6 Best Deadly Puzzle and Escape Room Movies

By Vlad Zakh · June 3, 2026

A trap with no obvious exit is great fuel for a thriller. Escape Room and its Tournament of Champions sequel put strangers in deadly puzzle rooms, Exam has eight job candidates locked in a room with one bizarre question, and The Belko Experiment forces office workers to kill each other. Saw and Cube are the genre’s best-known ancestors.

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021)

TMDB ★ 6.3

Survivors of deadly escape rooms are lured into a rigged new game with no way out.

Directed by Adam Robitel · 1h 28m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV, Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Escape Room (2019)

TMDB ★ 6.5

Six strangers competing for a cash prize discover their escape-room puzzles are deadly for real.

Directed by Adam Robitel · 1h 39m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Belko Experiment (2017)

TMDB ★ 6.3

Office workers trapped in their building are ordered by an unseen voice to kill each other or be killed.

Directed by Greg McLean · 1h 29m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Cinemax Amazon Channel, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Exam (2009)

TMDB ★ 6.4

Eight job candidates locked in a room must solve a bizarre, dangerous puzzle to win a prestigious position.

Directed by Stuart Hazeldine · 1h 41m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Saw (2004)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 50% Metacritic 46

James Wan's debut traps two strangers in a room with a killer's twisted game as the only way out.

Directed by James Wan · 1h 43m · Rated R

9 wins & 10 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Cube (1997)

TMDB ★ 6.9

Strangers wake up trapped in a maze of deadly, booby-trapped cubic rooms with no memory of how they got there.

Directed by Vincenzo Natali · 1h 30m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Deadly Puzzle and Escape Room Movies

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021)

Escape Room (2019)

The Belko Experiment (2017)

Exam (2009)

Saw (2004)

Cube (1997)

You might also like

50 Best Horror Movies of All Time

12 Best 2000s Horror Movies

50 Best Movies of the 2000s

13 Best Directorial Debuts of All Time

6 Best Jury Duty Movies of All Time

6 Best Deer Hunting Movies of All Time