Top Manipulation Movies & TV Shows

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio

Robert De Niro

Lily Gladstone

Jesse Plemons

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

7.4 4.2K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 206 min.

Audience: R

Story: When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one—until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Plot: husband wife relationship, based on novel or book, war veteran, fbi, greed, oklahoma, manipulation, native american, ...

Time: 1920s

Cast

Emily Blunt

Benicio del Toro

Josh Brolin

Victor Garber

Sicario (2015)

7.4 9.6K votes

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 122 min.

Audience: R

Story: An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.

Plot: mission, assassin, central intelligence agency (cia), corruption, bomb, fbi, smoking, border, ...

Place: mexico, texas

Cast

Shailene Woodley

Felicity Jones

Callum Turner

Joe Alwyn

The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)

7.3 672 votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: Canada, United Kingdom

Duration: 110 min.

Audience: 12A

Story: A young journalist in London becomes obsessed with a series of letters she discovers that recounts an intense star-crossed love affair from the 1960s.

Plot: london, england, based on novel or book, cheating, manipulation, love letter, french riviera, memory loss, ...

Time: 1960s

Cast

Rufus Sewell

William Hurt

Kiefer Sutherland

Jennifer Connelly

Dark City (1998)

7.3 3.2K votes

Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction

Country: Australia, United States of America

Duration: 101 min.

Audience: R

Story: A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.

Style: suspenseful

Plot: beach, amnesia, experiment, paranoia, dystopia, sleep, manipulation, mad scientist, ...

Cast

Sydney Sweeney

Amanda Seyfried

Brandon Sklenar

Michele Morrone

The Housemaid (2025)

7.3 2.6K votes

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 131 min.

Audience: R

Story: Trying to escape her past, Millie Calloway accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina and Andrew Winchester. But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous—a sexy, seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power.

Plot: based on novel or book, manipulation, psychological thriller, housekeeper, dominance, attic, housemaid, enigmatic, ...

Cast

John Turturro

Rob Morrow

Ralph Fiennes

Paul Scofield

Quiz Show (1994)

7.3 996 votes

Genre: Drama, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 133 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.

Plot: investigation, manipulation, manipulation of the media, game show, idealism, tv ratings, based on true story, quiz, ...

Time: 1950s

Cast

Gua Ah-leh

Lung Sihung

May Chin

Winston Chao

The Wedding Banquet (1993)

7.2 295 votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Country: Taiwan, United States of America

Duration: 108 min.

Audience: R

Story: A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.

Plot: coming out, new york city, secret love, husband wife relationship, parent child relationship, wedding night, marriage of convenience, interracial relationship, ...

Cast

James McAvoy

Mackenzie Davis

Scoot McNairy

Aisling Franciosi

Speak No Evil (2024)

7.1 2.2K votes

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 110 min.

Audience: R

Story: When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.

Plot: husband wife relationship, paranoia, remake, weekend getaway, europe vacation, children in danger, psychological horror, dangerous escalation, ...

Cast

Luis Tosar

Marta Etura

Alberto San Juan

Petra Martu00ednez

Sleep Tight (2011)

7.1 1.2K votes

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Country: Spain

Duration: 101 min.

Audience: 15

Story: César, an unhappy concierge, maintains a peculiar relationship with the very diverse inhabitants of the upper-class apartment building where he works in Barcelona.

Plot: jealousy, barcelona, spain, blackmail, manipulation, letter, concierge, sociopath, ...

Cast

Riz Ahmed

Lily James

Sam Worthington

Willa Fitzgerald

Relay (2025)

7.0 465 votes

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

Country: United States of America, United Kingdom

Duration: 112 min.

Audience: R

Story: A broker of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client seeks his protection to stay alive.

Plot: manipulation, cover-up, conspiracy, surveillance, political corruption, fixer, spy thriller, hidden agenda, ...

Cast

John Cusack

Gene Hackman

Dustin Hoffman

Rachel Weisz

Runaway Jury (2003)

6.9 1.6K votes

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 127 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: After a workplace shooting in New Orleans, a trial against the gun manufacturer pits lawyer Wendell Rohr against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch, who uses illegal means to stack the jury with people sympathetic to the defense. But when juror Nicholas Easter and his girlfriend Marlee reveal their ability to sway the jury into delivering any verdict they want, a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game begins.

