A Glean movie guide
Infinite Returns: The Best Time Loop Movies
Break the cycle.
From high-stakes sci-fi to clever comedies, these films prove some days are worth repeating.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Groundhog Day
The definitive comedy that turned a repetitive nightmare into a profound journey of self-improvement.
A cynical TV weatherman, along with his idealistic producer and his sardonic cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.
- 02
Edge of Tomorrow
A relentless sci-fi spectacle where every death is a lesson in surviving an alien invasion.
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
- 03
Palm Springs
A sharp, nihilistic, and surprisingly sweet take on being stuck in time with a companion.
When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.
- 04
Source Code
A high-tension thriller that uses an eight-minute loop to solve a devastating mystery.
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.
- 05
Timecrimes
A low-budget Spanish masterpiece that constructs a perfectly calibrated and terrifying causal loop.
A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
- 06
Triangle
A haunting, recursive nightmare that rewards viewers who pay close attention to every detail.
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.
- 07
Happy Death Day
A clever slasher that injects humor and heart into a "die to survive" premise.
Caught in a bizarre and terrifying time warp, college student Tree finds herself repeatedly reliving the day of her murder, ultimately realizing that she must identify the killer and the reason for her death before her chances of survival run out.
- 08
Run Lola Run
A high-energy experiment in how tiny choices can lead to wildly different destinies.
Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run.
- 09
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes
A charming, single-take Japanese indie that explores a very short, very chaotic time delay.
A cafe owner discovers that the TV in his cafe suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes into the future.
- 10
Boss Level
An explosive, video-game-inspired action flick where the protagonist levels up through endless deaths.
A former special forces agent is trapped in a time loop and relives his death over and over again. To escape the terrible situation, he must track down those responsible and stop them.
- 11
The Endless
A slow-burn cosmic horror film that explores the terrifying reality of localized temporal traps.
Two brothers return to the cult they fled from years ago to discover that the group's beliefs may be more sane than they once thought.
- 12
ARQ
A claustrophobic sci-fi thriller where a couple must protect a machine that is resetting their reality.
Two old friends living in a dystopic future become trapped in a mysterious time loop — one that may have something to do with an ongoing battle between an omnipotent corporation and a ragtag band of rebels.