberian Sound Studio

Horror Drama Thriller Psychological Horror Psychological Drama
6.2
20121h 32min

Overview

In the 1970s, a British sound technician is brought to Italy to work on the sound effects for a gruesome horror film. His nightmarish task slowly takes over his psyche, driving him to confront his own past.

Themes

Deception and suspicion, Art vs commerce, Identity erosion under pressure, Sound as psychological pressure, Industrial pressures of filmmaking, Creative isolation in studios

Available on

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

Compliance

3. Compliance

Drama Thriller Mind Game Thriller Psychological Drama
6.4
20121h 30min

Overview

On a particularly busy day at a suburban Ohio fast food restaurant, manager Sandra receives a phone call from a police officer saying that an employee has stolen money from a customer.

Themes

Power dynamics, Surveillance and control, Social pressure, Workplace coercion, Obedience to authority, Ethical ambiguity

Available on

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

Truth or Dare

4. Truth or Dare

Horror Thriller Mystery Psychological Horror Whodunit
5.6
20121h 35min

Overview

A group of friends are lured to an isolated cabin by a promise of heavy partying, only to find themselves in a nightmarish game of truth or dare.

Themes

Isolation and confinement, Revenge through manipulation, Deception within friendship, Power dynamics under threat, Consequences of secrets, Violence as coercive justice

Available on

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

Overview

Factory worker Doug Quaid takes a virtual mind-trip vacation with the Rekall company, opting for implanted memories of being a spy. When the procedure goes wrong, Quaid becomes a wanted man by the police and joins forces with a rebel fighter to stop the evil Chancellor Cohaagen.

Themes

Deception and loyalty, Memory manipulation, Rebellion against oppression, Territorial inequality, State surveillance and control, Memory technology ethics

Available on

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

A Fantastic Fear of Everything

6. A Fantastic Fear of Everything

Comedy Thriller Horror Dark Comedy Mind Game Thriller
5.8
20121h 40min

Overview

Jack is a children's author turned crime novelist whose detailed research into the lives of Victorian serial killers has turned him into a paranoid wreck, persecuted by the irrational fear of being murdered. When Jack is thrown a life-line by his long-suffering agent and a mysterious Hollywood executive takes a sudden and inexplicable interest in his script, what should be his big break rapidly turns into his big breakdown, as Jack is forced to confront his worst demons; among them his love life, his laundry and the origin of all fear.

Themes

Paranoia under pressure, Public scrutiny anxiety, Unreliable self-narration, Competitive industry manipulation, Creative frailty and fear, Obsession with killers

Available on

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

Overview

True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.

Themes

Family under siege, Occult influence on youth, Obsession with notoriety, Haunted home signs, Cycle of murder, Documentary footage spectacle

Available on

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

Red Lights

8. Red Lights

Thriller Mind Game Thriller
6.2
20121h 54min

Overview

Two investigators of paranormal hoaxes, the veteran Dr. Margaret Matheson and her young assistant, Tom Buckley, study the most varied metaphysical phenomena with the aim of proving their fraudulent origins. Simon Silver, a legendary blind psychic, reappears after an enigmatic absence of 30 years to become the greatest international challenge to both orthodox science and professional sceptics. Tom starts to develop an intense obsession with Silver, whose magnetism becomes stronger with each new manifestation of inexplicable events. As Tom gets closer to Silver, tension mounts, and his worldview is threatened to its core.

Themes

Obsession and control, Credibility under pressure, Skepticism vs credulity, Deception in investigation, Public spectacle and fraud, Ethical boundaries in inquiry

Available on

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

Overview

Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.

Themes

Coming of age pressures, Unbalanced telekinesis power, Found footage aesthetics, Loneliness and friendship, Abuse and family strain, Outcast and assertiveness

Available on

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

Take Shelter

10. Take Shelter

Thriller Drama Horror Psychological Drama Mind Game Thriller
7.3
20112h

Overview

Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.

Themes

Mental illness stigma, Apocalyptic anxiety under pressure, Obsessive shelter project, Family secrecy and disclosure, Caregiver stress and denial, Survival vs stability, Unreliable perceptions of reality

Available on

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