What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedTrance
Danny Boyle · Film · 2013
If you loved Trance, start with Severance (Dan Erickson, 2022) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Trance across media.
If Trance left you reeling, you will crave these narratives that dismantle reality through fragmented memories, unreliable perspectives, and psychological games.
Books on the same thread
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins · Book · 2015
Shares a thread with Trance: Psychological Thriller.
Like the fractured recollection in Trance, this story centers on an unreliable narrator whose blurred perception of events forces you to question the truth behind every hazy memory.
The Maze Runner (Book 1)
James Dashner · Book · 2014
Explores: Survival, Memory Loss, Conspiracy.
You enjoyed the high-stakes disorientation of Trance, and this survival story replicates that feeling by trapping characters in a hostile environment while their past remains locked away.
Doctor Sleep: A Novel
Stephen King · Book · 2013
Shares a thread with Trance: Psychological Thriller.
The intense psychological tension found in Trance carries over here, as the protagonist battles internal demons and external threats while navigating a reality distorted by powerful psychic abilities.
Annihilation
Jeff VanderMeer · Book · 2014
Shares a thread with Trance: Psychological Thriller.
Much like the mind-bending exploration of identity in Trance, this narrative forces you to confront an unsettling, shifting reality where memory and selfhood become impossible to pin down.
Series on the same thread
True Detective
Nic Pizzolatto · Series · 2014
Shares 2 threads with Trance: Neo-Noir, Psychological Thriller.
If the neo-noir atmosphere of Trance captivated you, this series offers a deeper descent into moral ambiguity and hidden secrets where the investigation unearths deeply buried personal trauma.
Severance
Dan Erickson · Series · 2022
Shares 3 threads with Trance: Identity Crisis, Memory Manipulation, Psychological Thriller.
This series mirrors the central memory manipulation conceit of Trance, presenting a chilling look at how surgically divided consciousness can lead to a profound and dangerous identity crisis.
Dark
Baran bo Odar · Series · 2017
Explores: Time Paradox, Family Secrets, Existential Crisis.
The complex, layered mystery that defines Trance is amplified here, as you untangle a web of secrets and paradoxes that challenge your understanding of time and human motivation.
Psycho-Pass
Series · 2012
Explores: Moral Ambiguity, Technological Determinism, Social Control.
Trance relies on the tension of psychological control, a theme echoed in this dystopian world where technology dictates the morality of individuals and the structure of society itself.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Deca Tapes
Lex Noteboom · Podcast · 2025
Shares a thread with Trance: psychological thriller.
The claustrophobic paranoia of Trance is perfectly captured in these audio tapes, where the forced confinement and lack of reliable information create a gripping, high-stakes psychological puzzle.
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Explores: human condition, experimental storytelling, moral ambiguity.
Just as Trance uses cinematic flair to keep you guessing, this anthology series offers short, suspenseful vignettes that constantly subvert expectations and play with your sense of reality.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Trance a heist movie?
Trance is centered around a heist, specifically focusing on the aftermath when a painting vanishes during the robbery. The plot follows a violent gang that enlists a hypnotherapist to help locate the missing artwork after the initial theft goes wrong.
What is the primary conflict in Trance?
The primary conflict in Trance revolves around a violent gang attempting to recover a painting that disappeared during a heist. They utilize a hypnotherapist to uncover the location of the art, leading to a complex situation involving memory and manipulation.
Does Trance feature a hypnotherapist?
Yes, a hypnotherapist is a central figure in Trance. The film depicts a violent gang enlisting the professional help of a hypnotherapist to locate a painting that vanished mid-heist, as the characters struggle to recover the lost item.
Is Trance directed by Danny Boyle?
Yes, Trance is a 2013 film directed by Danny Boyle. The story focuses on a violent gang that recruits a hypnotherapist to find a missing painting after a heist, resulting in a narrative that explores the mystery of the stolen object.