8 twisted, mind-bending movies now streaming on Netflix

Sometimes all you want to do is relax and have your mind blown by a movie. From films like Inception to Shutter Island to Donnie Darko, there are countless mind-bending movies out there. Luckily for us, Netflix has several available, including a brand new film starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx!

Psychological thrillers are some of my favorite films to watch because they keep me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. If you’re eager to find something exciting on Netflix, the following list will assist you.

Best mind-bending movies on Netflix

Below we’ve compiled several of the best mind-bending movies on Netflix. Several movies listed below are Netflix Original films, meaning they won’t leave the platform anytime soon. Still, there are a few listed below that Netflix is just licensing for now, meaning you’ll want to prioritize those before they eventually leave.

Vivarium

If you’re looking for a genuinely confounding movie, look no further than the 2020 Irish sci-fi/horror film Vivarium starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots. Eisenberg and Poots play a young couple who have recently moved into a new housing development where every unit is identical.

When they try to escape the labyrinth-like neighborhood, they find every road they travel leads them back to the start. You might not get every answer from this movie, and it’ll certainly leave you scratching your head more than once, but Vivarium is still an intriguing story with novel ideas.

They Cloned Tyrone

This is the newest Netflix Original movie on this list and one of the best! They Cloned Tyrone is a zany sci-fi caper film starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx as a trio of friends who uncover a government cloning conspiracy.

Annihilation

Based on Jeff Vandermeer’s excellent Southern Reach trilogy, Annihilation is a trippy sci-fi film with horror elements that follows a group of female scientists as they venture into an anomalous region known as the “Shimmer,” a subsection of the earth slowly mutating the living beings within.

Lena, a biologist played by Natalie Portman, puts her name forth for the next expedition into the Shimmer after her husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) is the only one to return from a previous trip into the area.

Upon returning, Kane is unable to recall what happened on the expedition, and his condition quickly deteriorates. Hoping to find something that can save Kane, Lena volunteers for the next trip into the Shimmer, but she and her fellow scientists are unprepared for what they’ll find inside.

The Platform

A captivating and twisted dystopian thriller, The Platform is a Spanish film that revolves around a tower-like prison complex with multiple floors. Prisoners are fed via a moving platform that starts at the top and slowly descends downward. Those on the top floor get the platform first and are free to eat as much as they want before it starts to move down, each floor receiving less than those above it. Prisoners are randomly moved around to different floors every 30 days.

Horse Girl

Alison Brie stars in this strange and surreal movie about a seemingly sweet girl with a horse obsession who starts experiencing weird dreams that slowly shift her perception of reality. It’s a very unusual movie anchored by Brie’s solid performance.

Synchronic

Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan lead this sci-fi thriller about a pair of best friends and paramedics who are called to work on a series of bizarre accidents. They trace it back to a mysterious new drug found at the scene, but when a loved one disappears, the duo falls into a terrifying truth about the psychedelic that could change everything they know about reality. Synchronic is not a Netflix original but is currently available to stream.

In the Shadow of the Moon

Michael C. Hall goes from playing a serial killer himself to hunting one in this 2019 sci-fi thriller film. In the Shadow of the Moon revolves around a detective hunting for an elusive female serial killer in Philadelphia in 1988. When Detective Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook) realizes the killer’s crimes defy all explanation, his obsession threatens to unravel everything.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Like many movies on this list, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a surreal psychological thriller. It’s also one of the more notable Netflix Original films when it comes to mind-bending flicks. With an all-star cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a must-watch.

Based on the novel of the same name by Iain Reid, the movie follows a young woman traveling with her boyfriend to visit his parents. At the same time, the story of a janitor going to work intercuts the narrative before both stories intersect in the third act.

Which of these mind-bending movies on Netflix, do you plan to watch next?