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Vol. 2 · TV · Mind-Bending
Chapter Two
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The Mind-Bending Files

Movies that challenge perception and twist reality.


These 40 films have been quietly catalogued into a collection the editors call, simply, “Mind-Bending.” They are not ranked by box office. They are not sorted by release. They are arranged by something harder to measure — a shared emotional frequency, a kinship of mood. What follows is the reading list. Begin where you like. Read until you find the one that looks back.

  1. 01.
    The Twilight Zone

    The Twilight Zone

    1959·Created by Rod Serling·9.0

    An anthology series containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.

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  2. 02.
    Gravity Falls

    Gravity Falls

    2012·Created by Alex Hirsch·8.9

    Twin brother and sister Dipper and Mabel Pines are in for an unexpected adventure when they spend the summer helping their great uncle Stan run a tourist trap in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls, Oregon.

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  3. 03.
    Death Note

    Death Note

    2006·8.9

    Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?

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  4. 04.
    True Detective

    True Detective

    2014·Created by Nic Pizzolatto·8.8

    An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

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  5. 05.
    Steins;Gate

    Steins;Gate

    2011·8.8

    A group of friends have customized their microwave so that it can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them.

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  6. 06.
    Dark

    Dark

    2017·Created by Baran bo Odar·8.7

    A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations.

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  7. 07.
    Over the Garden Wall

    Over the Garden Wall

    2014·Created by Patrick McHale·8.7

    Two brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves lost in the Unknown; a strange forest adrift in time. With the help of a wise old Woodsman and a foul-tempered bluebird named Beatrice, Wirt and Greg must travel across this strange land, in hope of finding their way home. Join them as they encounter surprises and obstacles on their journey through the wood.

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  8. 08.
    I Told Sunset About You

    I Told Sunset About You

    2020·Created by Naruebet Kuno·8.7

    Tender emotions and new yearnings awaken in childhood friends Teh and Oh-aew when they cross paths in a Chinese language class during senior year.

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  9. 09.
    Twin Peaks

    Twin Peaks

    1990·Created by Mark Frost·8.7

    The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.

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  10. 10.
    Black Mirror

    Black Mirror

    2011·Created by Charlie Brooker·8.7

    Twisted tales run wild in this mind-bending anthology series that reveals humanity's worst traits, greatest innovations and more.

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  11. 11.
    Severance

    Severance

    2022·Created by Dan Erickson·8.6

    Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.

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  12. 12.
    Kamen Rider ZEZTZ

    Kamen Rider ZEZTZ

    2025·8.6

    In a world shaped by the dreams we see in our sleep, ZEZTZ enters people's dreams as an agent on a mission. Equipped with a cutting-edge Rider belt worn across the chest, ZEZTZ brings a bold new form to the battle.

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  13. 13.
    We Are All Trying Here

    We Are All Trying Here

    2026·Created by Park Hae-young·8.6

    An aspiring director hits rock bottom after 20 years chasing his debut — until he meets an overwhelmed producer who helps him rediscover his self-worth.

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  14. 14.
    Dexter

    Dexter

    2006·Created by James Manos Jr.·8.6

    Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice.

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  15. 15.
    Mr. Robot

    Mr. Robot

    2015·Created by Sam Esmail·8.5

    A young programmer, Elliot, suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot finds himself in the intersection between a cybersecurity firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America.

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  16. 16.
    Inside No. 9

    Inside No. 9

    2014·Created by Reece Shearsmith·8.5

    An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'.

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  17. 17.
    Lovely Runner

    Lovely Runner

    2024·Created by Kim Bbang·8.5

    Right after Ryu Sun-jae, a top star, ends his life, Im Sol, his top fan, somehow ends up at a time when they were in high school and tries to protect him. A fantasy romance unfolds where people who missed each other in time finally meet.

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  18. 18.
    LINK CLICK

    LINK CLICK

    2021·Created by Li Haoling·8.5

    Using superpowers to enter their clientele’s photos one by one, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang take their work seriously at “Time Photo Studio,” a small photography shop set in the backdrop of a modern metropolis. Each job can be full of danger, but nothing is more important than fulfilling every order, no matter the scale…or peril involved!

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  19. 19.
    Lord of Mysteries

    Lord of Mysteries

    2025·Created by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving·8.5

    In a Victorian world of steam, dreadnoughts, and occult horrors, Zhou Mingrui awakens as Klein Moretti. He walks a razor’s edge between light and darkness, entangled with warring Churches. This is the legend of unlimited potential…and unspeakable danger.

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  20. 20.
    The Tatami Galaxy

    The Tatami Galaxy

    2010·8.4

    When a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous “black cupid.”

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  21. 21.
    ERASED

    ERASED

    2016·8.4

    Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who has the ability to turn back time and prevent deaths. When his mother is killed he turns back time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary school, just before the disappearance of his classmate Kayo.

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  22. 22.
    The Night Of

    The Night Of

    2016·Created by Richard Price·8.4

    After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.

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  23. 23.
    Luther

    Luther

    2010·Created by Neil Cross·8.4

    A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts.

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  24. 24.
    Carnivàle

    Carnivàle

    2003·Created by Daniel Knauf·8.4

    Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar.

