The Top 12 Best Maze / Labyrinth Movies of all time

September 21, 2021

I love watching movies and I love making mazes and labyrinths. You might not think so, but there is a good amount of overlap between the two. Mazes have been popping up as plot devices in movies since they were first being made. Want to create tension for your characters ? Get them lost in a maze being chased by a villain. Sometimes characters need a challenge to overcome to get to their destination, so how about solving a puzzle or series of puzzles like a maze. Each of these scenarios play themselves out in the list below, plus a few more.

When I set out to compile a list of maze movies I never realized how great many of the movies would actually be. I created an entire movie section on this site which currently has over 70 movie reviews. I had trouble getting the list down to the 12 best, but it is clear that a few movies stand out. Many of these are available to stream for free, and for up-to-date streaming options I suggest you checkout justwatch. Let’s get to the movies !

The 12 Best Movies Containing Mazes or Labyrinths:

12. Enter the Dragon (1973) IMDB AMAZON

This classic 1970’s martial arts movie set a high standard before special effects took the genre to a new level. Considered by many (including IMDB) Bruce Lee’s best movie. it was released in the US just a few weeks after his untimely death. The movie follows Lee as he tries to infiltrate and investigate a man named Han’s inner circle during a martial arts tournament that Han holds on his island. What gets the movie on this list is the final fight scene which takes place in a mirror maze (more of a mirror room). Fighting in a mirror maze definitely raises the degree of difficulty ! SPOILER : Below is the final fight scene, with the mirror room starting around 2:45 in.

11. Cube (1997) IMDB Prime Video

6 strangers wake-up in a giant cube shaped maze that is bobby trapped and trying to kill them. They don’t know why they are there or how they got there but they know they need to try and escape. Are they making the right or wrong choice as they choose each passageway ? Only one way to find out. Now this is some maze horror ! Eventually this became a trilogy, but I suggest you skip #2 and go to the final instalment, Cube Zero if you want answers to the why and who of the Cube.

10. Dave Made A Maze (2017) IMDB Prime Video

Dave builds a cardboard fort in his living room. It looks small from the outside, but once you enter it gets much, much larger. Dave gets lost. Dave’s friends join him against his advice to stay outside. Now everyone is lost. To return to civilization they need to band together and escape the cardboard maze. Destined to be a cult classic. Also we have an appearance of a minotaur in the maze !

9. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) IMDB Prime Video

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer movie poster

A young boy is born with a sense of smell more powerful than anyone in human history. With it he obsessively works to create the perfect perfume. Unfortunately, that includes some secret ingredients that are against the law. Of course, he finds some of these ingredients when they are lost in a hedge maze. It gets very weird multiple times at the end, but you can’t say it’s something you’ve seen before ! And that's why the movie made the list, for the original story.

8. Time Bandits (1981) IMDB AMAZON

Time Bandits is a 1981 film written and directed by Terry Gilliam. Yes, the same Terry Gilliam of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Meaning of Life, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This movie would best be described as a time travel fantasy film with a Monty Python feel to it. Very British. This is a movie full of imagination and fun storytelling. And about 80 minutes into the movie we have a maze ! The maze appears during a game show sequence that is a trap Evil (the bad guy) has set to steal the map from the dwarves.

7. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) IMDB Prime Video

Rita Hayworth plays a vixen that gets director/actor Orson Welles mixed up in a murder plot in this film-noir classic. They find themselves caught in a fun-house mirror maze in a key plot moment that involves gunshots…if they can find what they are shooting at ! Bonus points for making the maze so important to the story ! One of the few maze films that involves a funhouse mirror maze but is not a horror film.

6. Dark City (1998) IMDB Prime Video

Dark is definitely the best way to describe this city and this movie. An underrated fantasy sci-fi movie where a city is stuck in perpetual night. Our main character is wanted for murder, can’t remember his past, and is being pursued by some creepy guys called The Strangers. As he travels in the city, trying to find information about his life and what is happening he witnesses the cities buildings and structure changing, creating a maze of the city. We also have a conflicted doctor (played by Kiefer Sutherland) who does city experiments using a mouse in a spiral maze that is shaped like the city. And everything leads to Shell Beach. It will not surprise you that the director, Alex Proyas, also brought us the dark and mysterious The Crow.

5 . Ready Player One (2018) IMDB Prime Video

Steven Spielberg directed this great movie from the best selling book. In the year 2045 a virtual reality world called the OASIS can be won by the person who can find a series of Easter Eggs hidden in the virtual world. To find the Easter Eggs you need to solve puzzles (some maze like) using details about pop culture from the past (our present). With cameos by over 120 characters this movie is one you can watch again and again and never see all the hidden cameos. Oh, and did you notice the Ready Player One logo is a MAZE ! You start from the initial R and work your way to the center of the O.

