The game Among Us is the latest mobile game to gain an immense following worldwide. Based in a space-like setting, players have increasingly drawn comparisons between the game and films like John Carpenter's The Thing for its mystery premise. Players get to play the roles of 'Crewmates' while one among them remains to be an 'Impostor'. Unless the Impostor has been spotted, it continues to hunt down the Crewmates.
The game is a worthy addition to deduction games and can draw several cinematic parallels, be it in the sci-fi, horror, or thriller genres.
10 The Thing (1982)
The Thing takes place in Antarctica research camp, the crew of which panics when a symbiotic creature hunts them down one by one. John Carpenter's cult horror perfectly captures the realistic tensions that each of the crew members has and the extent to which they go to save their own life. The so-called Thing itself is a thing to behold, achieved with cutting-edge practical special effects.
Kurt Russell delivers a compelling performance as the lead, supported by character actors like Keith David.
9 Moon (2009)
Moon takes place in a lunar vessel that's just inhabited by a private company's astronaut and an AI system. The protagonist (Sam Rockwell) dwells in solitude, counting his days to go back home until he discovers a secret that makes him question his own identity. He definitely knows there's a suspicious 'Impostor' on board, even if he has now crew. And he constantly battles the thoughts that this 'Impostor' might just be himself.
Rockwell gets into the psyche of the weary, lonely space traveler while Duncan Jones' minimalistic screenplay and direction build an air of ominousness throughout.
8 Clue (1985)
Inspired by the board game of the same name, Clue is an ensemble black comedy delivering some fine performances by actors like Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, and Christopher Lloyd. The film is a classic mystery inheriting the legacy of stories by crime legends like Agatha Christie. The premise involves six guests who are invited to a party whose host dies under mysterious circumstances. That's when the guests decide to unravel the mystery, assisted by the house's servants.
True to the nature of the game, the film involved three endings that theatres screened alternatively! However, the DVD versions of Clue includes all the endings at once.
7 Devil (2010)
Based on a story by M Night Shyamalan, Devil might not have the most unique plot but its fast-paced mystery and tight duration make it a good-enough watch. The majority of the film is set in an elevator as five people are trapped inside. While they try their best to survive, it's hinted that one of them is the Devil. Tensions increase when they start dying one by one. It's a classic whodunit plot with a supernatural twist to it.
The constant dialogue exchanges never play away from the tension and keep viewers hooked, even if there might not be a classic 'Shyamalan twist' in the third act.
6 Sunshine (2007)
Danny Boyle attempts to weave a complex tale of survival and human behavior with Sunshine. As the film's title suggests, it focuses on a crew of astronauts traveling towards the sun in order to save it from burning out of existence. However, by the team they reach their destination, their psychology is altered to different levels leading to internal conflict.
Like the other films on this list, Sunshine too benefits greatly from a talented ensemble including Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Chris Evans, among others.
5 Ad Astra (2019)
Ad Astra will be a perfect pick for those who are into slow-burning mysteries of philosophical science fiction. Brad Pitt plays a deranged astronaut, subtly coping with the disappearance of his father and the loss of his crew. When he's called to duty on a secret mission to find his father and stop a certain calamity, the horrors of space start haunting his sanity. Brad Pitt perfectly plays the lead character who slowly gives in to the merciless Solar System that he encounters.
The film also touches upon moral themes like greed, space colonization, and confronting inner demons. The flawless visuals and the intriguing score are other selling points of the film.
4 The Lighthouse (2019)
The Lighthouse is a horror mystery that can take several unpredictable turns. The film starts off with two sailors assigned to a desolate island. They lead monotonous lives fixing the lighthouse every day. The monotony gets to their heads when the two men engage in drunken brawls and intimate conversations, that reveal the true nature of their existence.
Relying on mythological themes and magical realism and combining it with human madness, writer-director Robert Eggers crafts an intense psychological journey within a limited setting.
3 Life (2017)
This film clearly seems to draw inspiration from other survival films like The Thing and Alien. Contrasting to the latter examples, Life doesn't boast of much intellectual prowess but has enough action to hook audiences. Life stars an ensemble cast of actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ryan Reynolds. They play a space crew terrorized by a parasitic creature that the team initially researches on. However, when the creature grows unstable, it turns into a reckless killing machine.
With swift camerawork and real-life tension portrayed finely by the actors, Life turns a straightforward story into an interactive experience.
2 Identity (2003)
Taking place in the course of a rainy night, Identity follows the route of several psychological mysteries in creating a fresh narrative that can be pretty unpredictable in its twists and turns. The aforementioned night finds ten strangers staying at a motel while a killer is being transported for an execution nearby. The killer eerily was also involved in killing motel guests in a psychotic frenzy. There appears to be a connection between the two incidents as the current motel visitors start dying one by one.
Idenitity eventually serves as a versatile entry in James Mangold's filmography, along with serving as an entertaining thriller.
1 And Then There Were None (1945)
Agatha Christie's classic novel And Then There Were None has seen several direct and inspired adaptations but it's the 1945 black-and-white version that stands the test of time as the closest adaptation to the book. Ten guests from diverse walks of life meet up in an isolated island. While personal secrets get revealed, each character ends up dying leading up to a final moment of horror.
The public domain film relies on melodramatic tussles to create a tense aura that would make the film a classic nailbiter, especially for the ones who haven't read Christie's original.
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October 24, 2020 at 05:30AM
