A Glean movie guide
Beyond the Dream: Movies Like Inception
Wake up.
High-concept thrillers that challenge your perception of reality and time.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Tenet
A mind-bending espionage thriller from Christopher Nolan that weaponizes the flow of time.
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
This stunning anime masterpiece explores dream-sharing technology and was a major inspiration for Inception.
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 classic where humanity's perceived reality is actually a sophisticated 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
The Prestige
Christopher Nolan crafts a masterful puzzle of obsession and deception set in the world of rival magicians.
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.
- 05
Shutter Island
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a haunting mystery where the line between truth and delusion constantly shifts.
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
Memento
A gripping, non-linear noir that forces you to experience the world through a protagonist with no short-term memory.
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.
- 07
Source Code
A high-stakes thriller involving a soldier who must repeatedly relive 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
Dark City
A visually striking cult classic about a man discovering his city is 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.
- 09
Arrival
An intellectual sci-fi drama that uses alien contact to explore how language can reshape our 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.
- 10
Coherence
A tense, low-budget marvel where a dinner party unravels as parallel realities begin to bleed together.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
- 11
Looper
A gritty, inventive take on time travel where assassins must eventually hunt down their future selves.
In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
- 12
Primer
The ultimate puzzle movie for fans of complex logic and the grounded consequences of time manipulation.
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.