A Glean movie guide
Beyond the Surface: Thrillers Like Gone Girl
Trust no one.
Unreliable narrators, toxic secrets, and the dark side of domestic life.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Girl on the Train
A haunting mystery where memory gaps and domestic secrets blur the line between witness and suspect.
Rachel Watson, devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.
- 02
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Fincher’s cold, clinical masterpiece of family secrets and brutal investigative work.
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.
- 03
Dark Places
Another dark dive into family trauma and buried secrets from the mind of Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn.
A woman who survived the brutal killing of her family as a child is forced to confront the events of that day.
- 04
Prisoners
A visceral, atmospheric search for a missing child that tests the moral limits of a desperate father.
Keller Dover is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street.
- 05
Side Effects
A sharp, twist-filled thriller where medical intrigue and personal manipulation lead to a deadly game.
A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.
- 06
The Gift
A slow-burn domestic nightmare that masterfully shifts your perspective on who is truly the villain.
To celebrate his eleventh birthday, a young boy selects his gift - little knowing that his choice will change the world.
- 07
The Invisible Guest
A meticulously constructed puzzle of a movie that rewards viewers who pay attention to every lie.
Barcelona, Spain. Adrián Doria, a young and successful businessman accused of murder, meets one night with Virginia Goodman, an expert interrogation lawyer, in order to devise a defense strategy.
- 08
The Handmaiden
An exquisite, multi-layered tale of deception where every character has a hidden motive.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
- 09
Nocturnal Animals
A stylish and unsettling exploration of past regrets and the cold precision of literary revenge.
Susan Morrow receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband – a man she left 20 years earlier – asking for her opinion of his writing. As she reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of Tony Hastings, a mathematics professor whose family vacation turns violent.
- 10
Promising Young Woman
A subversive and calculated thriller featuring a protagonist who is always three steps ahead.
A young woman, traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who crossed her path.