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Movies like Deadly Illusions

Key Features:
Writers block, Psychological thriller, Distorted reality, Obsession, Female protagonist, Family drama, Secrets, Deception, Suspicion, Nudity-moderate, Infidelity, Wealth, Privilege
Tone:
serious, suspense-driven
Target Audience:
Thriller enthusiasts, Fans of psychological dramas, Viewers interested in suspenseful narratives, Viewers interested in stories about writers
Emotional Arc:
Intrigue → Suspicion → Anxiety

Deadly Illusions

2021-03-18
Deadly Illusions Poster - Find Similar Movies

A bestselling female novelist, suffering from writer's block, hires an innocent young woman to watch over her twin children. As the novelist dangerously indulges in her new best seller, the line between the life she's writing and the one she's living becomes blurred.

Genres
Thriller, Drama
Cast
Kristin Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Shanola Hampton, Lora Martinez-Cunningham, Greer Grammer, Grayson Berry, Marie Wagenman, Olivia Taylor, Jean Effron, Ellen Humphreys
Crew
Anna Elizabeth James, Anna Elizabeth James
Rating
4.931(343 votes)
Deadly IllusionsDeadly Illusions
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Dark Seduction
6.905

Laura is a successful plastic surgeon who feels her life is somewhat empty. She meets a young nurse and falls in love and experiences sexuality to a extent not known to her. However, this spiral of desire and seduction is a dangerous game where no one is who they appear to be.



The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

A suburban family chooses seemingly sweet Peyton Flanders as their newborn's nanny. Only much later does the infant's mother, Claire Bartel, realize Peyton's true intentions -- to destroy Claire and replace her in the family. The nail-biting suspense builds quickly in this chilling psychological thriller about deception and bitter revenge.



Perfect Nanny
6.025

When Myriam, the mother of two young children, decides, despite the reluctance of her husband to resume her activity in a law firm, the couple is looking for a nanny. After a severe casting, they hire Louise, who quickly conquers the affection of children and gradually occupies a central place in the home. Gradually the trap of mutual dependence will close, until the tragedy.



Nanny Cam
Nanny Cam(2014)
5.6

Linda has a seemingly perfect marriage with her rugged and handsome husband Mark and an adorable 8 year old daughter, Chloe. But when Chloe is injured by an elderly babysitter who has slipped into dementia, Linda wants to ensure that her child is never hurt again. Initially, Heather, the new babysitter, seems like the ideal addition to this practically perfect family. But Heather is a schemer who exploits the cracks in Mark and Linda's relationship, and delights in the resulting chaos. As Linda later learns, to her horror, Heather's intentions go far beyond the mischievous.



Lies & Illusions
3.947

When a menacing smuggler coolly insists that best-selling author Wes Wilson take a chauffeured backseat ride with him, Wilson's charmed life explodes into a world of violence and espionage, and he learns shocking truths about two women in his life.



The Nanny
The Nanny(2018)
5.437

Young Noa and Michael are put in the care of their new nanny, Leonor, who Noa suspects is a malicious supernatural being. Dismissed by those around her, Noa works to uncover Leonor's true identity, but soon finds herself with far more than she bargained for.



The Babysitter's Seduction

The mother of the family for which Michelle baby-sits dies unexpectedly. Michelle is asked to take over looking after the children and is gradually "seduced" by the father.



Compulsion
4.677

Sadie—a young female novelist—and an enigmatic woman named Francesca, are enticed by an ex-lover to join him at his Italian villa for a weekend celebration being held to honor the release of Sadie's latest book. Once there, Sadie begins to fear his true intentions as she and Francesca become embroiled in a dangerous game of moral and sexual discovery.



Dangerous Lies
6.279

After losing her waitressing job, Katie Franklin takes a job as a caretaker to a wealthy elderly man in his sprawling, empty Chicago estate. The two grow close, but when he unexpectedly passes away and names Katie as his sole heir, she and her husband Adam are pulled into a complex web of lies, deception, and murder. If she's going to survive, Katie will have to question everyone's motives — even the people she loves.



Dream House
6.2

Publisher Will Atenton quits a lucrative job in New York to relocate his wife, Libby, and their daughters to a quaint town in New England. However, as they settle into their home the Atentons discover that a woman and her children were murdered there, and the surviving husband is the town's prime suspect. With help from a neighbor who was close to the murdered family, Will pieces together a horrifying chain of events.



The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Suburban couple Caitlin and Miguel hire seemingly sweet Polly to take care of their newborn baby. But Polly's true motives have little to do with singing lullabies...



