A Glean movie guide
Mind-Bending Thrillers
Prepare to question everything.
A curated selection of suspenseful films that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Silence of the Lambs
A definitive masterclass in tension, featuring a chilling mental game between an FBI trainee and a brilliant killer.
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
- 02
Memento
Its innovative non-linear structure forces you to experience the protagonist's fractured reality firsthand.
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
- 03
Shutter Island
A masterfully atmospheric descent into paranoia where nothing is quite what it seems.
World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.
- 04
Gone Girl
A sharp, cynical look at marital deception that keeps you off-balance with constant narrative shifts.
With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.
- 05
Black Swan
An intense, visceral character study that captures the terrifying cost of artistic perfection.
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
- 06
The Prestige
A complex, obsessive rivalry between two magicians that rewards viewers who pay close attention.
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
- 07
Nightcrawler
A disturbing and gripping portrait of a sociopathic protagonist navigating the dark side of L.A. journalism.
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
- 08
Misery
A claustrophobic, high-stakes battle of wills that proves how terrifying isolation can be.
After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.
- 09
The Game
A relentless, high-concept ride that masterfully blurs the line between a game and reality.
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
- 10
Se7en
A dark, atmospheric investigation that explores the heavy psychological toll of confronting pure evil.
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.