A Glean movie guide
Mind-Bending Time Travel Twists
Don't blink.
Movies that rewrite the past and break the future with shocking reveals.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Predestination
A masterclass in temporal paradoxes featuring a series of shocking identity-based reveals.
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.
- 02
Primer
An ultra-dense, low-budget puzzle that demands multiple viewings to untangle its overlapping timelines.
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.
- 03
12 Monkeys
A gritty, circular thriller where the tragic inevitability of the past creates a haunting final reveal.
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.
- 04
Arrival
A profound sci-fi drama that redefines the concept of time through the lens of alien communication.
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.
- 05
Looper
A stylish noir where a hitman's confrontation with his future self leads to a high-stakes moral resolution.
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.
- 06
Timecrimes
A lean Spanish thriller that uses a single location to build an increasingly complex and claustrophobic 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.
- 07
Triangle
A mind-bending survival horror that traps its protagonist in a recursive and mythological nightmare.
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.
- 08
Tenet
A massive spectacle built around 'entropy inversion' that rewards viewers who track its inverted logic.
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.
- 09
Source Code
A high-concept race against time that hides a poignant secret about its protagonist's reality.
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.
- 10
Donnie Darko
A surreal blend of teen angst and metaphysical theory that culminates in a devastating temporal sacrifice.
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.
- 11
Mirage
A tense mystery where a single act of kindness in the past ripples into a terrifying new present.
A desperate photographer who suffers from a degenerative eye disease and a husband who wants to kill his dying wife, plot to recover her life insurance.
- 12
Interstellar
An epic journey through space and time that resolves its mystery through a stunning higher-dimensional reveal.
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.