Get Ready to Be On the Edge of Your Seat with These 10 Mind Game Movies

Recently someone inquired, “I'm looking for movies with mind games and cat and mouse chases. I'm looking for films or series in live-action like Death Note, where the characters are intelligent and always one-up each other. Something thrilling and unexpected.” Here are the top-voted responses. 

1. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Catch Me If You Can 2002 Dreamworks
Image Credit: Dreamworks

Catch Me If You Can is the perfect game of cat and mouse. It's a biographical crime comedy-drama based on Frank Abagnale's autobiography claiming he posed as a pilot, a doctor, and a parish prosecutor. Additionally, he performed millions of dollars worth of cons. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, and Christopher Walken.

2. Midnight Run (1988)

midnight-run
Image Credit: Universal Pictures

Midnight Run is a buddy cop action comedy following a bounty hunter (Robert De Niro) hired to locate a mob accountant (Charles Grodin). After finding him, they engage in a cross-country chase evading authorities and the mob, who both want the accountant.

3. The Driver (1978)

the driver 1978 movie
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

The Driver is a neo-noir crime thriller following a robbery getaway driver (Ryan O'Neal) who is fantastic at what he does and evades authority. A detective (Bruce Dern) promises to pardon a gang if they help him set up and capture the driver. It co-stars Isabelle Adjani and twists to the end. 

4. Face/Off (1997)

face-off
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures

Face/Off is a sci-fi action thriller with serious mind games and cat-and-mouse chases. An unusual top-secret mission follows an FBI Special Agent (John Travolta) and a sociopathic criminal (Nicolas Cage) swapping faces after the criminal falls into a coma. The idea is that the agent can get information from the criminal's brother about a bomb set to go off in an unknown location in Los Angelos.

However, when the criminal wakes from his coma, he puts on the agent's face, kills everyone who knows about the mission, and assumes the role of an FBI Special Agent, including living with his wife and child. 

5. Nine Queens (2000)

nine queens
Image Credit: Buena Vista International

Nine Queens is an Argentinian crime drama following a duo of two-bit hustlers (Gastón Pauls and Ricardo Darín) teaming up on a half-million-dollar con. However, as time progresses, deceptions increase, making it increasingly difficult to determine who is conning who – in the scam. 

6. The Silent Partner (1978)

the silent partner
Image Credit: Pan-Canadian Film Distributors

The Silent Partner is a Canadian thriller following a bank teller skimming $50,000 during a crooked Santa Claus robbery and the Santa Claus robber who wants it back. It stars Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, and Susannah York.

7. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

the man who knew too much
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures

The Man Who Knew Too Much is a suspense thriller Technicolor remake by Alfred Hitchcock of his 1934 film of the same title but features a significantly different script and plot. It follows a couple and their young son vacationing in Morocco who inadvertently discovers an assassination plot. After their son is kidnapped, they stop at nothing to rescue him. It stars James Stewart and Doris Day. 

8. The Hunt (2020)

the hunt movie
Image Credit: Universal Pictures

The Hunt is a horror thriller movie following twelve strangers with conservative views waking up in a clearing to discover they were kidnapped by a group of affluent liberals who chose them to hunt for sport. It stars Hilary Swank, Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, and Emma Roberts.

9. Before I Go to Sleep (2014)

before I go to sleep
Image Credit: Photo by Laurie Sparham Clarius Entertainment

Before I Go to Sleep is a mystery psychological thriller following a woman who suffers from anterograde amnesia. So she cannot form new memories and becomes reacquainted with her husband and life every morning. However, she begins to discover terrifying truths leaving her suspicious of everyone around her. It stars Nicole Kidman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, and Anne-Marie Duff. 

10. Taking Lives (2004)

taking lives angelina jolie
Image Credit: 2004 Warner Bros. Ent.

Taking Lives is a psychological thriller following the story of an elusive serial killer assuming the identities of his victims. It stars Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Olivier Martinez, Tchéky Karyo, Jean-Hugues Anglade, and Gena Rowlands. 

What do you think? Did Reddit get this right, or is something significant missing from this list? Check out these incredible films with the most fantastic plot twists of all time.

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.