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  25. 25.
    Someday or One Day

    Someday or One Day

    2019·Created by Chi-Feng Chien·8.4

    Yu-Hsuan lost her boyfriend Chuan-Sheng in plane accident. She then discovered Chuan-Sheng and a girl look alike Yu-Hsuan both appeared in a photo taken in 1998. Accidentally, she had backed to 1998 and met a boy looked alike Chuan-Sheng.

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  26. 26.
    Nowhere Man

    Nowhere Man

    1995·Created by Lawrence Hertzog·8.3

    Thomas Veil is a documentary photographer who, in the course of one evening, seemingly has his whole existence erased...

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  27. 27.
    Millennium

    Millennium

    2010·Created by Niels Arden Oplev·8.3

    Investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist is drawn into an endlessly dark world, with enigmatic hacker Lisbeth Salander his only guide.

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  28. 28.
    Life on Mars

    Life on Mars

    2006·Created by Matthew Graham·8.3

    A detective chief inspector from 2006 is investigating a serial killer when he is knocked over by a speeding car. Waking up, he finds himself mysteriously transported back in time to 1973. Initially struggling to come to terms with his situation, he has to come to terms with the old-fashioned technology and attitude of the day, while figuring out how he came to be trapped in the past.

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  29. 29.
    So Weird

    So Weird

    1999·Created by Tom J. Astle·8.3

    Fourteen-year-old Fi Phillips investigates the paranormal while touring the country in a bus with her widowed rock-star mom and her skeptical brother, Jack. At the beginning of Season 3, Fi passed the job of case cracker to a songbird named Annie

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  30. 30.
    Ningen Kowai

    Ningen Kowai

    2022·8.2

    Rakugo has the image of a humorous story, but it is also a treasure trove of “scary stories”. Among them, this work boldly arranges a performance in which "human fear" stands out, and does it in an omnibus format. There are four rakugo plays that will be drawn as a drama this time: "Kokoro", "Tatsumi's Tsuji Zou", "Konya Takao", and "Miyatogawa (upper / lower)".

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  31. 31.
    The Kingdom

    The Kingdom

    1994·Created by Lars von Trier·8.2

    The Kingdom is the most technologically advanced hospital in Denmark, a gleaming bastion of medical science. A rash of uncanny occurrences, however, begins to weaken the staff's faith in science – a phantom ambulance pulls in every night, but disappears; voices echo in the elevator shaft; and a pregnant doctor's fetus seems to be developing much faster than is natural.

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  32. 32.
    Are You Afraid of the Dark?

    Are You Afraid of the Dark?

    1992·Created by D.J. MacHale·8.2

    This spooky anthology series for kids recounts ghost stories told by the young members of the Midnight Society as they gather around a campfire. Each episode opens with members of the Midnight Society at their secret spot in the woods, where they prepare their fire and the night's storyteller announces the title of the his or her offering. However, the cameras soon leave the storyteller and switch to the tale being told.

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  33. 33.
    Tunnel

    Tunnel

    2017·8.2

    A police detective from 1986 travels in time to the present to save his daughter.

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  34. 34.
    Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

    Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

    2016·8.2

    Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, is on his way home from the convenience store when he finds himself transported to another world. As he's lost and confused in a new world where he doesn't even know left from right, the only person to reach out to him was a beautiful girl with silver hair. Determined to repay her somehow for saving him from his own despair, Subaru agrees to help the girl find something she's looking for.

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  35. 35.
    The Midnight Gospel

    The Midnight Gospel

    2020·Created by Pendleton Ward·8.2

    Traversing trippy worlds inside his universe simulator, Clancy the space caster explores existential questions about life, death and everything in between.

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  36. 36.
    Puella Magi Madoka Magica

    Puella Magi Madoka Magica

    2011·8.2

    She has a loving family and best friends, laughs and cries from time to time... Madoka Kaname, an eighth grader of Mitakihara middle school, is one of those who lives such a life. One day, she had a very magical encounter. She doesn't know if it happened by chance or by fate yet. This is a fateful encounter that can change her destiny. This is a beginning of the new story of the magical witch girls.

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  37. 37.
    Summer Time Rendering

    Summer Time Rendering

    2022·8.2

    Shinpei Ajiro travels home to attend the funeral of a childhood friend, and finds the remote island plagued by a sinister, supernatural force.

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  38. 38.
    Reset

    Reset

    2022·8.1

    The lives of a college student and a video game designer are kept being reset after an explosion on a bus. During each reset, they have to work together to find out what the reason for the explosion is. Will these two be able to save themselves and their fellow passengers? Will they be able to close the time-loop?

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  39. 39.
    Revolutionary Girl Utena

    Revolutionary Girl Utena

    1997·8.1

    "Never lose that strength or nobility, even when you grow up." When Utena was just a child and in the depths of sorrow, she found salvation in those words. They were the words of a prince, who bestowed upon her both a ring and the promise that it would lead her to him again. She never forgot the encounter. Now a teenager, Utena attends the prestigious Ohtori Academy; however, her strong sense of chivalry soon places her at odds with the student council and thrusts her into a series of mysterious and dangerous duels against its members.

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  40. 40.
    The Promised Neverland

    The Promised Neverland

    2019·8.1

    Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.

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— End of Chapter —