A Glean movie guide
Mind-Bending Time Travel Twists
Don't blink.
From recursive loops to identity paradoxes, these films will leave you questioning reality
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Predestination
A masterclass in temporal paradoxes where every revelation reshapes the entire narrative identity.
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
A notoriously complex 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
Timecrimes
A tight, relentless thriller where a man’s attempts to fix the past only make his nightmare worse.
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
12 Monkeys
A gritty, psychological journey that masterfully builds toward an inevitable and haunting conclusion.
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.
- 05
The Call
A chilling South Korean thriller where a phone call across time triggers a deadly game of cat and mouse.
In the fall of 1987, a group of small-town friends must survive the night in the home of a sinister couple after a tragic accident occurs. Needing only to make a single phone call, the request seems horribly ordinary until they realize that this call could change their life…or end it.
- 06
Donnie Darko
A surreal cult classic that blends teenage angst with a high-stakes countdown to the end of the world.
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.
- 07
Triangle
A haunting loop story that transforms a yachting trip into a recursive nightmare of survival.
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.
- 08
Looper
A stylish noir where an assassin must hunt down his future self to close a dangerous temporal loop.
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.
- 09
Tenet
A massive espionage spectacle built around the mind-melting concept of objects moving backward through 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.
- 10
Source Code
A high-stakes race against time that uses a unique sci-fi premise to deliver a surprising emotional punch.
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.
- 11
Interstellar
An epic space odyssey that uses the physics of time dilation to craft a deeply moving father-daughter story.
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.
- 12
Arrival
A cerebral masterpiece that subverts expectations by exploring 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.