The Nanny
The Nanny(1965)
6.9

Nanny, a London family's live-in maid, brings morbid 10-year-old Joey back from the psychiatric ward he's been in for two years, since the death of his younger sister. Joey refuses to eat any food Nanny's prepared or take a bath with her in the room. He also demands to sleep in a room with a lock. Joey's parents -- workaholic Bill and neurotic Virgie -- are sure Joey is disturbed, but he may have good reason to be terrified of Nanny.



Hypnotic
Hypnotic(2023)
6.206

A detective becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program while investigating a string of reality-bending crimes.



The Kovak Box
5.8

David Norton is used to being in control. As a best-selling author, he decides the fate of his characters, their lives and their deaths. But what happens when his fictional world becomes all too real?



Nightmare
Nightmare(1964)
6.8

A young student is haunted by recurring dreams of her mother murdering her father, but her nightmare is just beginning as she tries to prove to her loved ones that she is not insane.



Endless Night
6

Shiftless dreamer Michael Rogers fantasizes about a lifestyle above his means and marries a wealthy, young girl who just came of age. They hire a famous architect to build their dream home amidst a series of suspicious incidents. The spouse has dark intentions toward his naive, inexperienced bride. Secrets from his past and sinister ties to their house guest Greta lead to a terrible turn of unexpected events.



Secret Obsession
5.5

Newlywed Jennifer is brutally attacked at a dark rest stop. While healing from her injuries, she can’t recall anything from her past, including the ordeal. Her husband, Russell , is just thankful she’s alive and eager to get her home. As he reintroduces her to their secluded mountain estate, Detective Page pursues Jennifer’s assailant — his own daughter went missing and was never found. The same fate now awaits Jennifer, unless someone realizes that her loving caretaker is actually her captor.



Motherly
Motherly(2022)
6.132

Kate and her daughter Beth live alone in an isolated farmhouse in the woods, but when Kate slowly begins to suspect that something sinister is happening, her motherly instincts are put to the test.



The Boy
The Boy(2016)
5.968

A young American woman takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, soon discovering that the family's eight-year-old son is a life-sized doll that comes with a list of strict rules.



Hypnotic
Hypnotic(2021)
6.033

A young woman seeking self-improvement enlists the help of a renowned hypnotist but, after a handful of intense sessions, discovers unexpected and deadly consequences.



Deception
Deception(2021)
5.323

An American writer living in exile in London, Philip listens to women. His English mistress, who visits him regularly in the studio that serves as their refuge. A student he loved in another life. A former lover confined to a hospital in New York.



Dark Corners
4.983

A troubled young woman wakes up one day as a different person - someone who is stalked by creatures.



Obsessed
Obsessed(2009)
5.7

Things couldn't be better for Derek Charles. He's just received a big promotion at work, and has a wonderful marriage with his beautiful wife, Sharon. However, into this idyllic world steps Lisa, a temporary worker at Derek's office. Lisa begins to stalk Derek, jeopardizing all he holds dear.



Based on a True Story

Delphine is the author of an autobiographical novel that has become a bestseller. Exhausted by the promotional tour, just when she feels out of place, paralyzed by the idea of having to start writing again, she meets Elle, a young, attractive, intelligent, intuitive woman who seems to understand her better than anyone.



Wicked
Wicked(1998)
5.12

A cul-de-sac in an oppressive suburb becomes a literal dead end for wife and mother Karen Christianson when she is brutally murdered in her own home. In the wake of the event, Karen's teenage daughter Ellie begins to exhibit bizarre behaviors as she slowly acquires her mother's demeanor and mannerisms. Meanwhile, Karen's husband Ben nurtures a less-than-innocent interest in the family's sultry live-in nanny, Lena.



The Cleaning Lady
5.4

In a bid to distract herself from an affair, a narcissistic woman befriends a cleaning lady with burn scars, but she soon discovers that the scars may be more than skin deep.



Fear
Fear(1996)
6.511

Nicole Walker always dreamed of being swept away by someone special — someone strong, sexy and sensitive who would care for her more than anything else in the world. David is all that and more: a modern-day knight who charms and seduces her, body and soul. But her perfect boyfriend is not all he seems to be. His sweet facade masks a savage, dark side that will soon transform Nicole's dream into a nightmare.



Irresistible
5.5

A wife and mother is consumed by the thought that her husband's co-worker is trying to win him away from her and their family.



Careful What You Wish For

A guy gets more than he bargained for after entering into an affair with the wife of an investment banker. Soon, a suspicious death and substantial life insurance policy embroil him in a scandal.



Focus
Focus(2015)
6.9

Nicky, an accomplished con artist, gets romantically involved with his disciple Jess but later ends their relationship. Years later, she returns as a femme fatale to spoil his plans.



