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Puzzle movies are great thrillers that always keep audiences guessing. But they can be also be frustrating because just when you think you have it all figured out, the plot has twisted again and you're left shocked. These films often feature brilliant twists and turns that leave viewers completely stunned.
To determine puzzle movies packed with surprising plot twists, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of May 2024, weighting all ratings equally.
This post was updated May 17, 2025 to reflect recent movie database statistics.
50. Upstream Color (2013)
- IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (32,713 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 69% (12,793 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (148 reviews)
- Directed by: Shane Carruth
49. Lost Highway (1997)
- IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (136,337 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (57,928 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 61% (44 reviews)
- Directed by: David Lynch
48. Shutter Island (2010)
- IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (1,196,306 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (2,374,639 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 68% (260 reviews)
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
47. Videodrome (1983)
- IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (87,695 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (41,257 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (51 reviews)
- Directed by: David Cronenberg
46. Jacob's Ladder (1990)
- IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (103,096 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (53,129 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 73% (66 reviews)
- Directed by: Adrian Lyne
45. Angel Heart (1987)
- IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (84,157 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (30,142 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (29 reviews)
- Directed by: Alan Parker
44. Stranger than Fiction (2006)
- IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (223,996 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (402,110 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 73% (174 reviews)
- Directed by: Marc Forster
43. Predestination (2014)
- IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (266,521 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (24,408 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (111 reviews)
- Directed by: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
42. Total Recall (1990)
- IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (314,558 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (244,795 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (74 reviews)
- Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
41. The Others (2001)
- IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (350,811 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (344,533 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (165 reviews)
- Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar
40. The Machinist (2004)
- IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (371,005 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (156,143 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (143 reviews)
- Directed by: Brad Anderson
39. The Game (1997)
- IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (369,354 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (141,952 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76% (63 reviews)
- Directed by: David Fincher
38. The Hours (2002)
- IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (128,036 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (85,970 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (195 reviews)
- Directed by: Stephen Daldry
37. Coherence (2013)
- IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (117,703 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (7,939 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (89 reviews)
- Directed by: James Ward Byrkit
36. Atonement (2007)
- IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (262,734 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (227,243 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (219 reviews)
- Directed by: Joe Wright
35. 21 Grams (2003)
- IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (230,677 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (210,580 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (183 reviews)
- Directed by: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
34. 2046 (2005)
- IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (60,026 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (46,802 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (122 reviews)
- Directed by: Kar-Wai Wong
33. Eraserhead (1977)
- IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (109,203 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (57,614 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (62 reviews)
- Directed by: David Lynch
32. Take Shelter (2011)
- IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (97,354 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (25,822 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (166 reviews)
- Directed by: Jeff Nichols
31. Donnie Darko (2001)
- IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (763,860 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (30,984,568 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (118 reviews)
- Directed by: Richard Kelly
30. House of Games (1987)
- IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (21,699 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (6,511 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (27 reviews)
- Directed by: David Mamet
29. Looper (2012)
- IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (550,438 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (180,475 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (269 reviews)
- Directed by: Rian Johnson
28. Source Code (2011)
- IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (499,931 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (125,685 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (263 reviews)
- Directed by: Duncan Jones
27. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
- IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (337,632 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (189,369 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (181 reviews)
- Directed by: David Lynch
26. Life of Pi (2012)
- IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (600,070 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (169,345 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (253 reviews)
- Directed by: Ang Lee
25. Black Swan (2010)
- IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (724,171 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (178,225 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (318 reviews)
- Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
24. Perfect Blue (1997)
- IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (65,687 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (20,433 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (44 reviews)
- Directed by: Satoshi Kon
23. You Only Live Once (1937)
- IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (6,453 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (1,129 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (8 reviews)
- Directed by: Fritz Lang
22. Intolerance (1916)
- IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (14,954 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (4,923 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (38 reviews)
- Directed by: D.W. Griffith
21. Magnolia (1999)
- IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (299,737 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (193,066 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (148 reviews)
- Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
20. The Prestige (2006)
- IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1,245,319 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (551,618 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76% (203 reviews)
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
19. Arrival (2016)
- IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (633,887 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (83,786 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (434 reviews)
- Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
18. Moon (2009)
- IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (345,533 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (100,903 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (194 reviews)
- Directed by: Duncan Jones
17. 12 Monkeys (1995)
- IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (595,919 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (391,252 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (72 reviews)
- Directed by: Terry Gilliam
16. The Sixth Sense (1999)
- IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (942,340 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (1,036,884 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (158 reviews)
- Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
15. Being John Malkovich (1999)
- IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (323,305 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (262,755 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (135 reviews)
- Directed by: Spike Jonze
14. Short Cuts (1993)
- IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (43,712 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (22,738 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (58 reviews)
- Directed by: Robert Altman
13. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
- IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (631,189 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (148,067 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (325 reviews)
- Directed by: Doug Liman
12. The Shining (1980)
- IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (942,587 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (482,374 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (96 reviews)
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
11. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (629,868 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (299,429 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (113 reviews)
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
10. Fight Club (1999)
- IMDb user rating: 8.8/10 (1,940,882 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (1,093,796 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (179 reviews)
- Directed by: David Fincher
9. In the Mood for Love (2001)
- IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (158,912 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (53,549 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (148 reviews)
- Directed by: Kar-Wai Wong
8. Sleuth (1972)
- IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (46,421 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (9,451 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (25 reviews)
- Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
7. Inception (2010)
- IMDb user rating: 8.8/10 (2,171,143 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (571,783 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (361 reviews)
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
6. Amores Perros (2001)
- IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (247,200 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (104,404 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (122 reviews)
- Directed by: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (948,653 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (571,910 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (250 reviews)
- Directed by: Michel Gondry
4. The Usual Suspects (1995)
- IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1,028,997 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (435,145 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (77 reviews)
- Directed by: Bryan Singer
3. Vertigo (1958)
- IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (382,223 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (102,724 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (83 reviews)
- Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
2. Memento (2000)
- IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (1,169,429 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (381,352 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (181 reviews)
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
- IMDb user rating: 8.9/10 (1,909,111 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (1,128,444 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (108 reviews)
- Directed by: Quentin Tarantino