I'm a big fan of campy movies if the premise is interesting enough, but even I found "Brick" a total snooze fest. I'm honestly shocked to see it still holding strong in the Netflix top 10, but then again, the hook feels made in a lab to entice folks to hit "play."
Netflix's latest psychological thriller debuted on July 10, and it has a claustrophobic, escape room-style setup with plenty of potential for mystery. A grieving couple mid-break-up suddenly gets trapped in their apartment building when an ominous brick wall entombs everything overnight — now that's intriguing.
Frustratingly, while "Brick" manages to build an ominous atmosphere, the vibes aren't enough to outshine its laundry list of problems. Heavy-handed dialogue, undercooked characters, and plot beats that swing between predictable and nonsensical are pain points impossible to ignore. I'm not alone in my assessment. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, "Brick" has a pitiful 35% critics' score, and audiences enjoyed it even less (it's sitting at a 27% score on the Popcornmeter).
If you're looking for a truly gripping or original thriller, "Brick" doesn't offer anything new or compelling. Thankfully, you can find plenty of better mystery thrillers across the best streaming services, the kind that keep you glued to the screen, trying to piece together what the hell is going on from start to finish.
So, without further ado, here are some movies like "Brick" but better.
'Companion' (Max)
What makes this sci-fi thriller so compelling is also what makes it hard to talk about (a common theme you'll find among most of the entries on this list). Giving away too much would risk spoiling some of its most surprising and rewarding reveals.
Sophie Thatcher is proving to be a regular scream queen after starring in "Yellowjackets," "Heretic" and "Companion." She plays Iris, a young woman who sets off with her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) and friends to a weekend getaway at a remote cabin owned by eccentric billionaire Sergey (Rupert Friend). However, their trip takes a disturbing turn when Iris appears one morning, drenched in blood. What begins as a relaxing retreat quickly spirals into something far more sinister.
I'm intentionally keeping things vague because this is one of those films that's best experienced with minimal context. It's a tightly wound mystery that unspools with twist after twist — and trust me, this is one film you’ll want to go into with as little prior knowledge as possible.
'Buried' (Tubi)
If you enjoyed "Brick's" claustrophobic atmosphere, get ready to really get your heart racing with "Buried." This single-location thriller sees Ryan Reynolds play Paul Conroy, a man stuck in a truly desperate situation.
Our first introduction to Paul, an American truck driver working in Iraq, is when he wakes up disoriented, trapped in utter darkness. After fumbling for a lighter, he realizes he's been buried alive in a coffin. With no clear way out and only a limited supply of air, time is not on his side.
His only lifeline to the outside world is his cellphone. He manages to contact a U.S. department that handles hostage negotiations and learns that those responsible for his situation are demanding a hefty price for his freedom. It becomes a race against time to try to escape his terrifying ordeal without losing his cool. Because the more he panics, the faster he’ll burn through what precious little air he has left.
Watch it now on Tubi
'10 Cloverfield Lane' (Prime Video)
Both "Brick" and "10 Cloverfield Lane" tap into themes of distrust, manipulation, and the uneasy overlap between protection and imprisonment. If you enjoyed "Brick's" slow-burn tension, this makes for an ideal follow-up. And no, you don't have to watch the first "Cloverfield" to follow along.
After storming out of her New Orleans apartment over a fight with her fiancé, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up injured from a car crash and at the mercy of her rescuer-turned-captor, Howard (John Goodman). He insists that an alien invasion has made the outside world deadly. The only way to survive is to stay holed up in his bunker with her fellow captive Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.).
But as cracks appear in Howard’s story, Michelle and Emmett start digging for the truth. What they discover pushes them to plan a desperate escape, but the real nightmare doesn’t begin until Michelle steps outside to face what’s really waiting for her.
'His House' (Netflix)
"His House" is one of the most affecting movies I've seen in years. While it definitely leans more toward horror than the other entries on this list, its character-led drama keeps you guessing every step of the way with a poignant twist on the haunted house trope.
"His House" follows the plight of a young Sudanese couple, Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku), who risked everything to flee to the UK. An accident at sea has them arriving on British shores grieving the loss of their daughter, and their troubles only multiply when they're finally granted asylum in a small English town.
Facing hostility and racism in their new neighborhood, the couple struggles to settle into their new life. Tensions between them deepen as a supernatural presence in their home begins to surface, which seems tied to the trauma they thought they left behind. While Rial insists they need to leave, Bol fears that making waves could risk deportation. Left with no support, they must confront whatever's haunting their new home alone, unearthing painful secrets they wish would stay buried.
'Memento' (Pluto)
A bit of an older pick, but the mystery at the heart of "Memento" is so fun to unravel, it's hard to resist being drawn to it again and again. Writer-director Christopher Nolan has gone on to win Oscars for "Inception," "Interstellar" and "Oppenheimer," but his breakthrough film kicked off his legacy with plenty of twists that blew audiences' minds.
This ingeniously structured thriller stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man suffering from anterograde amnesia. He can’t form new short-term memories, and the story unfolds out of order, so audiences share in his disorientation. By extension, nearly every scene functions like a twist, revealing information Leonard once knew but has since forgotten, with misleading clues or outright lies often muddying the waters further.
Nolan plays with both style and structure throughout, weaving together black-and-white and color sequences as well as chronological and reverse-chronological order. Piecing together the fragmented narrative is deeply satisfying, but "Memento" remains gripping even when the truth is just out of reach.
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