Ready Player One Logo Maze

4. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) IMDB Prime Video

In 1944 Spain a young girl escapes a world at war by escaping into a fantasy world at the center of a secret underground labyrinth. The girl meets a faun (totally normal) who takes her to the center of the labyrinth. She learns she can become an immortal princess in this fantasy world but must prove herself first by completing 3 tasks. Winner of 3 Oscars (Best Achievement in Cinematography, Art Direction, and Makeup) and over 100 movie awards. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro this movie is always ranked in the top 250 list of IMDB.

3. Prisoners (2013) IMDB Prime Video

A man (Hugh Jackman) tries to hunt down his 6 year old daughter and her friend who have been abducted. As he gets closer to the suspected abductor he finds a man obsessed with making mazes (I do not support this premise). Can he find the children in time to keep them safe ? A really tense thriller I highly recommend. Directed by the visionary Denis Villeneuve (Dune, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049), this movie makes the IMDB top 250 movie list of all time.

2. Inception (2010) IMDB Prime Video

At the time of this writing this is the highest rated Science-Fiction movie of all-time on IMDB. A group of thieves go into dreams to steal corporate ideas from the minds of people. This time they need to plant an idea in a CEO’s head during a dream (what they call an inception). To do this they will need to circumvent the maze of subconscious dream worlds they’ve created - a dream world within a dream world within a dream world. Sounds like that will be easy to execute. And the ending !!! Thank you Christopher Nolan for this masterpiece !

And the #1 Maze movie is…..going to be revealed after these honorable mention maze movies that didn’t quite make the cut. We have 3 horror movies, 3 fantasy movies and 2 animated movies. All are worth a look, but none made my final list beyond this honorable mention shoutout.

The Maze Runner (2014) IMDB Prime Video . A group of boys with no memory are placed in a maze.

Labyrinth (1986) IMDB Prime Video . A girl must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother from a goblin.

The Collection (2012) IMDB Prime Video A man tries to save a girl from a serial killer and his maze-like warehouse.

Us (2019) IMDB Prime Video. A young child wanders into a funhouse mirror maze during a beach vacation, where she sees herself? or a doppelganger inside…

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) IMDB Prime Video Harry must complete 3 challenges, with the third being a huge maze to win a tournament.

Tales from the Crypt (1972) IMDB Prime Video 5 strangers get lost in a maze like crypt.

Alice in Wonderland (1951) IMDB AMAZON Alice visits wonderland and finds herself in a hedge maze garden where living playing cards are painting roses.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) IMDB Prime Video Viking kids learn to train dragons in a maze.

8 maze movie posters collage — Maze movie posters

And the best maze movie is…

1. The Shining (1980) IMDB Prime Video

One of the best horror movies of all time is also one of the best movies of all time. Stanley Kubrick as the director of a Stephen King best selling book with Jack Nicholson as the lead character….Yes please ! A writer takes a job as a caretaker of a secluded hotel that is closed for the Winter with his wife and young son joining him. Oh, did I mention the hotel is also haunted ? As the writer’s mental state deteriorates, his wife and son try to leave but he won’t let them. Can they escape a secluded hotel in the middle of winter ? I would try using the hedge maze outside….just a thought. If you want to explore the symbolism in the film check out the documentary Room 237.

At the time of this writing most of these are available to stream online. My favorite site to check what is streaming where is Justwatch. Now, make some popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show ! I also suggest you check out the top maze movie posters of all time.

Other popular blog posts you may like:

How to Make a Maze - website section with over 40 different How-tos

44 Different Types of Mazes and Labyrinths

Into the Labyrinth (2020) Movie Review

February 21, 2021

I review any movie containing a maze or labyrinth. And there are some great maze movies that have been made ! But also there are movies that are the complete opposite. Today I will review Into the Labyrinth, or L'uomo del labirinto in Italian and see which list it fits on. The good news is this movie can usually be streamed for free on variety of websites. You can check the current availability using this link to justwatch ! If you are a reader you can also check out the 464 page book from Donato Carrisi on Amazon or better yet your local bookseller / library.

Into the Labyrinth (2020) (IMDB)

Of all the movies I have reviewed this has the most different posters. Check out the 4 I found below: 2 with labyrinth imagery and 1 with maze imagery.

First, I must say that we live in a world where we are constantly multitasking and electronic devices always want our attention. This is not a multitasking movie. You need to pay attention to the storyline and could easily get confused even if you do pay attention !

Into the Labyrinth is a thriller starring Dustin Hoffman. Should be good. The storyline follows an unfolding narrative that tries to explain how a missing woman, now recovering in a hospital came to be there after escaping her kidnapper. Who is that kidnapper, and what was their motivation ? Also, is that Donnie Darko on the movie poster (poster #1 & #3) ?

