Netflix’s A Widow’s Game (Original title: La viuda negra, 2025) is a twist-filled Spanish thriller that is strange mix of emotional manipulation, murder, and police investigation, wrapped in a tightly wound psychological drama. Directed by Belén Macías and starring Maribel Verdú as the cunning and cold-hearted Maje, alongside Tamar Novas as Salva and Verónica Echegui as the relentless detective Eva, the film dives into a complex web of lies. As Eva races to uncover the truth behind Arturo’s death, she also uncovers a chilling portrait of a woman who uses love as a weapon and deceit as survival.
If you found yourself drawn to A Widow’s Game for the twisted narrative and even twistier and morally gray characters, then this list of movies like A Widow’s Game will definitely appeal to you.
1. Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Anatomy of a Fall centers on Sandra Voyter, a German writer living in the French Alps with her husband, Samuel, and their visually impaired son, Daniel.
When Samuel is found dead outside their chalet under suspicious circumstances—either a fall, a suicide, or a murder—Sandra becomes the prime suspect. As the investigation unfolds, Sandra is put on trial, and the case becomes less about hard evidence and more about dissecting their turbulent marriage. Testimonies, intimate details, and conflicting narratives reveal cracks in their relationship, as the line between truth and perception blurs.
Through the eyes of their son, who is caught in the middle, the film questions how well we can truly know someone—and whether love and guilt can coexist. The film focuses on the courtroom drama where the wife’s emotional distance and complicated personal life make her both a suspect and a puzzle, serving as some of the best moments in recent cinema history.
Much like A Widow’s Game, Anatomy of a Fall features an emotionally complex woman at the center of a murder case, using minimal physical evidence and maximum psychological tension to blur the lines between guilt and innocence. In each, the truth isn’t straightforward, and viewers are forced to confront how manipulation and performance can shape justice.
2. Gone Girl (2014)
Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher and based on Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel, is about a seemingly perfect marriage gone horribly wrong.
The story follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), who comes home on his fifth wedding anniversary to find his wife, Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), missing. As the investigation gains national attention, Nick’s calm demeanor, inconsistent alibi, and hidden secrets turn public opinion—and the police—against him. As secrets unravel, the real story reveals layers of manipulation, control, and performative identity.
Maje and Amy Dunne are both icy, calculating, and always two steps ahead. Like A Widow’s Game, Gone Girl plays with public perception, toxic relationships, and the psychological games people play to maintain control—or escape it.
3. To Die For (1995)
To Die For stars Nicole Kidman as Suzanne Stone, a beautiful and wildly ambitious woman who dreams of becoming a famous television personality. Suzanne is obsessed with fame and believes she’s destined for greatness, no matter the cost. She marries Larry Maretto, a kind but unremarkable man who wants a quiet, settled life—something Suzanne sees as a threat to her ambitions. When Larry suggests she take a step back from her career to start a family, Suzanne plots to remove him from her life. Manipulating a group of impressionable teenagers—including a vulnerable boy named Jimmy—Suzanne seduces and convinces them to murder her husband.
Both Maje and Suzanne are ruthless in their pursuit of personal freedom and power, using charm and sexuality as tools to manipulate vulnerable men. To Die For offers a more satirical tone, but its themes of deception and ambition echo the same chilling undertones found in movies like A Widow’s Game.
4. The Girl on the Train (2016)
Rachel Watson (played by Emily Blunt) is a troubled woman reeling from a recent divorce and struggling with alcoholism. Every day, she takes the same commuter train, which passes by the house she once shared with her ex-husband, Tom, who now lives there with his new wife, Anna, and their child. Obsessed with a seemingly perfect couple she sees from the train—Megan and Scott Hipwell, who live a few doors down—Rachel begins fantasizing about their idyllic life. But one day, she sees something shocking from the train window just before Megan mysteriously goes missing.
As Rachel becomes entangled in the investigation, her blackouts, unreliable memory, and emotional instability raise doubts about what she really saw—and what she might have done. As the layers peel away, disturbing secrets emerge.
Much like Eva in A Widow’s Game, Rachel plays the amateur sleuth who uncovers a deeper, darker reality hidden beneath appearances. The film explores unreliable narrators, gaslighting, and fractured memories—key elements that create tension in movies like A Widow’s Game.
5. Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
Laura Burney (played by Julia Roberts) is a woman trapped in an abusive marriage with her wealthy and controlling husband, Martin. On the surface, their life appears picture-perfect, but behind closed doors, Martin is obsessively controlling and violent.
Desperate to escape, Laura fakes her own death during a boating accident and starts a new life in a small town under a new identity. As she slowly rebuilds her life and even begins a new romance, the sense of safety is short-lived. Martin eventually discovers the truth and begins tracking her down, leading to a suspenseful and terrifying confrontation. What follows is a tense game of survival and reclaiming autonomy.
The power dynamics in Sleeping with the Enemy parallel the twisted emotional hold Maje has over Salva. Both stories delve into how love can turn into a weapon—and how escape from it is fraught with fear and danger.
6. The Invisible Guest (2016)
In this Spanish mystery thriller, Adrián Doria, a successful businessman, wakes up in a locked hotel room next to the dead body of his lover, Laura Vidal. Accused of murder, he hires a top defense attorney, Virginia Goodman, to help him build his case. As the two race against time to prepare his defense, Adrián recounts a complex story involving a hit-and-run cover-up, blackmail, and buried secrets. But with each version of events, Virginia pushes deeper, revealing inconsistencies that lead to a shocking truth. The film is a tense, twist-filled mystery about lies, guilt, and how far someone will go to protect themselves. Unfolding through flashbacks, contradictions, and shifting narratives, The Invisible Guest will keep you guessing until the end.
With its elegant structure, layered lies, and final twist, The Invisible Guest mirrors the tone and mood of A Widow’s Game. Both use legal and investigative frameworks to explore how people twist reality to serve their own agenda, making this one of the most tonally aligned movies like A Widow’s Game.
