Saagar Kote
Directed by Louis Leterrier, Netflix’s ‘The Last House’ is a sci-fi thriller film that deals with a seemingly ordinary Seattle family being thrust into an unimaginable ordeal. Riley (Greta Lee), Jason (Wagner Moura), and their children, Ruth (Riley Chung) and Graham (Noah Alexander Sosnowski), discover that they have been mysteriously sealed inside their home with no possibility of escape. As the rains keep lashing, the family members understand that they are in indefinite confinement. The family exhausts its supplies and is forced to reinvent every aspect of daily life just to survive. More than a thousand days after being locked in, the family still hopes to survive as they manage to build a farm-like setup in their house, while the neighborhood outside is overtaken by nature and haunted by unexplained phenomena.
With strange forces gathering beyond their walls and hope steadily fading, the family must uncover the truth behind their imprisonment before it is too late. The narrative blends survival, mystery, and psychological suspense within a hauntingly confined setting. If the storyline appealed to you, these movies, similar to ‘The Last House,’ include inexplicable mysteries, complex group dynamics, and conflicted characters.
12. Cube (1997)
In ‘Cube,’ six strangers regain consciousness inside a seemingly endless network of identical cube-shaped chambers, with none of them knowing who brought them there or why. Among those trapped are police officer Quentin McNeil (Maurice Dean Wint), mathematics student Leaven (Nicole de Boer), escape artist Rennes (Wayne Robson), doctor Helen Holloway (Nicky Guadagni), architect David Worth (David Hewlett), and Kazan (Andrew Miller). As they move from room to room searching for an exit, they discover that the structure is filled with deadly traps that can strike without warning.
Their only chance of escape lies in combining their individual abilities to understand the maze, but fear, mistrust, and conflicting personalities increasingly threaten their fragile alliance. Crafted by Vincenzo Natali, the sci-fi thriller film captures the essence of ‘The Last House’ through its portrayal of group dynamics, mysterious forces, and the experiences of ordinary people stuck inside seemingly inescapable environments with limited resources.
11. Infinity Chamber (2016)
Penned and helmed by Travis Milloy, ‘Infinity Chamber’ follows Frank Lerner (Christopher Soren Kelly), a prisoner confined inside a fully automated facility where an artificial intelligence called Howard oversees his existence. With no clear explanation for his imprisonment, Frank becomes increasingly desperate to break free. His situation grows more disturbing when he realizes that the system can manipulate his memories, repeatedly sending him back to visions of a coffee shop and its owner, Gabby.
As Frank struggles to distinguish genuine memories from fabricated experiences, he realizes he is suspected of creating a computer virus that damaged a fascist regime’s system, and his interrogators want to discover where he concealed it. Along the lines of ‘The Last House,’ the sci-fi thriller film builds suspense by making confinement the central threat. The characters in the two films are cut off from the outside world and forced to endure an environment they cannot control, while the mystery surrounding their imprisonment becomes as important as finding a way to escape.
10. Knock at the Cabin (2023)
‘Knock at the Cabin’ turns a quiet family vacation into a terrifying confrontation when Andrew (Ben Aldridge), Eric (Jonathan Groff), and their adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) are confronted by four armed strangers at their isolated cabin. The intruders, led by Leonard (Dave Bautista), claim they have been experiencing visions of an impending apocalypse and insist that the family’s choices could determine whether the catastrophe occurs. Andrew and Eric initially refuse to believe them, but as disturbing events begin unfolding beyond the cabin, their views are challenged.
With no way out, the family must determine what is real, whom they can trust, and how far they are willing to go to protect one another. Brought to life by M. Night Shyamalan, the psychological horror film is based on Paul G. Tremblay’s novel ‘The Cabin at the End of the World.’ What connects ‘Knock at the Cabin’ to ‘The Last House’ is the way an ordinary family fights for survival. Both films isolate families from the outside world, turning their homes into shelters where unanswered questions and an unseen threat make safety increasingly uncertain.
