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The Number 23 poster

Movies that feel likeThe Number 23 (2007)

Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.

If you loved The Number 23, the closest films we have are Thelma (2017), The Gift (2015) and Misery (1990). All three share The Number 23's tense and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Girl in the Fog (2017).

10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Paramount Plus Premium

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If The Number 23 hit the spot, these will too

Thelma poster
Thelma
2017 Β· dir. Joachim Trier
πŸ… 92%β˜… 6.9drama Β· mystery Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: obsession

The difference: Reviewed even better

A college student starts to experience extreme seizures. She soon learns that the violent episodes are a symptom of inexplicable abilities.

The Gift poster
The Gift
2015 Β· dir. Joel Edgerton
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7thriller Β· mystery Β· drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: psychological thriller

The difference: Takes it somewhere less gritty than The Number 23 does

Simon and Robyn are a young married couple whose life is going as planned until a chance run-in with Simon's high school acquaintance sends their world into a tailspin.

Misery poster
Misery
1990 Β· dir. Rob Reiner
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.8drama Β· thrillerMax

One thread runs through both: psychological thriller

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

The Girl in the Fog poster
The Girl in the Fog
2017 Β· dir. Donato Carrisi
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.8mystery Β· thriller Β· crime

Tense where it counts, twisty underneath

A gripping and chilling thriller that brings us to a hazy mountain village where an enigmatic detective is investigating the sudden disappearance of fifteen-year-old girl.

Basic Instinct poster
Basic Instinct
1992 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 56%β˜… 7.1thriller Β· mysteryParamount+

Thriller built on obsession, twice over

Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.

Blue Velvet poster
Blue Velvet
1986 Β· dir. David Lynch
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.7mystery Β· thriller Β· crime

Gritty mystery in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

8MM poster
8MM
1999 Β· dir. Joel Schumacher
πŸ… 23%β˜… 6.6thriller Β· crime Β· mystery

Joel Schumacher directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.

The Girl on the Train poster
The Girl on the Train
2016 Β· dir. Tate Taylor
πŸ… 44%β˜… 6.5crime Β· mystery Β· thrillerStarz

Common ground: obsession

Rachel Watson, devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.

A Walk Among the Tombstones poster
A Walk Among the Tombstones
2014 Β· dir. Scott Frank
πŸ… 68%β˜… 6.5crime Β· drama Β· mystery

Contemplative crime, and it commits to that

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Verity poster
Verity
2026 Β· dir. Michael Showalter
β˜… 6.3mystery Β· thrillerRent or buy

Drama with a pulse of unease, in both cases

Lowen Ashleigh, hired to ghostwrite for best-selling author Verity Crawford, uncovers Verity's autobiographical notes, and becomes involved in what may prove to be a lethal conspiracy.

Trap poster
Trap
2024 Β· dir. M. Night Shyamalan
πŸ… 57%β˜… 5.8thriller Β· crimePrime VideoMax

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and sinister event.

Eyes Wide Shut poster
Eyes Wide Shut
1999 Β· dir. Stanley Kubrick
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.5drama Β· thriller Β· mysteryMax

Mystery with a pulse of twists, in both cases

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

In the mood for more tense?

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The best-reviewed films that share The Number 23’s defining feeling.