If you’re a fan of escape rooms, horror, or simply a good puzzle or mystery then odds are you’ve likely heard of the 2019 movie Escape Room; well, if you enjoyed that then keep reading because these are going to be the 15 Best Movies Like Escape Room.
Escape Room (2019)
Escape Room (2019) is the thrilling tale of six strangers risking it all for the chance at a large sum of money.
After receiving invitations to participate in an inexplicably intriguing escape room puzzle game, Zoey Davis (Taylor Russell), Ben Miller (Logan Miller), Amanda Harper (Deborah Ann Woll), Mike Nolan (Tyler Labine), Danny Khan (Nik Dodani) and Jason Walker (Jay Ellis) must work together to solve the puzzles placed before them and survive the ordeal they have been placed in by the mysterious Gamemaster (Yorick van Wageningen) or die trying.
Will they be able to work together to solve the puzzle and escape or will the Gamemaster’s tricks prove too deadly to be solved?
1. The Belko Experiment (2016)
English 1h 29m IMDb
Director: Greg McLean
Stars: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona
What would you do if you were trapped in a building with nearly a hundred people that needed to kill you to survive?
Well, that is the reality that Mike Milch (John Gallagher Jr.), Leandra Florez (Adria Arjona), and many other employees of Belko Industries find themselves in as a mysterious voice on the office intercom tells them that some must die so that the others may live.
Factions form and lives are on the line as the manhunt begins in this locked box office space. So, which side will you be on? The hunter or the hunted?
2. Exam (2009)
English 1h 41m IMDb
Director: Stuart Hazeldine
Stars: Adar Beck, Gemma Chan, Nathalie Cox
Sometimes the hardest question to answer is no question at all. Eight candidates enter a room for what they believe is the final stage of an interview for a highly desirable job; however, what they don’t know is that for them to succeed they must follow a very specific set of rules.
Regardless, presented with the hunt for a single answer when given no question, these strangers must decide to either work together to achieve their goal or against one another for the prize at the end of the line.
Either way, they only have 80 minutes to decide. Exam (2009) is a compelling mystery thriller that is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.
3. Devil (2010)
English 1h 20m IMDb
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Stars: Chris Messina, Caroline Dhavernas, Bokeem Woodbine
Are you claustrophobic? I certainly hope not or you might just be in for one devil of a time with this locked room horror written by the king of twists himself, M. Night Shyamalan.
Five ordinary office workers find themselves in an extremely extraordinary situation as they enter an elevator for what they thought was going to be a normal day at the office, but when the elevator gets stuck they must come to terms with the fact that the Devil himself might just be among them.
Will Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) be able to figure out the mystery and rescue them in time or will they all meet a fate much worse than death on one Hell of a trip.
4. Saw (2004)
English 1h 43m IMDb
Director: James Wan
Stars: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover
Would you like to play a game? No? Then would you settle for watching a game? Good, because the Jigsaw Killer is out for blood and unless Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence (Cary Elwes) can find a way out of the dire situation they find themselves in, then it’s going to be Game Over for these two.
Saw was a cult classic from the early 2000s that served as a direct inspiration for all the gamified horror movies that would follow.
If you’ve never seen the franchise that started it all there is no better place to start than from the beginning; and, don’t worry, if you enjoy it there are plenty more where this came from.
5. Cube (1997)
English 1h 30m IMDb
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Stars: Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett
If you’re a fan of Sci-Fi, then Cube (1997) is sure to scratch that out-of-this-world horror fiction itch that you’ve always had.
When five strangers find themselves trapped in a mysterious cube with thousands of rooms filled to the brim with deadly traps, they must band together to find the way out or be lost in the maze of deadly games forever.
Positive reviews and an intriguing surrealist atmosphere make this a must-watch for any fan of the thriller or horror genre.
6. Circle (2015)
English 1h 27m IMDb
Director: Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione
Stars: Allegra Masters, Aimee McKay, Ashley Key
Fifty people enter a room and all but one must die. The people have the choice of who the next victim is; forced to make impossible decisions while attempting to either escape or convince the crowd that they are worth saving.
It’s decisions like these that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end of this film where the entire room is on trial and must act as judge, jury, and executioner.
Humanity, morality, and self-preservation are all put to the test in this Sci-Fi horror ride.
7. House of 9 (2005)
English 1h 30m IMDb
Director: Steven R. Monroe
Stars: Kelly Brook, Dennis Hopper, Hippolyte Girardot
Locked in a house with nine strangers and $5,000,000 on the line, how would you act knowing that your every move is being watched.
Only one player can survive this game and walk away with the cash. So what do you do? Work together and try to escape with everyone alive or go on the offensive before someone else can do it first? That is the choice these victims must face while under complete surveillance of The Watcher (Jim Carter).
House of 9 (2005) is a quality psychological escape room horror fit for the perfect night of fright.
8. The Babysitter (2017)
English 1h 25m IMDb
Director: McG
Stars: Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Robbie Amell
What would you do if you found out your childhood crush was actually a devil-worshipping murderer? What would you do if she was also your babysitter and it is past your bedtime!
