The Invisible Guest backdrop

Films like The Invisible Guest (2017)

Published: Mar 17, 2026

We’ve gathered the best mind-bending detective films and thrillers similar to "The Invisible Guest", centered on intricate plots, dark mysteries, a wide pool of suspects, and characters who cannot be fully trusted. As in Oriol Paulo’s film, the truth is revealed gradually, while unreliable narrators, hidden motives, and shocking twists keep you questioning what really happened until the very end. Among the closest matches in this collection are "The Body", "Primal Fear", "The Secret in Their Eyes", "God’s Crooked Lines", "Shutter Island", and "Gone Girl".

The Body

1. The Body

Thriller Mystery
7.6

2012 · 1h 47min

Spain

Director: Oriol Paulo

A frightened night watchman, who seems to have seen something terrifying, runs into the road in a panic and is hit by a car. Soon, the police discover that the body of a woman has mysteriously disappeared from the morgue where he worked.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Tension, Pacing, Tropes, Conflict

Shared keywords

Betrayal, Twist ending, Cover up

Style

Tension
82%
Darkness
74%
Complexity
70%

Mirage

2. Mirage

Thriller Drama Mystery Fantasy
7.4

2018 · 2h 9min

Spain

Director: Oriol Paulo

A happy family with a young daughter moves into a new house. During a violent storm, the woman mysteriously makes contact through a television with a boy from the past and saves his life. But this strange event changes her own life as well: she is now a stranger to her husband, and her daughter was never born.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Complexity, Tension, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-25%), Darkness (-15%)

Shared keywords

Twist, Mystery, Belief challenged by reality, Neo noir

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
74%
Pacing
72%

Side Effects

3. Side Effects

Thriller Crime Drama
7.1

2013 · 1h 46min

United States

Director: Steven Soderbergh

A young woman struggles with severe depression and turns to a clinic, where she’s put on an experimental treatment. But her normal life starts falling apart even more when the prescribed medication brings unexpected side effects.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Darkness, Pacing, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Mistrust, Betrayal, Twist, Mystery, Unreliable narrator, Trust

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
74%
Darkness
70%

Primal Fear

4. Primal Fear

Crime Drama Mystery Thriller
7.7

1996 · 2h 11min

United States

Director: Gregory Hoblit

Police arrest a young man accused of the brutal murder of an archbishop. Successful attorney Martin Vail takes the case, and although all the evidence points to the boy’s guilt, he’s convinced it isn’t as simple as it looks at first glance.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Complexity, Tension, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Cover up, Mystery, Neo noir

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
74%
Darkness
72%

The Secret in Their Eyes

5. The Secret in Their Eyes

Mystery Thriller Drama
8.2

2009 · 2h 10min

Argentina, Spain

Director: Juan José Campanella

Buenos Aires is shaken by the brutal rape and murder of a young woman, a case that is never truly solved. Many years later, court clerk Benjamín Espósito, who once worked on the investigation, decides to write a book about it. But the deeper he digs back into the crime, the more hidden truths and long-buried secrets come to light.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Darkness, Tension, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Pacing (-14%)

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Mystery

Style

Tension
82%
Darkness
78%
Complexity
74%

The Best Offer

6. The Best Offer

Drama Romance Crime
7.8

2013 · 2h 11min

Italy

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

A strict and solitary auctioneer and antiques expert is contacted by a young woman who asks him to appraise her family’s antique collection, yet only ever speaks to him over the phone. As he continues his evaluation, he learns that she suffers from a rare condition that prevents her from being around strangers. Before long, the mystery surrounding her draws him in more than any antique ever could.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Darkness, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Tension (-11%), Pacing (-26%), Complexity (-12%)

Shared keywords

Betrayal, Twist, Twist ending, Mystery, Unreliable narrator

Style

Tension
74%
Bleakness
72%
Darkness
68%

God's Crooked Lines

7. God's Crooked Lines

Drama Mystery Thriller
7.1

2022 · 2h 35min

Spain

Director: Oriol Paulo

A private detective enters a psychiatric hospital posing as a patient to investigate the mysterious murder of one of the inmates. The deeper she digs into the case, the greater the danger to her becomes.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Darkness, Pacing, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Mystery, Unreliable narrator