Madeleine Collins

Judith leads a double life between Switzerland and France. On the one hand Abdel, with whom she is raising a little girl, on the other Melvil with whom she has two older boys. Little by little, this fragile balance, made up of lies, secrets and back and forth, cracks dangerously. Trapped, Judith chooses to head forward, at the risk of losing everything.



Mental
Mental(2012)
5.576

A charismatic, crazy hothead transforms a family's life when she becomes the nanny of five girls.



Sisters
Sisters(2006)
3.865

A reporter witnesses a brutal murder and becomes entangled in a mystery involving a pair of twins.



Heatwave
Heatwave(2022)
6.3

A woman's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for her boss's wife. She must soon defend herself as she becomes entangled in a web of malice.



Misery
Misery(1990)
7.746

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.



The Glass House
6

When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the beginning of a new life for them.



Inexorable
6

Desperately seeking inspiration for the follow-up novel to his bestseller "Inexorable", Marcel Bellmer moves in his wife's old family mansion with his family.



Sharper
Sharper(2023)
6.864

A small, wealthy family in New York City gets progressively torn apart by secrets, lies, and the theft that orchestrates all of it.



Mommy Dead and Dearest

Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.



Estranged
Estranged(2015)
5.3

Due to a near-fatal accident that has left her incapacitated and depleted of her long-term memory, a temporarily wheelchair-bound woman returns home after being abroad for six years accompanied by her bohemian boyfriend, the apparent cause of the accident. Unable to remember her family or her own childhood, she sets out, with the help of her boyfriend, to find the reason for her leaving all those years ago and quickly discovers her relatives may not be as loving as she’d thought



Helpless
Helpless(2012)
7.082

A woman suddenly disappears. Her fiance then sets out to find her and, in the process, uncovers layers of dark hidden secrets.



Nanny
Nanny(2022)
5.3

Aisha, a Senegalese immigrant who takes a job as a nanny for a wealthy white family in New York City, finds herself consumed by unsettling visions and a growing rage.



Sleeping with the Enemy

A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.



Passion
Passion(2013)
5.2

The rivalry between the manipulative boss of an advertising agency and her talented protégée escalates from stealing credit to public humiliation to murder.



Missing
Missing(2016)
6.9

A working single mother comes home one day to find that her daughter and the nanny have disappeared -- and this is just the beginning of her nightmare.



Malignant
Malignant(2021)
6.8

Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.



Surveillance
6

An FBI agent tracks a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims - all of whom have wildly different stories to tell.



Hush
Hush(1998)
5.7

Jackson and Helen are in love and about to have their first child when they move in with Jackson's mother, Martha, in order to take care of the family estate. But all is not well in this household. Martha is jealous of her son's affection for Helen, and, despite her Southern smile, she's starting to act strangely. As Helen tries to create a happy home life, Martha attempts to divide the family so that Jackson will become hers alone.



The Guardian
5.6

Phil and Kate select the winsome young Camilla as a live-in nanny for their newborn child, but the seemingly lovely Camilla is not what she appears to be...



The Turning
5.7

A young woman quits her teaching job to become a private tutor and governess for two wealthy young kids, but soon starts to suspect there’s more to their house than meets the eye.



Lucky
Lucky(2020)
5.4

May, a self help author with all the answers, suddenly finds herself stalked by a masked man who mysteriously reappears every night. Even when she kills him. May struggles to get help from the people around her as she fights to stay alive. Is this paranoia, or is she doomed to accept her new reality?



Hypersomnia
5.2

A young actress rehearsing for a play about human trafficking begins to relive terrifying scenes that may be dreams -- or an alternate reality.



Unforgettable
5.9

Barely coping with the end of her marriage, Tessa Connover learns that her ex-husband, David, is now happily engaged to Julia. Trying to settle into her new life after moving in with David, Julia believes she has finally met the man of her dreams, the man who can help her forget her troubled past. Soon, Tessa's jealousy starts to consume her, and she will stop at nothing to turn Julia's paradise into the ultimate nightmare.



Emelie
Emelie(2016)
5.256

After their regular babysitter cancels, the Thompson family turns to her friend, Anna to supervise their children while the parents go out to celebrate their anniversary. At first Anna seems like a dream come true to the kids, allowing them to eat extra cookies and play with things that are usually off-limits, but as her behaviour becomes increasingly odd, the kids soon find out that her intentions are dark and twisted—and she is not who she seems to be.



Faults
Faults(2014)
6.667

Claire is under the grip of a mysterious new cult called Faults. Desperate to be reunited with their daughter, Claire's parents recruit one of the world's foremost experts on mind control, Ansel Roth.



