9 Toxic Mind Game And Gaslighting Thrillers To Stream On Netflix In June
Audiences enjoy and feel validated by “mind game movies” – where the narcissistic or toxic characters play mind games with a victim thus revealing the impact of gaslighting or the movie itself plays mind games with the viewer, making them believe a scenario is one way only to reveal shocking hidden truths. Here are nine mind game movies currently available on Netflix you should check out.
Intrusion
A seemingly happy couple, therapist Meera and her architect husband Henry Parsons, buy a new dream home only to experience a dangerous home invasion. Following this, strange events begin to occur which makes Meera question her perception of reality – and the motives of her own husband. If you like movies about charming predators being exposed in a slow-burn psychological thriller where both you and the main character feel like you’re going mad, this one’s for you. This movie validates the experience of gaslighting and mind games while also giving viewers a shocking and unexpected plot twist they could not have foreseen.
The Weekend Away
Two best friends, Beth and Kate, go for a vacation in Croatia, only for her friend Kate to go missing. As Beth (played by Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester) investigates her best friend’s disappearance, she comes across many different versions of events and grapples with the true nature of reality and begins to question the people she loves and trusts the most as well as the strangers that offer her help. The movie twists the mind of the viewer as it makes it seem as if we have the full story – only to uncover even more horrifying revelations. The Weekend Away is perfect for anyone who’s ever had a toxic, narcissistic friend (or romantic partner) and anyone who just enjoys a suspenseful thriller with many plot twists.
Secret Obsession
A woman, Jennifer (played by Brenda Song) wakes up in the hospital after a car accident with amnesia. Her husband, Russel Williams, is by her bedside. Russel helps nurse her back to health, but she suspects all is not what it seems to be and does not know whether to trust her own memories. Viewers get an opening scene of a man in the dark chasing Jennifer before she is hit by a car, and as Jennifer begins to get flashbacks of what truly happened that night, Russel plays gaslighting mind games and uses physical isolation to restrain her, preventing her from finding out the truth. Secret Obsession is a great movie that highlights the hurt-and-rescue tactics of narcissistic and psychopathic predators.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile is based on the real-life story of serial killer psychopath Ted Bundy (played by Zac Efron) and his girlfriend Liz Kendall (played by Lilly Collins). Liz and Ted start a seemingly romantic family life as Ted helps to raise her daughter Molly. However, as multiple young women are murdered, Ted is charged with the crimes and Liz is left to uncover the horrific reality of the man Ted really is and the charming facade he once presented. If you like movies like these, you may also enjoy other movies based on real life stories including Abducted in Plain Sight, The Girl in the Picture, and American Family: Murder Next Door, all of which are also available on Netflix.
May December
Based loosely on the real-life grooming case of teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and her 12-year old student, May December follows a fictional scenario where a movie star, Elizabeth Berry (played by Natalie Portman) begins to immerse herself into the lives of Gracie Atherton-Yoo (played by Julianne Moore) and her now adult victim, Joe Yoo and their children. Gracie’s pity ploys as a sociopathic predator combined with the Elizabeth’s questionable actions and disturbing, chameleon-like ability to morph into Gracie and live out her life makes for an immersive movie about mind games. Some may argue that May December is an exposé of what occurs when two female narcissists battle for power, but the viewer themselves may feel unsettled by the truth of who is really in power by the end.
The Woman In The Window
A psychologist plagued by agoraphobia confines herself to her Manhattan brownstone after separating from her husband and spends her time observing her neighbors through her window. A heavy drinker and overmedicated, Anna is quite isolated. She starts a friendship with Jane Russell and her son, Ethan who visit her. One night, Anna witnesses Jane being stabbed to death through her windows. However, when she contacts the police, no one believes her, and mind games ensue to hide the true identity of the killer while Anna begins doubting her own reality and what she saw.
Luckiest Girl Alive
The Luckiest Girl Alive, featuring Mila Kunis as Tiffany “Ani” Fanelli will leave you guessing until the very end. Ani is a successful magazine editor engaged to a rich fiancé, Luke Harrison. Through flashbacks, we gradually learn that Ani was gang-raped by three of her male friends, Liam, Dean and Peyton friends at a party while she was in school. Viewers also get an unsettling look into what actually happened shortly after in a school shooting perpetrated by one of her friends, Arthur. Luckiest Girl Alive is a suspenseful thriller about a woman with a seemingly perfect life whose past haunts her — and the power of taking control over your own story after experiencing victim-shaming.
Fractured
Fractured is a psychological thriller that starts out normally enough – with Ray, a father sitting in the waiting room of a hospital after his daughter Peri has taken a fall in a pit. During the long examination process, Ray falls asleep only to awaken in a hospital bed and told that no record of his family exists, and that he has come alone to the hospital to be examined for a head wound. As Ray tries to track down his family, the truth of what really happened eventually is uncovered. Fractured is one of the most heartbreaking and devastating films you will see about what happens to the mind when our trauma clouds our perception of reality.
Cam
For horror fans, Cam is a terrifying mind game psychological horror movie that leaves you on your toes from beginning to end. Partially inspired by the writer’s own experience of being a camgirl, the movie follows Alice Ackerman, who works as a camgirl as “Lola” and tries to raise her rank on the website she offers her services on. However, her attempts are sabotaged when she realizes she can no longer access her account and someone else has taken over her videos – someone who, eerily enough, looks exactly like her. The horror of having your identity stolen and the mind games that ensue are brilliantly illustrated in this provocative film.