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
74%
Darkness
70%

Fracture

8. Fracture

Thriller
7.2

2007 · 1h 53min

United States, Germany

Director: Gregory Hoblit

A wealthy and brilliant engineer is accused of attempting to murder his wife after learning of her affair. The young prosecutor assigned to the case is determined to prove his guilt, but soon realizes that the accused has thought of almost everything in advance, and that the case will be far more complicated than it first appeared.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Darkness, Pacing, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-15%)

Shared keywords

Mistrust, Betrayal, Twist, Twist ending, Unreliable narrator

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
68%
Darkness
65%

Presumed Innocent

9. Presumed Innocent

Mystery Crime Thriller
6.9

1990 · 2h 7min

United States

Director: Alan J. Pakula

A district attorney investigates the murder of a young woman who also worked at the prosecutor’s office. As the investigation unfolds, it comes to light that the victim was his lover, and he suddenly becomes the prime suspect. With the evidence increasingly pointing to him, he turns to one of the city’s best defense attorneys for help.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Bleakness, Darkness, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Pacing (-12%)

Shared keywords

Betrayal, Twist ending, Neo noir, Trust

Style

Tension
80%
Complexity
75%
Bleakness
75%

Shutter Island

10. Shutter Island

Drama Thriller Mystery
8.2

2010 · 2h 18min

United States

Director: Martin Scorsese

On an isolated island that houses a psychiatric facility for the most dangerous patients, one of the inmates disappears without a trace. War veteran and U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels arrives on the island with his partner to investigate the mysterious disappearance.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Darkness, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Mystery, Belief challenged by reality, Unreliable narrator

Style

Tension
84%
Darkness
82%
Bleakness
78%

The Life of David Gale

11. The Life of David Gale

Drama Thriller Crime
7.5

2003 · 2h 10min

United States, Germany

Director: Alan Parker

David Gale, a well-known anti-death-penalty activist and professor, ends up on death row accused of murdering a colleague. Just days before his execution, he agrees to give an interview to a journalist determined to get to the truth. But the deeper she digs into his version of events, the more doubts the case begins to raise.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Bleakness (+12%), Tension (-11%), Pacing (-14%), Complexity (-12%)

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Mystery, Unreliable narrator

Style

Bleakness
82%
Darkness
78%
Tension
74%

The Girl on the Train

12. The Girl on the Train

Crime Mystery Thriller
6.5

2016 · 1h 52min

United States, India

Director: Tate Taylor

Divorced woman Rachel Watson watches, day after day, the life of a seemingly perfect couple in a house near the railway tracks. But one day a woman from that perfect home disappears, and Rachel is drawn into a tangled web of investigation—because she’s the one who saw what most people never did.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Darkness, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Tension (-11%), Pacing (-14%), Complexity (-16%)

Style

Darkness
78%
Tension
74%
Bleakness
72%

Gone Girl

13. Gone Girl

Mystery Thriller Drama
8.1

2014 · 2h 29min

United States

Director: David Fincher

On their wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne comes home to find that his wife Amy has vanished without a trace, and the house shows signs of violence. The further the investigation goes, the more questions police have about Nick’s possible involvement in the mysterious disappearance—and whether this couple was ever truly so perfect.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Pacing, Tropes, Tone

Style

Tension
84%
Darkness
82%
Bleakness
78%

Forgotten

14. Forgotten

Thriller Mystery Crime
7.4

2017 · 1h 48min

South Korea

Director: Jang Hang-jun

A family with two sons moves into a new house. One night, one brother is kidnapped right in front of the other and returned a few weeks later, but after coming back, the boy seems like a different person.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Bleakness, Darkness, Tropes, Tone

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Mystery, Unreliable narrator

Style

Tension
84%
Darkness
78%
Complexity
74%

Identity

15. Identity

Mystery Thriller
7.3

2003 · 1h 30min

United States

Director: James Mangold

During a fierce storm, ten strangers end up in a small motel in Nevada. After someone starts killing them one by one, they realize this meeting wasn’t a coincidence.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Bleakness, Darkness, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Mystery, Unreliable narrator, Neo noir

Style

Tension
84%
Darkness
78%
Complexity
74%

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About the movie The Invisible Guest (2017)

The Invisible Guest plot: A young businessman wakes up in a hotel room locked from the inside, beside the body of his lover. To prove his innocence and understand what really happened in that room, he turns to one of the city’s best lawyers for help.

Keywords: Mistrust, Crime drama, Betrayal, Crime thriller, Twist, Twist ending, Blackmail, Identity, Cover up, Mystery

Style characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Darkness, Pacing, Bleakness