9. The Incident (2014)
‘The Incident’ or ‘El Incidente’ is a Mexican sci-fi thriller film that revolves around two separate groups trapped in bizarre and seemingly impossible situations. Carlos (Humberto Busto) and his younger brother Oliver (Fernando Álvarez Rebeil) become trapped on an endless staircase alongside police officer Marco (Raúl Méndez), with no apparent way to escape. Meanwhile, Sandra (Nailea Norvind) travels with her husband Roberto (Hernán Mendoza) and their children, Daniel (Gabriel Santoyo) and Camila (Paulina Montemayor), when their road trip takes an inexplicable turn.
Both groups soon realize that their surroundings do not follow the normal rules of reality. As they struggle to understand what is happening and search for a way out, fear, frustration, and desperation begin to test their relationships and their ability to survive. Written and directed by Isaac Ezban, the movie, akin to ‘The Last House,’ turns ordinary settings into inescapable prisons governed by forces that characters cannot understand. In the narratives, survival depends not only on finding an exit but also on confronting the mystery behind the confinement.
8. The Wall (2012)
‘The Wall’ or ‘Die Wand’ chronicles the experiences of an unnamed woman (Martina Gedeck) whose visit to an isolated hunting lodge in the Austrian Alps turns into a life of complete solitude. After her friends Hugo and Luise leave the property, she discovers that an invisible barrier has cut off the surrounding landscape from the rest of humanity. With no way to reach anyone beyond the barrier, she is forced to abandon the life she once knew. The dog Lynx becomes her closest companion as she spends years documenting her experiences and learning how to survive without the comforts of civilization.
Julian Pölsler is the writer and director of this Austrian-German drama film, which is based on Marlen Haushofer’s novel ‘Die Wand.’ The sense of isolation at the heart of ‘The Wall’ connects it to the world and characters of ‘The Last House.’ The characters are forced to adapt to an environment separated from the outside world, and survival gradually becomes a long-term struggle rather than a temporary crisis.
7. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
Dan Trachtenberg steers ’10 Cloverfield Lane,’ which is the tale of Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who wakes up injured inside an underground bunker after a car accident. Its occupants, Howard (John Goodman) and Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), insist that a catastrophic event has made the outside world uninhabitable. But the longer Michelle remains underground, the less she trusts their story. With Howard’s behavior becoming increasingly unsettling and no reliable way to determine what is happening beyond the bunker, Michelle must decide if she wants to remain inside the supposed shelter or risk whatever awaits outside. Similar to ‘The Last House,’ the sci-fi horror thriller film turns confinement into a psychological battle, placing conflicted and complex characters behind barriers they cannot easily overcome while the danger outside remains largely unknown.
6. The Mist (2007)
In ‘The Mist,’ David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his young son Billy (Nathan Gamble) are trapped at a local supermarket due to unforeseen weather conditions. Later, a strange mist engulfs the town and cuts everyone off from the outside world. The situation turns horrifying when the survivors discover that deadly creatures are moving through the fog. As panic spreads, David watches the trapped townspeople divided over how to respond, with the fanatical Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) gaining followers through her religious beliefs. While the supermarket becomes increasingly dangerous and no clear rescue is in sight, David and a small group eventually decide that staying inside may be more perilous than venturing into the unknown.
Shaped by Frank Darabont’s directorial vision, the sci-fi psychological horror film is based on Stephen King’s eponymous novella. ‘The Mist’ and ‘The Last House’ focus on survival and depict how fear transforms the people trapped together. Both films surround ordinary characters with an incomprehensible external threat, forcing them to ration resources, make impossible choices, and confront how fragile their sense of security really is.
5. Hidden (2015)
‘Hidden’ deals with Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), Claire (Andrea Riseborough), and their young daughter Zoe (Emily Alyn Lind), who have spent nearly a year hiding in an underground shelter after a devastating outbreak and military bombardment destroyed their hometown. With the family convinced that hostile creatures known as the Breathers control the surface, they establish strict rules to avoid detection and turn their bunker into a fragile home. Their carefully maintained routine begins to unravel when their supplies disappear, and an accident threatens to expose their presence.
