Recommend Me a Movie: Sci-Fi'ish Psychological Thrillers

[josh]

So many amazing cinephiles here on the forum, thought I'd give this a try!

Recommend me a great movie:

Audience: me, my wife, and two adult kids (25-year old gril, 28 year old boy).

Restrictions: None really... no young kids in our group. Violence and sex stuff are OK if not ridiculously over the top, but too much killing will drive wife from the room (like definitely not a John Wick type thing)

Desired Genre: psychological thriller, optionally with a time travel or sci-fi element... some might call them "mindfuck" movies.

Similar to: we've all really liked most Christopher Nolan and Alex Garland movies/series, and similar things, e.g.: Ex Machina, Memento, Inception, Devs, Severance, Interstellar, and at least the book "Dark Matter" (though didn't think the new Apple TV+ version was up to the level of the book.)

Less appealing to us: anything too "paranormal", definitely no religious themes, not too much into heavy supernatural stuff.

Possibilities / Seeking Opinions:

• Anyone seen "TimeCrimes" and have an opinion on if it's good given the above preferences?

Timecrimes (2007) ⭐ 7.1 | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

1h 32m | R

www.imdb.com

• Jacob's Ladder?

Jacob's Ladder (1990) ⭐ 7.4 | Drama, Horror, Mystery

1h 53m | R

www.imdb.com

What else should be on our viewing list?

Great movies, no "schlock" or silly type movies, but fine if it's lesser known, foreign, or an undiscovered gem you have loved.​

Thanks!
(this discussion is utilizing the rarely-used "question" post type... so anyone reading these can upvote or downvote other people's recommendation with just a click: use the controls to the right of anyone else's recommendation. The list can then be viewed in either chronological order or in order of number of votes a recommendation got)

 

[MXT]

Sorry, a bit lost in the thread. Which film are you referencing here, please?

Strange Days

Sorry, I'm contributing to this hard-to-follow conversation-within-a-thread as well. Maybe I need to use multi-quote to capture more the of conversation...

 

[MXT]

Looks like K only has the director's cut in SD, though. :/ I've never actually this this cut, but I think it'd be worth picking up the Blu-ray for a few bucks. Interesting side note, I see the disc has a rare DTS-HD MA 6.1 track--don't see many of those compared to 5.1 and 7.1.

Re: Butterfly Effect

I am wrong, I was looking under Special Features which has "Infinifilm Director's Cut Version" in SD. But under Features I see "Director's Cut" in HD.

 

[josh]

Sorry, a bit lost in the thread. Which film are you referencing here, please?

I think “Strange Days”.
As long as the person used “reply” in their post (which @Broncowrangler did) you can always navigate back in the reply threads by clicking the orange up-arrow links in the quoted replies.

 

[josh]

This thread has become one of my all time favorite discussions here. Thanks to all for the great recommendations!

I’ll be busy for a long time watching many of these. And equally frustrated at many of the intriguing foreign and indy titles recommended but not available on the kaleidescape platform right now!

 

[Sonicom]

This thread has become one of my all time favorite discussions here. Thanks to all for the great recommendations!

I’ll be busy for a long time watching many of these. And equally frustrated at many of the intriguing foreign and indy titles recommended but not available on the kaleidescape platform right now!

I totally agree on the lack of independent and foreign titles; unfortunately, many of these films are in the Criterion Collection. Films like Gummo and Happiness, Fish Tank, In The Mood For Love, Stalker...the list goes on...will likely never be available on Kaleidescape, despite the fact that many of these exist in 4K blu-ray format.
I continue to buy these films on disc, since there is no way of watching them on Kaleidescape. I catalog them using disc-to-digital, with the eventual hope that one day Criterion, Arrow, Eureka, and others will have licensing agreements with Kaleidescape.
Wish List items for HD or 4K:
Dark Man
Hardware
Hurlyburly
Kolya
Kontroll

 

[MXT]

Hardware

Hardware is the perfect 1990s cyberpunk/horror film. Too bad it will probably never be available on K. But I just learned it will be released on 4K disc early next year! Definitely buying it.

Hardware 4K Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) (Australia)

Hardware 4K Blu-ray Release Date March 28, 2025. Blu-ray reviews, news, specs, ratings, screenshots. Cheap Blu-ray movies and deals.

www.blu-ray.com

 

[Sonicom]

Hardware is the perfect 1990s cyberpunk/horror film. Too bad it will probably never be available on K. But I just learned it will be released on 4K disc early next year! Definitely buying it.

Hardware 4K Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) (Australia)

Hardware 4K Blu-ray Release Date March 28, 2025. Blu-ray reviews, news, specs, ratings, screenshots. Cheap Blu-ray movies and deals.

www.blu-ray.com

No way! This made my day! Thank you!
Let’s hope it has all the same content that the Blu-ray disc did.
Richard Stanley has discussed making a sequel to this.

 

[Sonicom]

No way! This made my day! Thank you!
Let’s hope it has all the same content that the Blu-ray disc did.
Richard Stanley has discussed making a sequel to this.

You may recognize my avatar picture, by the way

 

[DaveN]

How has this not been mentioned?

Gattaca

A genetically inadequate man commits identity fraud to achieve his dream of space exploration. Sci-Fi, Drama. Directed by Andrew Niccol. Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, and Jude Law. Purchase and download today in 4K HDR10 with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

 

[thrillcat]

How has this not been mentioned?

