Released in 2019, “Escape Room” comes from the subgenre of horror flicks that put its protagonists into a confined space and tortures them until they can find a way out. Cult classics like Vincenzo Natali’s “Cube” used this idea to perfection, and “Saw” (which was partially inspired by a real-life criminal case) took the idea further and turned it into a vehicle to showcase excessive gore. The genre’s small number of different locations and simple, high-concept premise make it appealing for telling scary stories on a limited budget, so it’s no wonder that the concept has been a favorite of indie horror for years.

“Escape Room” begins with a group of friends going on an innocent excursion to a puzzle-based escape room attraction. But they quickly discover that the escape room is no mere game, and whoever is operating it seems to take a perverse delight in forcing the participants into life-or-death situations — with very real and very horrific consequences. To find their way out, they have to do some serious puzzle solving, gather clues, and make deductions that will hopefully lead them to safety — but they’ll have to work quickly, or else none of them will be left alive. It all culminates in a jaw-dropping ending that will have you asking just one inescapable question: “What movie should I watch next?”

If you’ve already seen “Cube,” you may be looking for similar options to add to your list. To answer the question of what to queue up, consider the 2025 Netflix film “Brick,” a German-language horror story that feels like a mix of the best movies the genre has to offer.

“Brick” comes from writer-director Phillip Koch and tells a story that seems far more inexplicable than anything in “Escape Room.” It opens on Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Liv (Ruby O. Fee), a young, troubled couple; Liv is still grieving a miscarriage, while Tim has become a recluse, obsessed with his latest video game project. Liv is just about to walk out on Tim when she thrusts open the door to their small apartment to discover that the entire building has been encased in a strange, almost alien-like brick wall with strange magnetic properties.

Cut off from the outside world with cell phones that don’t work and water pipes that are running dry, if they can’t find a way out, they’ll surely starve to death — but that’s just the beginning of their problems. After managing to break down the apartment walls and combine efforts with fellow tenants in the building, they soon discover that someone in their midst may know more about what’s happening than they’re letting on. To get out, they have to combine their efforts and track down a series of clues.

More than most movies in the genre, “Brick” focuses as much attention on the characters as it does on the puzzling nature of their predicament and the horrific sequences they face as they’re picked off one by one. And while it sticks to a standard play-by-play for this kind of film, it does so with a style and panache that many lack. If you’re looking for something that will engage you like “Escape Room,” “Brick” is the answer.