There is nothing quite like the feeling you get after watching a great suspenseful thriller that leaves your head spinning for days after you finish it. One such movie for me full of amazing twists and suspense was 2009’s Triangle. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t totally spoil it, but it’s a great story in which you never know what to expect next.
If you have watched Triangle and want to find more epic action and suspense movies that play with your mind and the concept of time, then you have come to the right place. I’m going to give you a list of the top twelve suspense films like Triangle, ranked just by their IMDb score.
I tried to rule out all the usual suspects, like The Usual Suspects, Shutter Island, and similar thrillers that everyone knows about. Instead, we’ll focus on great films that actually have some elements in common with Triangle, whether it’s plot, twists, location, or anything in between. Let’s dive in!
12- Open Water (2003)
Score given by IMDb: 5.8/10
What is it about: Open Water is a movie based on the true story of a divers couple who are stranded in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. The couple’s boat left without them, and they had no way of communicating with anyone. To make matters worse, the waters around them are full of sharks.
Why does it look like a triangle? This movie is unlike any other on the list going forward, but I had to include at least one movie that plays in the “ocean stranded” model, which Triangle does in part. And Open Water, like my worst nightmare alive.
Imagine being stranded in the ocean, with no land in sight, literally anywhere around you. You have no way of knowing where you’re going, and even if you do, the currents can actually lead you the other way without you even realizing it. And then, sharks. And the fact that the movie is based on a true story. It’s a thrill fest all the way.
11. Obsession (2007)
Score given by IMDb: 5.9/10
What is it about: A woman wakes up one day to learn that her husband has died in a car accident the day before. Devastated and depressed, she awoke the next day to find her husband alive in the house. Then, in the morning, you wake up in the world where he went again. She tries to figure out if she’s losing her mind or if something else is going on.
Why does it look like a triangle? Premonitions is much less gory and more dramatic, rather than being an actual thriller. However, there are several plot details that make the films similar.
Strange temporal “crashes” occur throughout as the main character struggles to find answers in both films, which leads to a major twist. Also, both films have strong female leads, and I highly recommend them.
10. The Outsiders (2008)
Score given by IMDb: 6.1/10
What is it about: What can you do to survive? This is what James and Kristen had to find out the hard way. After a wedding, the couple stayed at a secluded vacation home, but as night fell, someone knocked on the door.
Fierce fighting for survival ensues when three masked strangers burst in and start torturing the couple with all kinds of weapons.
Why does it look like a triangle? One, both movies are very suspenseful and won’t let you catch your breath the entire time. Two, one of the attackers has a mask very similar to the attacker in Triangle. Three, in both films, the leads are attacked and forced to fight for survival for no apparent reason. And four – both films couldn’t be more violent than they are.
9. Time Lapse (2014)
Score given by IMDb: 6.5/10
What is it about: A group of three friends discover a mysterious machine that can capture images 24 hours in the future. They soon come up with the idea of using it to win the lottery and run other scams for their own gain, but suddenly, disturbing things start to happen – the machine starts developing images straight from their worst nightmares.
Why does it look like a triangle? Time Lapse is another time manipulation movie but it puts a different spin on the trope when compared to the triangle. However, in both films, it doesn’t take long for the manipulation to backfire and become the main source of horror in the films. I liked Time Lapse for some of its deeper messages, and it would probably be higher on the list if you rank them personally.
8. The Exam (2009)
Score given by IMDb: 6.8/10
What is it about: Eight people are considering getting a high profile job in the company, so they are taken to an exam room to finish their final exam and decide who gets the job. Things quickly spiral out of control as the room closes in, and confusion swirls over the nature of the exam…
Why does it look like a triangle? If you’re looking for another time loop movie, you won’t find it in the test. It’s a completely different story and narrative about the triangle. However, what the two things have in common is that I firmly believe that both things deserve more appreciation than they do as insanely sexy thrills.
I won’t go into the intricate details, but the test is also somewhat philosophical and prompts you to try to understand the deeper meaning behind what is happening.
7. Primer (2004)
Score given by IMDb: 6.8/10
What is it about: Four engineer friends think they’re on the brink of something extraordinary as they try to invent a protein accelerator/incubator of some kind. What they end up creating is beyond their wildest imaginations – they inadvertently invent a real working time machine. How they use it will change their past, present, and future in all the wrong ways.
Why does it look like a triangle? Primer also plays with the manipulation of time and encounters another version of yourself along the path. It’s a great movie that actually takes the opposite approach – in Triangle; The characters are thrown into the Ordeal against their will, while in Primer, they willingly use the time machine.