Gattaca

A genetically inadequate man commits identity fraud to achieve his dream of space exploration. Sci-Fi, Drama. Directed by Andrew Niccol. Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, and Jude Law. Purchase and download today in 4K HDR10 with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

I used to live right across from the Marin County Courthouse, the Frank Lloyd Wright building used for a lot of the exteriors from Gattaca.

 

[josh]

How has this not been mentioned?

Gattaca

A genetically inadequate man commits identity fraud to achieve his dream of space exploration. Sci-Fi, Drama. Directed by Andrew Niccol. Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, and Jude Law. Purchase and download today in 4K HDR10 with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

Somehow i think it hasn't, but I agree it's a great movie and a direct hit for this query... my whole family has seen it several times.

 

[LoveCinema]

Until last night, none of their work was available on K so I hadn't yet brought them up. But, allow me to introduce the writing/directing (and often acting) team of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Put simply, they make the kinds of movies that this thread was started for. All of their films take their time, so don't expect action here. What you will get are thought and conversation provoking stories with a mix of time travel, alternate universes, sci-fi, horror, etc.

In my opinion, their most commercial/mainstream title is Synchronic, which hit the K Store last night:

Synchronic

A paramedic with only weeks to live discovers the time-altering effects of a new street drug that could save his partner's daughter. Sci-Fi, Mystery, Drama. Starring Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Bill Oberst Jr., and Katie Aselton. Purchase and download today in HD.

www.kaleidescape.com

Instant purchase for me, and I hope we get more of their movies. If you dig it and want more, others worth checking out include:

Spring - Before Sunrise by way of Lovecraft:

Spring (2014) ⭐ 6.7 | Drama, Horror, Romance

1h 49m | Not Rated

www.imdb.com

The Endless - Brothers return to the compound where they were raised to discover something isn't right:

The Endless (2017) ⭐ 6.5 | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

1h 51m | Not Rated

www.imdb.com

They also have earlier work like Resolution (which is referenced in The Endless) as well as shorts in anthologies like V/H/S Viral. Also, if you watch Marvel TV and wonder why Loki Season 2 was so good? These dudes handled half the episodes.

Having said all of that, their latest work Something in the Dirt is firmly in my Incomprehensible Drivel collection if it ever shows up on K.

 

[LoveCinema]

One I'll recommend in this category i should have listed above, an undiscovered gem, is Coherence.
Very well done low-budget "mindf*ck" movie for sure!
Alas, not on Kaleidescape Store yet...

Coherence (2013) ⭐ 7.2 | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

1h 29m | Not Rated

www.imdb.com

@LoveCinema have you seen it?

When digging back up this thread I realized I never responded to this. YES, I have definitely seen Coherence and love it.

Getting firmly into spoilers here...

This is a movie that I've shared with a number of friends, which has allowed me to view it multiple times. Each time I pick up on new little things alluding to further "splits" in the alternate worlds. I was focused on finding the earliest split I could, to see when things really started going awry. One of my more recent viewings I noticed something so early, I think during one of the guest's arrivals. It was some offhand comment that I can't immediately recall, but basically... there was never a table of characters from the same world. The "original" group you start with is already split. Granted, from very close worlds where there's only tiny differences. But, the group was effectively doomed from the start. There was no getting back home for everyone because they weren't home at the start. At least, that was my interpretation. I'll keep this in mind the next time I watch it, which will certainly happen.

VERY fun movie that I'm always happy to share.

 

[MXT]

Until last night, none of their work was available on K so I hadn't yet brought them up. But, allow me to introduce the writing/directing (and often acting) team of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Put simply, they make the kinds of movies that this thread was started for. All of their films take their time, so don't expect action here. What you will get are thought and conversation provoking stories with a mix of time travel, alternate universes, sci-fi, horror, etc.

Never heard of these guys until now! Maybe I'll have to do a Benson & Moorhead marathon. Looks like the rest of their films are available on disc. Thanks for bringing them to our attention.

 

[HT in Paradise]

Greetings everyone;

I recommend an old classic, filmed in Canada from 1980.

The Changeling (1980) 7.1 | Horror, Mystery

It is also number 6 of the top 11 best scariest movies recommended list by Martin Scorsese.

This isn't my favorite movie genera; however, this movie is excellent yet dated.

Enjoy!

HTinP

 

[LoveCinema]

The Changeling (1980) 7.1 | Horror, Mystery

Excellent film and recommendation. This title has been made available in two separate 4K remasters from boutique labels in recent years. One from Severin Films in the US and one from Second Sight in the UK. They're incredibly close, but there are some very minor differences.
You can see examples here:

Screenshot Comparisons: The Changeling | Second Sight Films 4K UHD (2023) vs. Severin Films 4K UHD (2022) - Cultsploitation | Cult films, Blu-rays, Screenshots

Here are The Changeling comparisons between Second Sight Films' new 2023 4K UHD and Severin Films' 2022 4K UHD.

cultsploitation.com

Both are significant improvements from the Blu-ray and HD version available digitally (including on K, unfortunately). I'm a big fan of Second Sight's work, so I grabbed that one. (If interested in premium packaging, the Second Sight Limited Edition goes for $$$ on eBay; standard editions from both boutiques should be readily available.)