A Glean movie guide
Beyond the Dream: Mind-Bending Sci-Fi
Wake up to a new reality.
High-concept thrillers that challenge your perception of reality and time.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Tenet
A high-stakes espionage thriller that weaponizes time inversion for a relentless, puzzle-like experience.
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 blurring boundaries between dreams and reality through shared technology.
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
The definitive cyberpunk epic about a hacker discovering his 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
Shutter Island
A haunting psychological mystery where a U.S. Marshal's investigation spirals into a web of shifting perceptions.
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.
- 05
Memento
A masterclass in non-linear storytelling that forces you to experience a man's memory loss in reverse.
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.
- 06
The Prestige
A dark, intricate tale of rival magicians that uses a complex narrative structure to hide its ultimate secret.
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, high-concept thriller where a soldier must repeatedly enter a simulated memory 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
Arrival
A cerebral sci-fi drama that uses the mechanics of language to explore a non-linear 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.
- 09
Coherence
A claustrophobic, mind-bending mystery where a dinner party descends into chaos across parallel realities.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
- 10
Predestination
A complex, identity-focused journey through time that rewards viewers who pay close attention to its paradoxes.
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.
- 11
Dark City
A stylish neo-noir where a man discovers his city and memories are being manipulated by mysterious forces.
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.
- 12
Interstellar
An ambitious space epic that blends hard science with a deeply emotional story about time and higher dimensions.
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.