A Glean movie guide
Mind-Bending Paradoxes & Time Loops
Don't let the loop close.
Master the mechanics of causality with these essential temporal thrillers.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Primer
A notoriously dense and realistic look at how quickly time travel logic can spiral out of control.
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.
- 02
Predestination
A mind-melting exploration of self-causation that takes the bootstrap paradox to its absolute limit.
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.
- 03
Timecrimes
A masterclass in narrative economy where every attempt to fix the past only cements a terrifying 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.
- 04
Tenet
A massive spectacle built on temporal pincer movements and the confusing physics of reversing entropy.
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.
- 05
12 Monkeys
A haunting, circular mystery that questions whether the future can ever truly be changed.
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
- 06
Looper
A stylish noir that tackles the grandfather paradox head-on through a hitman’s hunt for his future self.
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.
- 07
Triangle
A recursive nightmare on the high seas that uses overlapping timelines to create a sense of inescapable dread.
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.
- 08
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes
A clever, single-take comedy that finds infinite complexity in a simple two-minute delay.
A cafe owner discovers that the TV in his cafe suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes into the future.
- 09
Donnie Darko
A cult classic that weaves together teenage angst and theoretical physics into a complex temporal puzzle.
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
- 10
Back to the Future
The essential introduction to the butterfly effect and the dangers of interfering with your own history.
Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.
- 11
Source Code
A high-tension thriller that uses repeated eight-minute windows to explore the creation of alternate realities.
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.
- 12
Edge of Tomorrow
A relentless action film that turns a time loop into a tactical puzzle for survival.
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.