Plot: based on novel or book, court case, widow, new orleans, louisiana, manipulation, jury, gun violence, ...

Cast

Glen Powell

Margaret Qualley

Jessica Henwick

Bill Camp

How to Make a Killing (2026)

6.9 555 votes

Genre: Comedy, Thriller

Country: United Kingdom, France

Duration: 105 min.

Audience: R

Story: Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.

Plot: manipulation, dark comedy, deception, family secrets, remake, killing spree, family power struggle, disowned, ...

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel

Cast

👤

Anjali Appadurai

Kshama Sawant

Klaus Schwab

Elizabeth May

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (2020)

6.9 19 votes

Genre: Documentary

Country: Canada

Duration: 106 min.

Story: Two decades after the initial exposé of the corporation, this follow-up unveils a world now fully remade in its image and perilously close to fascism.

Plot: politics, manipulation, sequel, marketing, corporate, economics, democracy, inequality, ...

Cast

Ricki Lake

Divine

Debbie Harry

Vitamin C

Hairspray (1988)

6.8 452 votes

Genre: Comedy, Music, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 92 min.

Audience: PG

Story: 'Pleasantly plump' teenager Tracy Turnblad achieves her dream of becoming a regular on the Corny Collins Dance Show. Now a teen hero, she starts using her fame to speak out for the causes she believes in, most of all integration. In doing so, she earns the wrath of the show's former star, Amber Von Tussle, as well as Amber's manipulative, pro-segregation parents. The rivalry comes to a head as Amber and Tracy vie for the title of Miss Auto Show 1963.

Plot: bomb, baltimore, usa, civil rights, romcom, racial segregation, integration, interracial relationship, ...

Time: 1960s

Cast

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Ryan Phillippe

Reese Witherspoon

Selma Blair

Cruel Intentions (1999)

6.8 3.6K votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 97 min.

Audience: R

Story: Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster's daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kathryn. But if he loses, Kathryn will claim his most prized possession.

Plot: bet, virgin, drug abuse, sibling relationship, based on novel or book, sexual obsession, upper class, cynic, ...

Cast

Elliot Page

Patrick Wilson

Sandra Oh

Odessa Rae

Hard Candy (2005)

6.8 2.8K votes

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 104 min.

Audience: R

Story: Hayley’s a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff’s a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff’s place. Jeff thinks it’s his lucky night. He’s in for a surprise.

Plot: pedophilia, suicide, rape, age difference, photographer, sadism, insanity, shower, ...

Cast

Anthony Hopkins

Julianne Moore

Gary Oldman

Ray Liotta

Hannibal (2001)

6.8 5.2K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Country: United Kingdom, United States of America

Duration: 131 min.

Audience: R

Story: After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns to America to make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling, who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI rival as well as the media.

Style: suspenseful

Plot: based on novel or book, venice, italy, fbi, manipulation, sequel, serial killer, psychological thriller, ...

Happy Face (2025) TV Show

6.8 64 votes

Genre: Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Audience: TV-MA

Story: The story of Melissa Reed, daughter of Keith Jesperson, aka the Happy Face Killer. After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter’s life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. In the process, she must face a reckoning of her own identity.

Plot: manipulation, identity crisis, talk show, interview, serial killer, rape and murder, based on memoir or autobiography, true crime, ...

UnREAL (2015) TV Show

6.6 168 votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 4

Episodes: 38

Audience: TV-14

Story: Set against the backdrop of a hit dating competition show, Rachel is a young staffer whose sole job is to manipulate her relationships with and among the contestants to get the vital dramatic and outrageous footage the program's dispassionate executive producer demands.

Plot: manipulation, moral conflict, behind the scenes, dating competition, reality tv

Cast

Sydney Sweeney

Justice Smith

Ben Hardy

Natasha Liu Bordizzo

The Voyeurs (2021)

6.5 1.2K votes

Genre: Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 117 min.

Audience: R

Story: When Pippa and Thomas move into their dream apartment, they notice that their windows look directly into the apartment opposite – inviting them to witness the volatile relationship of the attractive couple across the street. But what starts as a simple curiosity turns into full-blown obsession with increasingly dangerous consequences.

Plot: infidelity, sexual obsession, espionage, photographer, eroticism, manipulation, seduction, montreal, ...

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