disorienting backdrop

Movies with disorienting vibe

A Different Man

1. A Different Man

Comedy Drama Entertainment Industry Drama Dark Comedy
6.9
20241h 52min

Overview

Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.

Themes

Deception in performance, Appearance versus identity, Obsession and instability, Artifice and vulnerability, Ethics of medical transformation, Ambition and reputation

Available on

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

Barbarian

2. Barbarian

Horror Thriller Home Invasion Horror Domestic Thriller
7.0
20221h 43min

Overview

In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.

Themes

Deception and misdirection, Trauma and memory, Cycle of abuse, Survival under danger, Ostracism and stigma, Dangerous spaces

Available on

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

Below Zero

3. Below Zero

Action Crime Thriller One-Person Army Prison Crime
6.2
20211h 46min

Overview

When a prisoner transfer van is attacked, the cop in charge must fight those inside and outside while dealing with a silent foe: the icy temperatures.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Revenge drives violence, Survival under cold, Hostage drama under duress, Police vs prisoners, Escape under siege

Available on

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

Black Bear

4. Black Bear

Drama Thriller Relationship Drama Mind Game Thriller
6.5
20201h 46min

Overview

At a remote lake house in the Adirondack Mountains, a couple entertains an out-of-town guest looking for inspiration in her filmmaking. The group quickly falls into a calculated game of desire, manipulation, and jealousy, unaware of how dangerously intertwined their lives will soon become.

Themes

Deception in relationships, Group dynamics under stress, Power dynamics in intimacy, Jealousy and manipulation, Fame and artistic pressure, Performance vs reality

Available on

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

Under the Silver Lake

5. Under the Silver Lake

Crime Drama Mystery Investigation Mystery Psychological Drama
6.5
20182h 19min

Overview

In the sweltering summer of 2011, unemployed and behind on rent, Sam has only days before his life in Los Angeles collapses—and then the mysterious woman in his pool vanishes overnight, leaving behind a painted symbol and a trail of codes. As billionaires disappear and secret shows in graveyards beckon, every hour he spends chasing conspiracies pulls him deeper into a citywide puzzle that’s devouring people who run out of time.

Themes

Secret society dynamics, Voyeur culture, Urban alienation and conspiracy, Surreal noir sensibility, Media deception and mythmaking, Seduction and manipulation

Available on

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

Overview

As days vanish and his brother returns from a 19-day abduction a different man, Jin-seok races to prove his own memories before his family erases them. Each new lie, each impossible detail, pushes him closer to the locked room’s past—and to a truth that will destroy whoever reaches it too late.

Themes

Memory manipulation, Family secrecy, Dissociative amnesia, Revenge through crime, Deception and unreliable memory

Available on

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

Overview

Ren Amari is the driven inventor of a revolutionary new drug. OtherLife expands the brain's sense of time and creates virtual reality directly in the user's mind. With OtherLife, mere seconds in real life feel like hours or days of exciting adventures. As Ren and her colleagues race around the clock to launch OtherLife, the government muscles in to use the drugs as a radical solution to prison overcrowding. They will create virtual cells where criminals serve long sentences in just minutes of real time. When Ren resists, she finds herself an unwilling guinea pig trapped in a prison cell in her mind. She must escape before she descends into madness, and then regain control of OtherLife before others suffer the same fate.

Themes

Time manipulation ethics, Memory as reality, Corporate control of science, Confinement by technology, Overpopulation pressure, Government use of science

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Fandango At Home
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Overview

A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.

Themes

Video game control, Virtual reality escape, Dystopia under surveillance, Computer driven manipulation, Obsessive work pressure, Faith against system

Available on

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

Trance

9. Trance

Thriller Crime Drama Mystery Mind Game Thriller
6.9
20131h 41min

Overview

A violent gang enlists the help of a hypnotherapist in an attempt to locate a painting which somehow vanished in the middle of a heist.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Betrayal and trust, Risk and consequence, Memory manipulation, Coercive persuasion, Blurred loyalties

Available on

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

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

10. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Action Science Fiction Thriller One-Person Army Revenge Thriller
5.1
20121h 53min

Overview

After his wife and daughter are murdered in a home invasion, a widower named John now finds himself up against an army of Universal Soldiers in relentless pursuit, led by a mysterious leader who promises to set UniSols free from their conditioning.

Themes

Clone ethics, Memory manipulation, Identity fragmentation, Autonomy vs control, Implanted memories, Loyalty under influence

Available on

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