The story takes place in 2 different locales with 2 different sets of actors. Dustin, playing a doctor who is a profiler working with the woman in the hospital to find out what happened to her. She seems to have lost her memory and he is helping her recall what has happened to her. All of this happens in English. The other half of the movie shows a private investigation into the same case, all taking place in Italian. As the movie progresses new clues give us a variety of possible suspects. Tension builds. There is a weird rabbit story. The occult is introduced. Tension builds. and 75% of the way into it, the thing starts to show cracks. The story falls apart. Eventually things get tied up at the end, but the great start has already fizzled out. I’m not going to spoil any plot points, but there is a lot going on at the end (something reading the book could much easier explain).

So, what is the deal with the labyrinth ? Well, while the woman was kidnapped she was trapped in a dark stone labyrinth by her captor that included many locked doors. In order to get the supplies she needs she must solve a small 3D labyrinth/maze puzzle that has been left in her cell. Basically, her captor is a big fan of labyrinths.

Overall I give this a 5.5/10, but it had much more potential that was wasted.

SPOILERS: What happened at the end

There are the main twists in the movie Into the Labyrinth (2020):

The true identity of the kidnapped girl. Throughout the movie, we are led to believe that the woman in the hospital is Samantha Andretti, the girl who was kidnapped 15 years ago. However, in the final act, it is revealed that the woman in the hospital is actually Mila, a police officer who has been newly abducted and drugged.
2 cases. Although presented as one case during the movie, these are 2 separate cases shown side by side. There are 2 serial kidnappers (at least) on the loose. Our labyrinth lover, “Dr. Green”, played by Dustin Hoffman and a series of “bunny” kidnappers who appear to be passing down the tradition as victims become perpetrators.

After you have seen the movie and you wonder what exactly was going on I suggest you read this long and detailed explanation !

Other Movie posts you may like:

A Collection of Maze and Labyrinth Movies

The 18 Best Maze Movies

Other Maze horror movies:

Hellbound: Hellraiser II Movie Review (1988)

It: Chapter 2 Movie Review (2019)

The Shining Movie Review (1980)

Tales from the Crypt Movie Review (1972)

Us Movie Review (2019)

You Should Have Left Movie Review (2020)

The Top 18 Movies Containing Mazes or Labyrinths

January 21, 2020

I love watching movies and I love making mazes. You might not think so, but there is a good amount of overlap between the two. Mazes have been popping up as plot devices in movies since they were first being made. Want to create tension for your characters ? Get them lost in a maze being chased by a villain. Sometimes characters need a challenge to overcome to get to their destination, so how about solving a puzzle or series of puzzles like a maze. When I set out to compile a list of maze movies I never realized how great the movies would actually be. I think you’ll agree.

Here are my top 18 favorite movies containing mazes (IN RANDOM ORDER):

1 . Ready Player One (2018) IMDB Prime Video

Steven Spielberg directed this great movie from the best selling book. In the year 2045 a virtual reality world called the OASIS can be won by the person who can find a series of Easter Eggs hidden in the virtual world. To find the Easter Eggs you need to solve puzzles using details about pop culture from the past (our present). With cameos by over 120 characters this movie is one you can watch again and again and never see all the hidden cameos. Oh, and did you notice the Ready Player One logo is a MAZE ! You start from the initial R and work your way to the center of the O.

Ready Player One Logo Maze

2. Inception (2010) IMDB Prime Video

At the time of this writing this is the highest rated Science-Fiction movie of all-time on IMDB. A group of thieves go into dreams to steal corporate ideas from the minds of people. This time they need to plant an idea in a CEO’s head during a dream (what they call an inception). To do this they will need to circumvent the maze of subconscious dream worlds they’ve created - a dream world within a dream world within a dream world. Sounds like that will be easy to execute. And the ending !!!

3. The Shining (1980) IMDB Prime Video

One of the best horror movies of all time is also one of the best movies of all time. Stanley Kubrick as the director of a Stephen King best selling book with Jack Nicholson as the lead character….Yes please ! A writer takes a job as a caretaker of a secluded hotel that is closed for the Winter with his wife and young son joining him. Oh, did I mention the hotel is also haunted ? As the writer’s mental state deteriorates, his wife and son try to leave but he won’t let them. Can they escape a secluded hotel in the middle of winter ? I would try using the hedge maze outside….just a thought. If you want to explore the symbolism in the film check out the documentary Room 237.

4. Prisoners (2013) IMDB Prime Video

5. Cube (1997) IMDB Prime Video

6 strangers wake-up in a giant cube shaped maze that is bobby trapped and trying to kill them. They don’t know why they are there or how they got there but they know they need to try and escape. Are they making the right or wrong choice as they choose each passageway ? Only one way to find out. Now this is some maze horror !