6- Time Crimes (2007)
Score given by IMDb: 7.1/10
What is it about: Hector and his wife are about to move into a new home. He sits and watches through his binoculars as he often did and sees a completely naked girl in the woods. Hector follows her, only to find her now lying on a rock as a masked man attacks him and stabs him in the arm with a pair of scissors.
Soon, Hector will realize that he has inadvertently entered the time machine, and takes him back about an hour. He will face himself an hour ago, which will lead to a chain of terrifying events.
Why does it look like a triangle? Timecrimes, also known as Cronocrimenes, was, in my humble opinion, a masterpiece. It’s a Spanish-language movie, so it didn’t catch the eye like some of the others on this list, but if you have the chance, check it out. It’s a time-traveling story told the right way, with great twists and an incredibly amazing story.
Not only does Timecrime play by manipulating time and facing yourself like a Triangle, but the character also wears a similar mask on his face.
5- Consistency (2013)
Score given by IMDb: 7.2/10
What is it about: A group of friends gather for a nice dinner party. However, the fun soon spoils as strange and mysterious things begin to happen as a comet flies across the sky. An astronomical anomaly caused something strange to start happening, and the friends struggled to figure out what was going on.
Why does it look like a triangle? Just like Triangle, Coherence will take you on a mystical journey where you’ll struggle to make anything make sense, and just as you think you’ve figured it out, another twist that will shake you up and keep you hooked. Both films are amazing in their own right, but Coherence might be my favorite of the two.
4. Identity (2003)
Score given by IMDb: 7.3/10
What is it about: A terrible storm leaves several guests stranded at the Nevada Hotel in the middle of nowhere. The ten strangers get to know each other, but soon it becomes difficult to trust any of them, as one by one, they begin to slaughter. Who is behind the killings and how can they be stopped? You wouldn’t guess if you tried eleven times.
Why does it look like a triangle? Identity has the same element of suspense, mystery, and violence as Triangle but is objectively a more complex and compelling story. You’ll find it on most lists of good thrillers simply because the entire plot tells you one story, but then the twists will make you reconsider and rethink everything you thought you knew.
Identity deserves a higher IMDb score, without a doubt.
3. Fates (2014)
Score given by IMDb: 7.4/10
What is it about: A temporary agent from the future on his final mission before retirement – pursuing the temporal criminal he’s been evading across different timelines. However, what the agent reveals will evolve into a huge yet paradoxical philosophical question of love, identity, and destiny.
Why does it look like a triangle? Predestination and Triangle both play with time travel, in a way, but the thing is, Predestination is one of the smartest movies when it comes to implementing and challenging some of the biggest taboos, misconceptions, and paradoxes of time travel.
I can’t say more than that without spoiling the movie, but you should know that the movie will have you gasping in suspense one moment and smiling in shock the next.
2. Source Code (2011)
Score given by IMDb: 7.5/10
What is it about: Colter Stevens, a veteran of the US Army, wakes up on a train one day, realizing that he is in the body of another man. He soon realizes that he is part of a secret government program trying to stop an insane terrorist from detonating another bomb somewhere in the city after he had already blown up the train Stevens was on.
Why does it look like a triangle? The source code does what Triangle does similarly – meaning the main character is stuck in a time loop. However, the source code, much like the prequel, delves into time travel theory to bust some myths, or at least tamper with them in a very clever way.
It’s one of Jake Gyllenhaal’s best roles and an absolutely amazing movie that will blow your mind. It’s more action and less exciting than Triangle, but it’s a wild ride nonetheless.
1. Memento (2000)
Score given by IMDb: 8.4/10
What is it about: Leonard is a former insurance investigator who suffers from serious short-term memory loss – meaning he can’t store information in his short-term memory at all, forgetting everything from the past day every morning he wakes up.
Despite his condition, he’s still trying to find a way to find his wife’s killer… What he’ll discover may shock him to the core – but the thing is, he won’t know anymore the next day.
Why does it look like a triangle? Now, Memento is more of a psychological thriller, but there’s enough suspense in there for this masterpiece to find a spot on the list. In Triangle, the characters are stuck in a mysterious, inexplicable time loop that haunts them endlessly.
Imagine being in such an episode without anything supernatural or mysterious actually happening, and you get your Memento. Incredibly intelligent and well-directed, Memento quickly became a classic mystery-thriller. If you haven’t watched it yet, you’re missing out on one of the best Christopher Nolan movies ever.
