Have you ever watched a movie where the hero gets stuck in a wild situation on purpose, like a clever trap that keeps them looping back or swapping lives in the strangest way? One standout film that fits this idea perfectly is “By Design,” a bizarre new release where the main character ends up trapped inside a chair by some magical twist.
In “By Design,” Juliette Lewis plays a woman whose soul gets swapped into a piece of furniture, leaving her literally stuck and unable to move on her own. It’s not an accident; the story builds this trap as part of a wild fantasy plot that mixes body horror with dark humor. She has to figure out how to communicate and escape while dealing with the chaos around her. The film premiered at Sundance and got buzz for being so odd and unforgettable, with Lewis delivering a standout performance as someone confined by design in this chair prison. For more on the review, check out https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/amanda-kramer/by-design-review-sundance-movie-juliette-lewis-chair-body-swap-fantasy.
This setup echoes other films where characters face intentional traps too. Take “Edge of Tomorrow” from 2014, starring Tom Cruise as a soldier caught in a time loop during an alien invasion. He dies over and over on the battlefield, waking up at the same London airport each time, but it’s all by design of the enemy aliens who rigged the cycle to protect their leader. Cruise teams up with Emily Blunt’s warrior character, training in loops to break free, facing traps like ambushes at a dam and visions that lure him in. The plot gets intense as he bonds with her only to watch her die repeatedly until they track the source under the Louvre. Details come from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_of_Tomorrow.
Another angle shows up in “Trapped” from 1982, a cult classic about survival in a crisis where the main character gets locked in a high-stakes setup that feels engineered to test limits. It dives into tension and escape, much like being caught by design in a confined space. Explore it further at http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2026/1/3/best-of-2025-bi-gan-dreams-the-death-and-resurrection-of-cin.html or the deep dive on https://www.oreateai.com/blog/the-enigmatic-allure-of-trapped-1982-a-deep-dive-into-the-cult-classic/c7dd835204a6f2ef4481d3c329dc2ffe.
These movies play with the thrill of being stuck on purpose, turning traps into clever story engines that keep you guessing.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_of_Tomorrow
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2872732/
https://collider.com/best-movies-open-main-character-dying-ranked/
http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2026/1/3/best-of-2025-bi-gan-dreams-the-death-and-resurrection-of-cin.html
https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/amanda-kramer/by-design-review-sundance-movie-juliette-lewis-chair-body-swap-fantasy
https://www.oreateai.com/blog/the-enigmatic-allure-of-trapped-1982-a-deep-dive-into-the-cult-classic/c7dd835204a6f2ef4481d3c329dc2ffe