While strange sounds continue to echo above them, the family realizes their refuge may no longer be secure. Penned and brought to life by Matt and Ross Duffer, the psychological thriller film explores survival, secrecy, and the fear of being discovered, much like ‘The Last House.’ For characters in both narratives, as supplies diminish and isolation extends, maintaining their fragile sense of security becomes increasingly difficult.
4. The Divide (2011)
Crafted by Xavier Gens, ‘The Divide’ is a sci-fi horror film that begins with a nuclear attack that forces a group of strangers into the basement shelter of a New York apartment building. With the entrance sealed and rescue seemingly impossible, the survivors initially focus on conserving their resources. But as their confinement stretches on, the cramped shelter becomes a breeding ground for fear and suspicion. Mickey (Michael Biehn), the building’s superintendent, attempts to control the group, while Eva (Lauren German) holds on to the possibility of finding a way out.
When desperation takes over, the survivors discover that the greatest threat may not be the devastation outside but what prolonged isolation brings out in the people around them. Whereas ‘The Last House’ emphasizes a family’s endurance, ‘The Divide’ examines what happens when survival turns strangers against one another. The narratives use prolonged confinement and dwindling resources to create tension, while also shedding light on the psychological consequences of being cut off from the world.
3. Await Further Instructions (2018)
‘Await Further Instructions’ is a Johnny Kevorkian directorial that centers on Nick Milgram (Sam Gittins), who returns to his parents’ home for Christmas with his girlfriend Annji (Neerja Naik), only to find himself caught in an increasingly disturbing family crisis. When a mysterious black substance suddenly surrounds the house, the Milgram family has no idea what has happened outside or whether they are in danger. Searching for answers, they turn to the television, which begins delivering instructions that demand they remain indoors. As the messages become increasingly unsettling, uncertainty gives way to suspicion and fear.
The isolation and paranoia eventually threaten to destroy everyone inside. At the heart of this British sci-fi horror film and ‘The Last House’ is the unsettling collapse of normal family life under extraordinary circumstances. The characters are forced to adapt to an altered reality while confined to their homes, with uncertainty about what is happening beyond their walls.
2. Vivarium (2019)
‘Vivarium’ follows Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg), a young couple whose search for a home leads them into Yonder, a bizarre housing development filled with identical suburban properties. After being guided there by Martin (Jonathan Aris), they soon realize that the neighborhood has no apparent way out. Their situation becomes even more disturbing when a mysterious package delivers a baby with instructions that seem to make the child’s upbringing their only route to freedom.
As the couple remains trapped in the artificial community, the strangeness of their surroundings and the demands of caring for the seemingly suspicious child gradually affect their sense of reality. With Lorcan Finnegan in the director’s chair, the sci-fi psychological thriller film explores conflicted characters, entrapment, isolation, and the unsettling psychological pressures of family life, much like ‘The Last House’ does in its own way.
1. Brick (2025)
Written and directed by Philip Koch, ‘Brick‘ is a German mystery thriller film that chronicles the trials of Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Olivia (Ruby O. Fee), a couple struggling to decide whether their relationship has a future. Their crisis worsens when an impenetrable barrier suddenly seals their apartment building off from the outside world. Every window and exit is covered by mysterious black bricks that cannot be damaged, leaving the pair with no obvious way to escape. As they investigate the strange material, they discover that other residents are trapped as well and that the barrier behaves in ways that defy explanation.
Forced to put their personal differences aside, Tim and Olivia join their suspicious neighbors in searching for answers and a possible way out. Both ‘Brick’ and ‘The Last House’ turn family homes into inexplicable prisons, where tension also comes from the relationships between the characters. In the movies, the trapped individuals confront barriers they cannot understand or overcome, and must make impossible choices to survive.
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