A Glean movie guide
Beyond the Dream: Mind-Bending Sci-Fi
Wake up to a new reality.
High-concept thrillers and cerebral puzzles for fans of Inception.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Tenet
A high-stakes espionage thriller that weaponizes time through a complex, inverted narrative structure.
Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
- 02
Paprika
A visually stunning anime that explores the surreal dangers of entering and navigating human dreams.
When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it and recover it before damage is done: Paprika.
- 03
The Matrix
A definitive sci-fi epic where a hacker discovers his entire world is a sophisticated digital simulation.
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.
- 04
Memento
A gripping noir told in reverse, forcing you to experience the protagonist's fragmented memory and confusion.
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
- 05
Shutter Island
A haunting psychological mystery where a federal agent's investigation blurs the line between fact and delusion.
World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.
- 06
The Prestige
An intricate tale of rival magicians that mirrors a grand illusion through its layered, deceptive structure.
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
- 07
Source Code
A tense, mission-driven thriller involving a soldier repeatedly entering a simulation to stop a disaster.
When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.
- 08
Coherence
A claustrophobic mind-bender where a passing comet causes reality to fracture into parallel timelines.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
- 09
Predestination
A dense and rewarding time-travel puzzle that challenges your understanding of identity and causality.
Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.
- 10
Dark City
A stylish, atmospheric mystery about a man uncovering the artificial nature of his ever-changing world.
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
- 11
Arrival
An intellectually stimulating first-contact story that uses language to reshape the perception of time.
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
- 12
Primer
A notoriously complex indie sci-fi that demands total attention to track its realistic take on time travel.
A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.