Compulsion
4.427

A strange and destructive relationship develops between a chef and her neighbor, a former child actress.



Strange Circus
7.2

The erotic novelist Taeko is writing a morbid story of a family destroyed by incest, murder and abuse. Her assistant, Yuji, sets on a mission to uncover the reality of this story, but the reality might be too much to bear.



Deception
Deception(2008)
5.9

As a corporate auditor who works in a number of different offices, Jonathan McQuarry wanders without an anchor among New York's power brokers. A chance meeting with charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose leads to Jonathan's introduction to The List, an underground sex club. Jonathan begins an affair with a woman known only as S, who introduces Jonathan to a world of treachery and murder.



Malice
Malice(1993)
6.3

A tale about a happily married couple who would like to have children. Tracy teaches infants, Andy's a college professor. Things are never the same after she is taken to hospital and operated upon by Jed, a "know all" doctor.



A Perfect Murder
6.54

Millionaire industrialist Steven Taylor is a man who has everything but what he craves most: the love and fidelity of his wife. A hugely successful player in the New York financial world, he considers her to be his most treasured acquisition. But she needs more than simply the role of dazzling accessory.



Spinning Man
5.593

Evan Birch is a family man and esteemed professor at a distinguished university. When a female student goes missing, police Detective Malloy has reason to be suspicious when crucial evidence makes Evan the prime suspect in her disappearance.



Cracks
Cracks(2009)
6.6

Jealousy flares after the headmistress of an elite boarding school for girls becomes obsessed with a new student.



Danika
Danika(2006)
5.071

Traumatized since childhood by her brother's accidental death, Danika Merrick hallucinates a bank robbery and quits her job. Despite support from her three children and loving husband, Danika continues to experience unnerving visions. She seeks help from therapist Evelyn Harris but pervasive reports of violent incidents involving children make Danika fear for her own family, and she grows increasingly paranoid, worrying she may be going insane.



Deadly Shores
5.9

Anna moves to a remote island as the new bride of a famous mystery writer. Once there, she uncovers secrets about her new husband's dead former wife and fears she may be the next victim.



Deceiver
Deceiver(1997)
5.955

The gruesome death of a prostitute brings suspicion on one of her clients, James Wayland, a brilliant, self-destructive and epileptic heir to a textile fortune. So detectives Braxton and Kennesaw take Wayland in for questioning, thinking they can break the man. But despite his troubles, Wayland is a master of manipulation, and during the interrogation, he begins to turn the tables on the investigators, forcing them to reveal their own sinister sides.



Love Crime
6.2

In the sterile setting of a powerful multinational, a ruthless corporate executive and her ambitious protégée bare their claws in a vicious battle for supremacy.



Detained
Detained(2024)
5.787

In the dead of night, Rebecca wakes in a decrepit precinct, accused of a hit-and-run. But a deadly scuffle reveals a sinister plot. With nowhere to turn, she must uncover the truth before it consumes her. But Rebecca harbors secrets darker than they know.



Dream Lover
6.2

Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.



Stranger in Our House

A country family of five take in charming cousin Julie, whose parents recently died in a car crash, though teenaged daughter Rachel grows suspect that she has an alternative agenda; one that possibly includes witchcraft.



The Lesson
5.714

Liam, an aspiring and ambitious young writer, eagerly accepts a tutoring position at the family estate of his idol, renowned author J.M. Sinclair. But soon, Liam realizes that he is ensnared in a web of family secrets, resentment, and retribution. Sinclair, his wife Hélène, and their son Bertie all guard a dark past, one that threatens Liam’s future as well as their own.



Killing Me Softly
5.6

A woman grows suspicious of her controlling husband after she discovers secrets about the women in his past.



True Story
6.256

A drama centered on the relationship between journalist Michael Finkel and Christian Longo, an FBI Most Wanted List murderer who for years lived outside the U.S. under Finkel's name.



Mikey
Mikey(1992)
5.845

Mikey just needs a good stable home. He's bounced from foster home to foster home his whole life. He finally lands himself with a new loving family, but their perfect little child is not what he appears to be. His previous caretakers all died of mysterious "accidents" that weren't really accidents at all. Mikey is a cold blooded killer, and it doesn't take long for him to aim his sights on his new adoptive family and anyone else who stands in his way.



Murder by Numbers
6.2

Tenacious homicide detective Cassie Mayweather and her still-green partner are working a murder case, attempting to profile two malevolently brilliant young men: cold, calculating killers whose dark secrets might explain their crimes.