Cole (Judah Lewis) must survive the night and escape the clutches of his evil babysitter, Bee (Samara Weaving), in this fun horror-comedy romp.
While this is a slight departure from the mind-bending psychological thrillers we’ve suggested so far, The Babysitter (2017) is still a quality choice of palate cleanser for any fans of survival or escape the night movies with just a touch of steamy summer fun thrown into the mix for a treat.
9. Don’t Breathe (2016)
English 1h 28m IMDb
Director: Fede Alvarez
Stars: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette
Sometimes bad choices have much worse consequences than expected. For Rocky (Jane Levy) this becomes dangerously apparent after agreeing to participate in robbing a blind man’s (Stephen Lang) home.
Unfortunately for her and her criminal counterparts, this victim is far from helpless; so, now Rocky must survive the night and make it back home to her family before she becomes a victim herself.
Don’t Breathe (2016) is sure to be a riveting thrill ride that might just make you question every noise you hear at night.
10. Would You Rather (2012)
English 1h 33m IMDb
Director: David Guy Levy
Stars: Brittany Snow, June Squibb, Jeffrey Combs
If something is too good to be true, most of the time it will turn out that it is; and, despite all best intentions, that is the situation Iris (Brittany Snow) finds herself in.
Forced to participate in a horrific game of “Would You Rather” by an insidious benefactor, Iris must play by his rules in order to save her brother or die trying.
But, when the game is deadly for everyone, how much can you really be prepared to risk? This take on a classic children’s game of hypotheticals is perfect for sleepovers, horror nights, or any scenario where you would want to watch your friends close to you squirm.
11. The Platform (2019)
Spanish 1h 34m IMDb
Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Stars: Ivan Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Antonia San Juan
A seemingly bottomless prison, in other words, “The Pit” is what the inmates of the Vertical Self-Management Center have taken to calling their terrible home.
The Pit holds only one cell per floor with two prisoners to a cell, the one feature common to all the cells, however, is the hole in the ceiling and floor that delivers food from above, each floor only has two minutes to eat before what is leftover is passed on the prisoners below.
As Goreng (Ivan Massague) works out how to survive in this nightmare, his world will be shaken by friends, foes, and possibly those masquerading as one or the other.
The Platform (2019) serves as a horror think piece about what it means to truly survive in the harshest of conditions.
12. The Game (1997)
English 2h 9m IMDb
Director: David Fincher
Stars: Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger, Sean Penn
For a man who has everything and nothing all at once, successful investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is bored, especially on his 48th birthday. That is until he receives a card with an invitation to a game.
Intrigued by the idea and looking for any excuse to find some excitement, he signs up. What follows is a series of unfortunate events that force Nicholas to approach life from a very different angle or suffer dire consequences.
The Game (1997) is a classic action thriller with an exemplary performance by Michael Douglas that is sure to make anyone look at their own lives a little differently as a result.
13. A Quiet Place (2018)
English 1h 30m IMDb
Director: John Krasinski
Stars: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds
In a world steeped in silence, any noise could spell the end. After the invasion of a new, extremely hostile predator, humanity is forced into eternal quiet as these creatures, Death Angels, hunt by sound and do not hold back.
As such, the Abbotts (John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Cade Woodward) must find a way to survive in their new silent dystopia while preparing for an event that could endanger everything they had survived until that point.
A Quiet Place (2018) is an absolute triumph of the human spirit as this family is forced to survive under the harshest conditions while protecting each other above all else.
Try not to lose yourself in the intensely silent atmosphere of this movie, or else you forget you are just a viewer and not actually being hunted.
14. 12 Feet Deep (2017)
English 1h 25m IMDb
Director: Matt Eskandari
Stars: Nora-Jane Noone, Alexandra Park, Diane Farr
One of the most basic fears of all people is the fear of drowning. Very rarely do we ever have to face that fear, especially not in a safe and controlled environment like a public pool, right?
Well for sisters Bree (Nora-Jane Noone) and Jonna (Alexandra Park) this fear becomes an inescapable reality as they are trapped beneath the fiberglass cover of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, struggling to breathe and freezing in the water these estranged sisters must work together to survive the night and avoid making the deep end of this pool a watery grave.
12 Feet Deep (2017) is a testament to the strength and bond of a family under extreme conditions.
15. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021)
English 1h 28m IMDb
Director: Adam Robitel
Stars: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll
Last but certainly not least is the sequel to the movie that started this whole list.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021) two of our original victors find themselves once again stuck in an escape room they must solve to survive; however, this time there’s a twist, all of the contestants are previous survivors so now the stakes are even higher.
With games more intense and risks more extreme, this is a sequel that is sure to surpass what it was built upon to deliver a film that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
If you are a fan of puzzles, chills, and thrills then look forward to another Escape Room.
Summary
As you can see, the action-thriller horror genre is robust with choices for every mood, occasion, and persuasion. Hopefully, through this list, you’ll find your next cult classic or horror night movie fav.
These were the 15 Best Movies Like Escape Room, so have fun, but just learn a lesson from these unlucky heroes and heroines and try not to accept invitations to any shady games.
