A Glean movie guide
Infinite Returns: The Best Time Loop Movies
Break the cycle.
Comedies and thrillers that prove some days are worth repeating.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Groundhog Day
The definitive time loop masterpiece balancing cynical humor with a heartfelt 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 high-octane sci-fi spectacle where a soldier must die repeatedly to master a battlefield and save humanity.
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 refreshingly nihilistic and hilarious modern take featuring two wedding guests stuck in the same day.
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 pulse-pounding thriller using an eight-minute loop to solve a high-stakes mystery on a commuter train.
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
Happy Death Day
A clever slasher-comedy hybrid where a college student must solve her own murder to stop the day from resetting.
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.
- 06
Triangle
A dark psychological thriller that rewards viewers who pay close attention to its complex, overlapping structure.
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.
- 07
Run Lola Run
A high-energy icon exploring how tiny choices lead to wildly different outcomes in a race against time.
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.
- 08
Boss Level
A relentless action film that plays like a video game with infinite lives and over-the-top combat.
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.
- 09
The Endless
A slow-burn supernatural mystery about two brothers who find time behaving in terrifying ways at a cult.
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.
- 10
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes
A charming, low-budget marvel filmed in a single take that explores a short, two-minute temporal loop.
A cafe owner discovers that the TV in his cafe suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes into the future.
- 11
ARQ
A tense sci-fi thriller where a couple must protect a revolutionary energy source from home invaders.
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.
- 12
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
A sweet and thoughtful coming-of-age story about finding beauty in the small moments of a repeating day.
Two teenagers trapped in an endless time loop set out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect.