25 Best Mind-Bending Movies Like Interstellar

Movies like Interstellar gain a reputation as mind-bending and strange because they combine elements of science fiction, fantasy, and surrealism to deliver an off-kilter cinematic experience. Christopher Nolan is known for his ability to mess with the mind of the viewer thanks to an impressive dedication to both meticulous plotting and classical filmmaking techniques mixed with new-school effects. Interstellar is one of his greatest works and one of the best mind-bending movies ever because it isn’t just one thing.

Nolan’s 2014 opus was met with praise from critics (via Rotten Tomatoes) and was yet another smash success for the director, earning an impressive $700 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). However, while it’s often considered one of Christopher Nolan’s best films, Interstellar is far from the first movie to mess with audiences by subverting expectations in interesting ways. Movies like Interstellar have always been on the tip of the cinematic spear as they continue to push the envelope on what is possible.

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25 Dark Star (1974)

A Surprisingly Satirical Sci-Fi Flick From John Carpenter

Horror auteur John Carpenter’s feature film debut was actually a clever sci-fi satire in the form of 1974’s Dark Star. The film follows a crew of incompetent astronauts as they are sent on a mission across space to destroy a rogue planet. Unlike most movies like Interstellar, which take their sci-fi elements very seriously, Dark Star makes salient points about society through humor.

Made on a shoestring budget, the movie’s visuals pale in comparison to blockbusters, but the real mind-warp comes from the commentary about society. Co-written by Dan O’Bannon (Total Recall), the movie follows the crew’s main directive is to destroy unstable planets that threaten future colonization, and while it was not a box office success, it had a huge influence on movies and other fictional works that came later, including sci-fi movies like Danny Boyle’s Sunshine.

24 The Fountain (2006)

A Melodrama That Bends Space & Time

Writer/director Darren Aronofsky blended multiple distinct genres together in this thrilling and emotional romantic drama that follows the lives of Hugh Jackman’s protagonist through space, time, and stories within stories. Partly the adventure of a conquistador searching for the tree of life, partly a contemporary weepy about marriage and illness, and partly an arthouse science fiction movie about a haunted monk delivering a tree through the universe in a bubble to reach the heart of a dying star.

The Fountain is a lot for the audience to wrap their heads around, but it all fits together remarkably well. Much like Interstellar, both movies play around with time and fate, and both have characters interact in different timelines in unexpected ways. They are also both highly intelligent movies and expect a lot from the audience when it comes to following along and buying into the story the directors are telling.

23 Source Code (2011)

One Of The Most Underrated Time-Loop Movies

Through a strange technology that creates a kind of simulated reality, Army Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is forced to relive the final moments of a terrorist bombing on a train over and over again in order to try and find clues as to who the bomber is and where they will strike next. Through his different runthroughs of the incident, Gyllenhaal’s main character begins to believe that he can alter the course of events with plenty of mind-bending concepts coming into play.

Both Interstellar and Source Code are movies where time travel is used to solve a problem and save lives, but they are done on completely different scales. Duncan Jones’ sci-fi movie is about finding out who bombed a train and using time travel to send a man back to find clues so the terrorist can be identified and ensure it doesn’t happen again. In Interstellar, it is about finding a way to save the entire Earth, but both movies play with time in interesting ways.

22 Looper (2012)

Unlike Any Other Time Travel Movie Ever Made

Rian Johnson dipped his toe into the world of sci-fi years before taking on the Star Wars universe with The Last Jedi, and his time travel thriller, Looper, is often considered the superior film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis star as the same hitman named Joe in the not-too-distant future as they fight the mob and each other when Willis’ older version is sent back in time to be killed by his younger self.

Filled with all the twists that writer/director Rian Johnson’s movies would become famous for, Looper is an action-packed, mind-bending ride. Looper is a very different movie than Insterstellar, as it is more of a science fiction film noir compared to the epic sci-fi that Christopher Nolan created. However, when it comes to time travel and the ability to manipulate time to ensure one’s goals, they both play in the same sandbox and are very similar in terms of science fiction storytelling.

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21 Moon (2009)

A Cult-Classic Isolated Sci-Fi Movie

Before he went on to make the time travel movie Source Code, Duncan Jones (David Bowie’s son) directed the low-budget sci-fi movie Moon. In the film, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is about to end his three-year tour of duty alone on a lunar mining facility when he is suddenly plagued by visions of a doppelgänger of himself. The only thing that he had to keep him company over the years was the AI computer system, reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

By limiting the story’s scope, Jones finds the true heart of the themes by allowing the singular character in the story to carry the load. The movie was also a very personal affair for Jones, who did most of the effects himself and limited a lot of the overuse of CGI that many sci-fi movies are guilty of. Like Interstellar, the movie focuses more heavily on the personal story of the astronaut and his place in the world while tackling much deeper themes than its contemporary movies.

20 Solaris (1972)

The ’70s Movie Was A Trailblazing Classic

If movies like Interstellar are modern examples of sci-fi that push boundaries, Solaris was a trailblazing classic that opened doors for future exploration. The Russian sci-fi epic follows psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis), who is sent to investigate the mysterious death of astronauts near the planet Solaris. Through its nearly three-hour running time, Solaris allows the viewer to sink further into the depths of madness as science fiction becomes surreal fantasy.

Also, much like Interstellar, it is often a difficult and thought-provoking movie to get through. It is a lot more meditative than Interstellar and is very slow-moving at times. While the movie is not the best known science fiction movie, it has its fans, including George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, who remade the movie in 2002. However, the original was a masterpiece by Andrei Tarkovsky, and his win of the Grand Prix Special de Jury at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival was well worth it.

19 Cloud Atlas (2012)

An Ambitious Sci-Fi Epic That Spans Centuries

Bigger than most movies like Interstellar, Cloud Atlas is a gargantuan adaptation of David Mitchell’s time-bending novel from the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer, and is a hugely ambitious science-fiction film that takes on even more distinct time periods and genres than The Fountain. The reincarnated lives of the impressive ensemble cast play out across a timeline spanning from the intimate drama of the 19th century to the post-apocalyptic adventure of the 24th century, and the themes are just as big as the effects and casting.

The biggest thing about Cloud Atlas that separates it from Interstellar is that it never received the same praise as Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. Critics were mixed on the movie, which was ambitious but was also often confusing in its changes of time and place. It also took actors and had them play different roles in different periods, making things even more confusing. However, as a movie about time influencing fate, the two movies share similar themes.

18 Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Ryan Gosling Stars As The New Blade Runner Tracking Down Deckard

Denis Villeneuve’s very belated sequel to Ridley Scott’s iconic science-fiction film, BladeRunner, proved its worth very quickly to critics and fans alike, becoming a rare latter-day sequel to a cult classic that’s as well-regarded as the original. Ryan Gosling stars as Officer K, a dystopian detective and synthetic executioner tracking down a synthetic-human hybrid who threatens the world order of the future’s hierarchy.

Blade Runner 2049‘s Oscar-winning visual effects and cinematography are enough to captivate an Interstellar fan, but its emotional intensity and spiritual meditations make it an unmissable experience for any lover of sci-fi. This movie doesn’t have the time travel or the world-saving storyline as Interstellar, but does have a smart sci-fi tale that makes viewers think almost more than it has them blindly following action beats.

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17 Stalker (1979)

One Of The Most Challenging But Rewarding Sci-Fi Movies

After revolutionizing sci-fi with his film Solaris, director Andrei Tarkovsky returned to the genre with the infinitely bleaker Stalker. In a post-apocalyptic world, a writer (Anatoliy Solonitsyn) ventures into the dangerous wasteland known as The Zone to find a mythical place known only as The Room. Many movies like Interstellar are mind-bending but find some basis in reality, Stalker leaves reality at the door and becomes increasingly surreal throughout.

Stalker isn’t just a cinematic experience, but a challenge as well. This movie is nowhere as well known as even Solaris, although for Soviet movie fans, it remains a masterpiece of the country’s cinema. It has been listed as one of the Greatest Films of All Time by the British Film Institute (via BFI). With the focus on breaking the laws of physics and traveling through space and time, it shares a strong similarity with Interstellar when it comes to its themes.

16 Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan’s Breakthrough Mystery Classic

Memento is another Christopher Nolan classic, released before he had access to some of the biggest budgets in Hollywood. This thriller follows Leonard (Guy Pierce), a man who is unable to form new memories as he works to find his wife’s killer. It’s the way Nolan presents the story that keeps viewers thinking for hours: scenes alternate between color and black and white, with the color scenes depicting the story chronologically from the start, and the black and white scenes working backward.

It’s complex, but the final payoff is immense. Just like Interstellar, and most of Nolan’s other movies, he plays with time throughout the stories. In this case, Nolan does things in a unique manner, by showing the last scene first and then moving back through time to show the start, which explains what really happened to start Leonard’s story. Anyone who loves Nolan’s way of playing with time will love both Interstellar and Memento.

15 12 Monkeys (1995)

Terry Gilliam’s Complex Masterpiece

Many movie fans might not expect a Monty Python cast member to end up directing some incredibly complex cinematic classics, but Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys is one of the most famous entries into the sci-fi time travel genre. Convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to learn how a massive plague started in the 1990s.

The shifts between a variety of time periods are confusing enough, but when the viewer starts to realize that the main character’s memories don’t exactly remain consistent, trying to place everyone in the right place at the right time gets complex. Gilliam has made some masterful sci-fi and fantasy movies over his career, from 12 Monkeys to Time Bandits and Brazil, and he was truly the Christopher Nolan of his time when it comes to highly original fantastical movies.

14 The Cell (2000)

Explores The Weird & Wild World Of The Subconscious

The serial killer mystery thriller The Cell is injected with a dazzling degree of stylistic flair by director Tarsem Singh. A psychologist named Catherine (Jennifer Lopez) must travel into the subconscious of a sadistic murderer to find out where he’s hidden his latest victim. Once inside the man’s subconscious, the colorful and dynamic world is unlike almost anything ever put to film. This is a visual style unique to director Tarsem, who also directed the brilliant fantasy film, The Fall.

The weird and wild imagery depicted in the world of the subconscious should be more than enough to engage the brains of even Interstellar‘s most discerning genre fans. The central concept should feel very reminiscent for those who love Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi movies. The idea of taking a character and transporting them into a visually dynamic and abstract world — the black hole in Interstellar and a person’s subconscious in The Cell — make these two movies with similar themes.

13 Shutter Island (2010)

Martin Scorsese’s Only Mystery Movie

Shutter Island saw Martin Scorsese return to the thriller genre with arguably his most complex endeavor yet. Leonardo DiCaprio plays detective Teddy Daniels, who is investigating a disappearance on the titular island. While not considered one of Martin Scorsese’s best movies, Shutter Island saw the director play around with surrealism for the first time. It is also a movie where Scorsese was able to play with his idea of cops and villains, but done in a more film noir manner.

Keep an eye out for the clever moments of foreshadowing that lead viewers into an unforgettable plot twist. Fans of movies like Interstellar will not be let down by the dramatic pedigree on display in this mind-bending mystery. The movie did receive mostly positive reviews for Scorsese’s adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel. Of course, a big difference is that Nolan prefers to make original movies from his own imagination, while Scorsese has no problem adapting from others.

12 Tenet (2020)

A Christopher Nolan Project Even More Complex Than Interstellar

Christopher Nolan’s return to the sci-fi genre was just as ambitious and mind-bending a project as Interstellar, with the story revolving around a more grounded world of spies and supervillains but with a time travel twist. A secret agent (John David Washington) is sent through time and space to prevent WWIII. With certain objects and characters in the movie running in opposite directions of time, the huge scale setpieces can become pretty overwhelming at times.

But, if the audience just surrenders and trusts in Nolan’s strengths as a storyteller, it’s as fun a ride as Interstellar. When it comes to Nolan and his love of playing with time, Tenet took the idea of time travel in Interstellar and turned those moments into something that was completely unique to the genre. In this movie, it wasn’t just about moving forward in time, but it was about moving backward and changing what happens in the future by moving in reverse. It’s all a very complex concept.

11 Annihilation (2018)

A Terrifying Exploration Of A Quarantined Area Known As The Shimmer

While many modern sci-fi films feel like copies of copies, Alex Garland’s Annihilation arrived to prove the doubters wrong. Biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) travels into the quarantined region known as The Shimmer which has been infected by a strange alien presence. Much like in Interstellar, the mission is challenging for both physical and mental reasons for the characters, but Annihilation uses the horrors of mutation to great effect.

Also like in Interstellar, this movie relies on scientific teams to figure out what is causing the problems in the movie’s universe. While Interstellar deals with black holes and space travel, Annihilation focuses on aliens coming to Earth and causing problems with the atmosphere and living conditions. Annihilation puts a team of all women together to travel into a domed area to find out the source, and just like in the black hole in Interstellar, time doesn’t work the same in this landscape.