The Twin
The Twin(2017)
5.9

Jocelyn's boyfriend is perfect--except for his dangerous identical twin brother, Derek, who just escaped from a mental institution. When Derek unspools a twisted plan of revenge with Jocelyn in his crosshairs, her mother Ashley must act fast before she falls victim to a psychopath.



Swimming Pool
6.483

A British crime novelist travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. However, the unexpected arrival of the publisher's daughter induces complications and a subsequent crime.



Nocturnal Animals
7.4

Susan Morrow receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband – a man she left 20 years earlier – asking for her opinion of his writing. As she reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of Tony Hastings, a mathematics professor whose family vacation turns violent.



Advantages of Travelling by Train

After interning her insane husband in a remote psychiatric hospital, book editor Helga Pato returns home by train, where she meets a mysterious man who identifies himself as a psychiatrist.



A Deadly Adoption
4.871

Things go awry when an author and his wife welcome a pregnant woman into their home, with plans to adopt her baby.



Demonic
Demonic(2021)
4.8

A young woman unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed.



Possession
5.543

A woman's life is thrown into chaos after a freak car accident sends her husband and brother-in-law into comas. Thrills arrive after the brother-in-law wakes up, thinking he's his brother.



Deceived
Deceived(1991)
5.741

The murder of a museum curator places art dealer Jack Saunders under suspicion for selling forged treasures to museums. When Jack suddenly dies in a car crash, his wife Adrienne tries to discover what he did on her own. She finds that she knew little about the man she was married to. The more she learns about her husband's possible illegal activities and double life, the more she places her daughter, and herself, in grave danger.



Homicidal
Homicidal(1961)
6.409

A woman named Emily checks into a hotel and offers the bellboy $2000 to temporarily marry her. We soon find out Emily is the caretaker of a wheelchair-bound mute named Helga, who was the childhood guardian of a pair of siblings: Miriam Webster and her half-brother, Warren, who is about to inherit the estate of their late father. Who is the mysterious Emily and what are her intentions?



In a Dark Place
4.096

The disturbed arts teacher, Anna Veigh, is hired by Mr. Laing as a governess to raise Flora and her brother Miles. Anna believes that the ghosts of the former governess, Miss Jessel, and housekeeper, Peter Quint, are in the property haunting the children, and she decides to help them to face the spirits and get their souls free.



The Good Liar
6.7

Career con man Roy sets his sights on his latest mark: recently widowed Betty, worth millions. And he means to take it all. But as the two draw closer, what should have been another simple swindle takes on the ultimate stakes.



Dark Crimes
4.611

Tadek, a Polish detective, becomes suspicious of a controversial author when the incidents described in his unpublished novel resemble the inner workings of an unsolved murder.



Cypher
Cypher(2002)
6.627

An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.



Black Butterfly
6.2

Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.



Scissors
Scissors(1991)
4.975

A woman trying to recover from a sexual attack is locked in a posh apartment with a corpse of the very man she's been dreaming would murder her. She tries to hang on to reality when objects around her seem to come to life.



God's Crooked Lines
7.311

Alice Gould, a private investigator, pretends to be mentally ill in order to enter a psychiatric hospital and gather evidence for the case she is working on: the death of a patient in unclear circumstances.



Intrigo: Death of an Author

A young author comes into possession of a manuscript sent by critically acclaimed writer, Germund Rein, shortly before he commits suicide.



The Motive
6.231

Álvaro, a man obsessed with the idea of writing what he brands as “high literature,” manipulates the lives and feelings of the people around him to write about the consequences caused by his devious acts.



Sleight
Sleight(2016)
5.41

A young street magician is left to take care of his little sister after his mother's passing and turns to drug dealing in the Los Angeles party scene to keep a roof over their heads. When he gets into trouble with his supplier, his sister is kidnapped and he is forced to rely on both his sleight of hand and brilliant mind to save her.



Amelia’s Children
6.134

When Edward’s search for his biological family leads him and his girlfriend Ryley to a magnificent villa high in the mountains of Northern Portugal, he is full of excitement at meeting his long-lost mother and twin brother. Finally, he will discover who he is and where he comes from. But nothing is as it seems, and Edward will soon learn that he is linked to them by a monstrous secret.



Before I Go to Sleep

A woman wakes up every day, remembering nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past. One day, new terrifying truths emerge that force her to question everyone around her.



Mirrors
Mirrors(2008)
6.285

An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.



Novocaine
Novocaine(2001)
6

A dentist finds himself a murder suspect after a sexy patient seduces him into prescribing her drugs.



The Mimic
The Mimic(2017)
6.4

The mother of a missing child takes in a lost girl she finds in the woods, but soon begins to wonder if she is even human.



Missing
Missing(2023)
7.414

When her mother disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers... and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all.

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