A Glean movie guide
Mind-Bending Thrillers You Can't Outsmart
Trust no one.
High-stakes mysteries and psychological puzzles designed to keep you guessing until the end.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Usual Suspects
A masterclass in misdirection that culminates in one of cinema’s most legendary final reveals.
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
- 02
Memento
A fragmented, reverse-chronological puzzle that forces you to experience the protagonist's confusion 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
Gone Girl
A sharp, cynical exploration of a crumbling marriage where the truth shifts with every new perspective.
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.
- 04
Prisoners
A grueling, high-stakes search for missing children that tests the moral limits of everyone involved.
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
The Prestige
A layered tale of obsession and rivalry where the ultimate magic trick is hidden in plain sight.
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.
- 06
Shutter Island
An atmospheric descent into madness where nothing is quite as it seems on a remote hospital island.
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.
- 07
The Invisible Guest
A sleek, fast-paced locked-room mystery that constantly upends your theories with sharp narrative pivots.
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 Game
A paranoid journey into a mysterious alternate reality where the line between play and peril disappears.
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.
- 09
Searching
A clever, modern thriller told entirely through digital screens that proves the internet hides many secrets.
After David Kim's 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter's laptop.
- 10
Coherence
A low-budget, high-concept dinner party that spirals into a terrifying existential mystery.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
- 11
Oldboy
A visceral and shocking tale of revenge that builds toward a devastating and unpredictable revelation.
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
- 12
Side Effects
A deceptive medical thriller that starts as a drama before spiraling into a web of corporate and personal greed.
A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.