10 The Matrix (1999)

Takes “It Was All A Dream” To A New Level

Known as one of the most mind-bending movies ever, The Matrix took “it was all a dream” to a new level and sparked a new sci-fi franchise that’s still exciting audiences to this day. An average Joe (Keanu Reeves) is brought into the mysterious other world known as the Matrix where he becomes the heroic Neo. The movie goes a long way toward figuring out what is real and what is not, and as the entire movie franchise shows, not everything is as it seems.

While the plot itself is commendable, the Wachowskis’ breakthrough film is also known for innovating a variety of cinematic techniques, including ‘bullet time,’ which should impress any film fan looking for movies like Interstellar that can match the space opera’s most visually stunning moments. Christopher Nolan has carried on what the Wachowskis started, taking different ideas and concepts and applying them to his movies. While Tenet has more in common with The Matrix, it is seen in all of Nolan’s movies.

9 The Game (1997)

Michael Douglas Is Sucked Into A Mysterious & Life-Threatening Conspiracy

David Fincher is another director who’s well-known for his mind-bending movies that mess with the audience’s minds, and The Game is one of his most underrated efforts to date. Sucked into a mysterious and life-threatening conspiracy, investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) tries to find the line between what’s real and what’s simulated in the bizarre ‘game’ designed to entertain the super-wealthy.

Though not necessarily science fiction, The Game nevertheless found ways to bend the constructs of day-to-day reality to great effect. In this movie, Fincher takes the idea of what is real and turns it on its head. Much like how Joseph Cooper has to figure out the reality from the fantasies when he gets sucked into the black hole and discovers the secrets behind the universe, Nicholas has to figure out the truth on a smaller scale, and in both cases, they figure out their places in the world.

8 Split (2016)

M. Night Shyamalan’s Secret Sequel To Unbreakable

M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological horror-thriller Split delves inside the troubled mind of a killer named Kevin (James McAvoy), who’s at war with his own split personalities, making it a mind-bending movie quite unlike most others. Built around an incredible performance from McAvoy in the lead role, Split explores some fairly huge ideas through another of the writer/director’s deconstructions of popular genres.

Christopher Nolan does the same, as he exhibits a devout level of respect for the style and techniques of the ‘Master of Suspense’, Alfred Hitchcock. The two movies might not look similar from the outside, but when discussing what a person represents in life, and when they learn there are things beyond their own control that influence their fates, they line up better. Nolan has received acclaim his entire career, and while Shyamalan faced scrutiny in the middle of his career, both men took big swings with their films.

7 Brazil (1985)

Often Considered One Of The Best Sci-Fi Films Ever Made

Brazil is another classic film from director Terry Gilliam, the genius ex-Monty Python member behind 12 Monkeys. Set in a world not too dissimilar to the surrealist vision of Orwell’s 1984, a downtrodden man named Sam (Jonathan Pryce) sets out on a journey to find a woman he frequently dreams about. The movie has a strange plot, as part of it is about a renegade plumber helping fix pipes when it is not his job, but the other part is simply about a bureaucrat who finds that his world is bigger than he ever believed.

Often considered one of the best science-fiction films ever made, Brazil has plenty of mind-bending movie moments that will stick with film fans for a lifetime. This movie is another of Gilliam’s one-of-a-kind visions that is unmatched among other movies like Interstellar. It has remained a cult classic, has a Criterion Collection release, and is often listed as one of the best fantasy movies of all time.

6 Inception (2010)

Christopher Nolan’s Sci-Fi Magnum Opus

In a world where the consciousnesses of others can be infiltrated via dreams (which can have multiple layers), Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is tasked with placing an idea into the subconscious of a target, allowing for a uniquely mind-bending movie experience that delves into the very heart of the creative process itself. Like all Nolan’s movies, this plays with time, but it is also a movie that goes into the memories and self-consciousness of people only to pull out their thoughts and use them for selfish purposes.

Debatably, the magnum opus of Christopher Nolan’s career so far, Inception won a variety of Oscars for such a high-concept film, including Best Visual Effects like Interstellar, but lost out for Best Picture to The King’s Speech. However, it is the visuals and Nolan’s creative way of showing the world bending to the will of its characters that really show how similar Interstellar and Inception are, and both movies led to the mind-bending visuals from Tenet, a very linear path for Nolan’s output.

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