Film

Red Rooms

Name: Red Rooms
Genre: Thriller, Crime
Released: 2023
Cast: Juliette Gariépy, Laurie Babin, Élisabeth Locas, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Natalie Tannous

A psychological thriller about obsession and reality's fragility. A woman fixated on a serial killer's trial finds herself spiraling into dark fantasies and dangerous behavior. Slow-burn, unsettling, and genuinely disorienting—it asks uncomfortable questions about who we become when we're watching. For viewers who want their thrillers to feel invasive and morally murky.

TMDb rating

3.5

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Nightcrawler2014

A study of obsession and media fascination with crime and violence. Lou Bloom's descent mirrors Kelly-Anne's, both drawn into darkness by the promise of seeing something forbidden. Relentlessly gripping.

But Deeply cynical and punishing to watch. You won't feel better afterward, and the protagonist is reprehensible in ways that don't resolve cleanly.

Mystic River2003

Three men haunted by a childhood trauma become entangled in a murder investigation. Complex, morally ambiguous, and masterfully constructed. It understands how obsession and proximity to violence corrupt judgment.

But Densely plotted and occasionally heavy-handed in its symbolism. Clint Eastwood's pacing can feel glacial if you're impatient for plot.

Gone Girl2014

Unreliable narrators and media obsession collide. The public becomes complicit in the story they're consuming. Sharp, darkly funny, and structurally brilliant in how it plays with perspective.

But Once you've seen it, the twists feel inevitable. The second half pivots in ways some find gimmicky rather than revelatory.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Red Rooms

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Act of Killing2012

Both explore the psychology of obsession with violence and the voyeurism of consuming others' cruelty—but this documentary flips the mirror, asking what *we* become as witnesses.

A documentary where Indonesian death-squad commanders reenact their own killings for the camera. Unbearable and essential: it reveals how perpetrators rationalize atrocity and how filmmaking itself becomes complicit. Shatteringly moral.

But Real violence, real murderers, real victims. It's a film that wounds you intentionally. Watching feels wrong because it *should* feel wrong.

Prisoners2013

Obsession with justice turns a desperate father into something monstrous. Denis Villeneuve's control is immaculate; every frame pressurizes you. About how proximity to crime warps moral reasoning.

But Nearly three hours and relentlessly bleak. No one gets to feel good, and the ambiguity about right and wrong stays uncomfortable through the credits.

The Killing2011

A Danish crime series where the investigation becomes an obsession for the detectives themselves. Methodical, atmospheric, and genuinely interested in how violence ripples through a community. Addictive.

But The pacing is glacial if you're used to American procedurals. Some plot threads feel deliberately frustrating, and the ending divides viewers sharply.

MINDHUNTER2017

Early criminal psychology meets the birth of FBI profiling. The detectives' growing fascination with serial killers' minds becomes its own kind of sickness. Intelligent, atmospheric, and morally alert.

But Cancelled after two seasons on an unresolved note. The procedural format flattens after a while, and the central relationship never quite lands.

Zodiac2007

Fincher's obsessive masterpiece about two men consumed by an unsolved case. Meticulous, icily crafted, and genuinely about how chasing a ghost destroys you. No answers, only questions.

But Three hours of men staring at evidence with minimal dialogue. If you need catharsis or resolution, this film will leave you hanging in the cold.

The Wailing2016

A South Korean film where a police investigation into a murder becomes a descent into ambiguity and paranoia. Breathtakingly made, it exploits uncertainty the way most thrillers exploit clarity.

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Under the Skin2014

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Come and See1985

Both film the internal experience of someone being consumed by darkness. Where Red Rooms shows obsession as a psychology, Come and See shows it as annihilation.

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Creep2014

Both explore obsession as a kind of intimacy and the blurring between watching and participating. Red Rooms does it psychologically; Creep does it relationally.

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But Cheap-looking and deliberately slow. The premise hinges on both characters making implausible decisions; if you're impatient with contrivance, it collapses.