Mind games in mystery movies that will test your thinking

Sometimes detective movies take you to a place where your brain will be grabbed, squashed, and finally spit out with new ideas and insights to force you to rethink your interpretation of their stories. Some of these stories pose mind games with which to test oneself and try to solve what is happening to the protagonists.

enemy

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve has left foreign-language and non-English language films to make his Hollywood debut with ‘enemy’, one of the best detective films, with Jake Gyllenhaal. The story follows a university professor, who one day decides to rent a movie, and realizes that the actor is quite similar to him, so he decides to delve into who he really is.

Donnie Darko

Jake Gyllenhaal is known for starring in jaw-dropping stories, and one of them is “Donnie Darko’, a science fiction crime film, of a boy who one day receives a visit from a strange rabbit who warns him of the end of the world. The story is much more complete and weird than his premise, and even the director himself had to do a version where he explained what was going on. Available on Amazon Prime Video.

I arrive

Once again Denis Villeneuve appears on the list, but this time with a completely different story. ‘I arrive’ is a film created by a mind game, in which Amy Adams plays a government-recruited linguist to communicate with extraterrestrial beings and discover their true intentions, while trying to decipher what these visions of the past are. Available on Amazon Prime Video.

The machinist

In one of the most impressive roles of Christian Bale’s career, “The Machinist” is a story that simply needs to be lived at least once. Trevor Reznik is a man who suffers from insomnia, and has not been able to sleep for a year, now his physique prevents him from discerning between dream and reality, while he tries to uncover the mystery of some strange notes. Available on Amazon Prime Video.

Twice

Similar to the story of “Enemy”, which itself is based on the novel “The Duplicate Man”, we have “The Double”, a suspenseful comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg. The story follows Simon, an employee who goes unnoticed at work and is unaware of the girl he likes. But one day, James shows up at the office and looks exactly like him, but his personality makes him get everything Simon has always wanted. Available on Apple.

I remember

Finally, one of the most recognized in this type of category, Christopher Nolan’s ‘Memento’. The story follows Leonard, a man who has memory problems due to an attempt to save his wife from murder, which ended in a blow to the head. Now, his whole body is covered in tattoos, with clues that will help him find revenge. Available on StarzPlay and Amazon Prime Video.