6. The Maze Runner (2014) IMDB Prime Video

So you wake up with no memory of your past trapped with others just like you in an enclosed environment. Well, not completely enclosed. There is a maze surrounding you patrolled by cyborgs you need to go thru to escape. You get the chance to solve the maze each morning when a large door opens. That same door closes each night, and if you get stuck in the maze overnight, you die. You don’t know why you’re there or who put you there. Escaping the maze seems like the right move…run.

7. Labyrinth (1986) IMDB Prime Video

Jim Henson, Lucasfilm and David Bowie collaborated on this fantasy movie. A teenage girl is angrily babysitting her younger baby brother and wishes he would be taken away. The Goblin King grants the wish and takes the brother. Her only way to get him back is to solve a Labyrinth in 13 hours or her brother will permanently become a goblin in this weird fantasy world. Includes a wonderful tribute to MC Escher.

8. The Collection (2012) IMDB Prime Video

After escaping from a serial killer known as The Collector a man is sent back to the serial killer’s hideout to rescue a kidnapped girl. The only problem is that hideout is a booby trapped maze he needs to get thru to save the girl. Can he save her in time ? Another nice horror maze movie.

9. Dave Made A Maze (2017) IMDB Prime Video

Dave builds a cardboard fort in his living room. It looks small from the outside, but once you enter it gets much, much larger. Dave gets lost. Dave’s friends join him against his advice to stay outside. Now everyone is lost. To return to civilization they need to band together and escape the cardboard maze. You haven’t seen this, and maybe you don’t THINK you want to see this, BUT YOU NEED TO SEE THIS. Destined to be a cult classic circa 2035. Possibly 2037.

10. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) IMDB Prime Video

11. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) IMDB Prime Video

Rita Hayworth plays a vixen that gets director/actor Orson Welles mixed up in a murder plot in this film-noir classic. They find themselves caught in a fun-house mirror maze in a key plot moment that involves gunshots…if they can find what they are shooting at ! One of the few maze films that involves a funhouse mirror maze but is not a horror film.

12. The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) IMDB Prime Video

The Man with the Golden Gun movie poster

The ninth James Bond film. A professional assassin with a golden gun charges a million dollars per kill. He trains against other assassins in a room that is set-up like a fun-house, including multiple mirror mazes (and in the opening sequence !). Can Bond find him and spoil his current plot ?

13. Us (2019) IMDB Prime Video

Jordan Peele knows how to make an interesting horror film. A young girl wanders off from the amusement park on the beach and enters a deserted fun house. When the lights go out she tries to exit, but the mirror maze makes it difficult for her to find her way. Oh, and so does the girl in the mirror. And that’s when you know this thing is about to get sinister.

14. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) IMDB Prime Video

A young boy is born with a sense of smell more powerful than anyone in human history. With it he obsessively works to create the perfect perfume. Unfortunately, that includes some secret ingredients that are against the law. Of course, he finds some of these ingredients when they are lost in a hedge maze. It gets very weird multiple times at the end, but you can’t say it’s something you’ve seen before !

15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) IMDB Prime Video

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie poster

The fourth Harry Potter movie/book. At one point Harry and his other competitors(champions) in the Triwizard Tournament are stuck in a hedge maze for part 3 of the tournament. A very active hedge maze that seems to be alive. Harry must escape to move forward.

16. The Maze (1953) IMDB Prime Video

The film deserves to be included despite being of slightly lower quality than the other movies for 2 main reasons: 1) The title is The Maze so it definitely qualifies 2) The movie starts with shots of the hedge maze that is central to the entire story. That story is of a Scotsman who moves into a castle that has an adjoining hedge maze. There is only one rule for the maze - do not enter it. Which means of course you are going to enter it. I’m sure everything will be fine…right ? You can give it a watch here. And from a historical note, the very first 3D color movie came out April 10, 1953 from Vincent Price, The House of Wax. This film followed shortly after in 3D in July of the same year.

17. Muppets from Space (1999) IMDB Prime Video

Not the best Muppet film, but this one is led by Gonzo instead of Kermit and the main supporting actor…uh…supporting Muppet is Rizzo the Rat. Now during a key scene Rizzo gets captured by the bad guys and gets put into a cage with lab rats. I should have said Spoiler before that. My Bad. Anyway the lab rats are put into a rat maze during the next scene.

18. It Chapter 2 (2019) IMDB Prime Video

The newest movie on the list. The Losers Club is called home 27 years after their encounter with Pennywise in Derry, Maine. He seems to be in a very bad mood. Eventually we have a few characters stuck in a fun-house mirror maze with the sadistic clown Pennywise. And things get intense. Running in a mirror maze is a BAD IDEA.

Now if you are like me, and you probably aren’t, because we are all different and special in our own way. Anyway, If you are like me you are going to head to your local library to check these out for free. At the time of this writing a few of these are available to stream online. My favorite site to check what is streaming where is Justwatch. Now, make some popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show ! Want to know what the best maze movie posters are ? I’ve got you covered !