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Movies where reality isn't real

Somebody built the world these characters live in, and it isn't what they think it is. Simulations, staged towns, corporate loops, dreams inside dreams: these are the films where the ground gives way. We've included the time-loop branch of the family at the end. A repeating day is its own kind of fake reality.

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The Truman Show poster
The Truman Show
1998 · dir. Peter Weir
🍅 94%★ 8.2comedy · drama

In a picture-perfect seaside town, an insurance salesman begins to realize that his entire existence may be staged and observed by a vast unseen audience as part of a long-running real-time reality TV show.

The Matrix poster
The Matrix
1999 · dir. Lana Wachowski
🍅 83%★ 8.7action · science fictionRent or buy

Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

Inception poster
Inception
2010 · dir. Christopher Nolan
🍅 86%★ 8.8action · science fiction · crime

Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.

Moon poster
Moon
2009 · dir. Duncan Jones
🍅 90%★ 7.8science fiction · drama

With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off a series of unsettling events that shake his isolation.

Vanilla Sky poster
Vanilla Sky
2001 · dir. Cameron Crowe
🍅 41%★ 6.9mystery · romance · science fictionParamount+Peacock

David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.

The Island poster
The Island
2005 · dir. Michael Bay
★ 6.8action · thriller · science fictionParamount+

In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie.

Oblivion poster
Oblivion
2013 · dir. Joseph Kosinski
🍅 53%★ 7action · science fiction · adventurePrime VideoStarz

Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.

Source Code poster
Source Code
2011 · dir. Duncan Jones
🍅 92%★ 7.5thriller · science fiction · mystery

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.

Predestination poster
Predestination
2014 · dir. Michael Spierig
🍅 84%★ 7.4science fiction · thriller

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.

Total Recall poster
Total Recall
2012 · dir. Len Wiseman
🍅 30%★ 6.2action · science fiction · thrillerPrime Video

Factory worker Doug Quaid takes a virtual mind-trip vacation with the Rekall company, opting for implanted memories of being a spy. When the procedure goes wrong, Quaid becomes a wanted man by the police and joins forces with a rebel fighter to stop the evil Chancellor Cohaagen.

The Game poster
The Game
1997 · dir. David Fincher
🍅 77%★ 7.7drama · thriller · mystery

In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.

The Village poster
The Village
2004 · dir. M. Night Shyamalan
🍅 43%★ 6.6drama · mystery · thrillerHulu

When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.

The Cabin in the Woods poster
The Cabin in the Woods
2012 · dir. Drew Goddard
🍅 92%★ 7horror · mystery · comedyMax

Five friends set out for a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods, expecting nothing more than fun and relaxation. As night falls, they discover that something far more unsettling is at work and that nothing about their getaway is what it seems.

Free Guy poster
Free Guy
2021 · dir. Shawn Levy
🍅 80%★ 7.1comedy · adventure · science fictionDisney+

A bank teller discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it's too late.

Ready Player One poster
Ready Player One
2018 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 71%★ 7.4adventure · action · science fictionMax

When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.

TRON: Legacy poster
TRON: Legacy
2010 · dir. Joseph Kosinski
🍅 51%★ 6.8adventure · action · science fictionDisney+

Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy and daring son of Kevin Flynn, investigates his father's disappearance and is pulled into The Grid. With the help of a mysterious program named Quorra, Sam quests to stop evil dictator Clu from crossing into the real world.

The Matrix Reloaded poster
The Matrix Reloaded
2003 · dir. Lilly Wachowski
🍅 74%★ 7.2adventure · action · thriller

The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.

The Matrix Resurrections poster
The Matrix Resurrections
2021 · dir. Lana Wachowski
🍅 63%★ 5.6science fiction · action · adventureRent or buy

Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.

Groundhog Day poster
Groundhog Day
1993 · dir. Harold Ramis
🍅 93%★ 8romance · fantasy · comedy

A cynical TV weatherman, along with his idealistic producer and his sardonic cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.

Palm Springs poster
Palm Springs
2020 · dir. Max Barbakow
🍅 95%★ 7.4comedy · romance · science fictionHulu

When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.

Edge of Tomorrow poster
Edge of Tomorrow
2014 · dir. Doug Liman
🍅 91%★ 7.9action · science fictionParamount+

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.

Coraline poster
Coraline
2009 · dir. Henry Selick
🍅 91%★ 7.8animation · family · fantasyMaxHulu

Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.

Spirited Away poster
Spirited Away
2001 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 8.6animation · family · fantasyMax

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

The Boy and the Heron poster
The Boy and the Heron
2023 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 7.3animation · fantasy · dramaMax

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Paprika poster
Paprika
2006 · dir. Satoshi Kon
🍅 87%★ 7.7animation · science fiction · thrillerRent or buy

Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.

Eraserhead poster
Eraserhead
1977 · dir. David Lynch
🍅 87%★ 7.2horror · science fictionMax

First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Coherence poster
Coherence
2014 · dir. James Ward Byrkit
🍅 89%★ 7.1thriller · science fictionPrime VideoPeacock

Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.

eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 · dir. David Cronenberg
🍅 77%★ 6.8action · thriller · science fiction

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

Tron poster
Tron
1982 · dir. Steven Lisberger
🍅 61%★ 6.7science fiction · action · adventureDisney+

When brilliant video game maker Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. In his mission through cyberspace, Flynn matches wits with a maniacal Master Control Program and teams up with Tron, a security measure created to bring balance to the digital environment.

Summer Wars poster
Summer Wars
2009 · dir. Mamoru Hosoda
🍅 81%★ 7.4animation · science fictionMax

Teenage math whiz Kenji Koiso agrees to take a summer job at the Nagano hometown of his crush, Natsuki. When he arrives, he finds that her family have reunited to celebrate the 90th birthday of their matriarch. His job: pretend to be Natsuki's fiancé. Meanwhile, his attempt to solve a mathematical equation causes a parallel world's collision with Earth.

The shows that belong here too

Severance poster
Severance
2022– · 3 seasons · Apple TV
★ 8.6drama · mystery · sci-fi & fantasyApple TV+

Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.

Westworld poster
Westworld
2016–2022 · 4 seasons · HBO
★ 8.4sci-fi & fantasy · western

A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged.

Black Mirror poster
Black Mirror
2011– · 7 seasons · Channel 4
★ 8.7sci-fi & fantasy · drama · mysteryNetflix

Twisted tales run wild in this mind-bending anthology series that reveals humanity's worst traits, greatest innovations and more.

1899 poster
1899
2022 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 7.3mystery · drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

When mysterious events change the course of an immigrant ship headed for New York in 1899, a mind-bending riddle unfolds for its bewildered passengers.

WandaVision poster
WandaVision
2021 · 1 season · Disney+
★ 7.9sci-fi & fantasy · mystery · dramaHuluDisney+

Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

The OA poster
The OA
2016–2019 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.8sci-fi & fantasy · mystery · dramaNetflix

Seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious new abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission.

Every title above links to its kindred spirits. Find the one you love, then follow the thread. Or browse the mood behind this shelf: cerebral, dreamlike, tense.