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Movies that feel like Brainstorm (1983)

If you loved Brainstorm, the closest films we have are Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), Knowing (2009) and The Butterfly Effect (2004). All three share Brainstorm's cerebral and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on YouTube TV, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel and Howdy Amazon Channel and others, checked against today's data.

Two brilliant research scientists have invented a device capable of recording and playing back sensory experiences only to have devastating results when one of them records their own death.

πŸ… 57% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Douglas Trumbullcerebraltense
Stream it:Howdy β†—

When is Brainstorm streaming? β†’

If Brainstorm hit the spot, these will too

Colossus: The Forbin Project poster
Colossus: The Forbin Project
1970 Β· dir. Joseph Sargent
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.1science fiction Β· thriller

Cerebral where it counts, tense underneath

The difference: Reviewed even better

The U.S. has handed over control of its nuclear defense system to the Colossus supercomputer designed by scientist Dr. Charles Forbin. It soon becomes clear, that the now-sentient Colossus is far more intelligent than its creator realizedβ€”with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Feels alike?
Knowing poster
Knowing
2009 Β· dir. Alex Proyas
πŸ… 35%β˜… 6.2science fiction Β· thriller

Science fiction with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

The difference: A 2000s film, from a different era of filmmaking

A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Feels alike?
The Butterfly Effect poster
The Butterfly Effect
2004 Β· dir. Eric Bress
πŸ… 34%β˜… 7.6science fiction Β· thriller

Thriller built on tension, twice over

A young man struggles to access sublimated childhood memories. He finds a technique that allows him to travel back into the past, to occupy his childhood body and change history. However, he soon finds that every change he makes has unexpected consequences.

Feels alike?
The Happening poster
The Happening
2008 Β· dir. M. Night Shyamalan
πŸ… 17%β˜… 5thriller Β· science fiction

Cerebral science fiction in both cases

When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon -- or something even more sinister?

Feels alike?
Predestination poster
Predestination
2014 Β· dir. Michael Spierig
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.4science fiction Β· thriller

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

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.

Feels alike?
Sharknado 2: The Second One poster
Sharknado 2: The Second One
2014 Β· dir. Anthony C. Ferrante
πŸ… 61%β˜… 4thriller Β· science fiction Β· tv movie

Both are science fiction through and through

The difference: Leans tv movie where Brainstorm does not

A freak weather system turns its deadly fury on New York City, unleashing a Sharknado on the population and its most cherished, iconic sites - and only Fin and April can save the Big Apple.

Feels alike?
Sunshine poster
Sunshine
2007 Β· dir. Danny Boyle
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.2science fiction Β· thriller

Cut from the same thriller cloth

Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun β€” but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.

Feels alike?
Timecrimes poster
Timecrimes
2007 Β· dir. Nacho Vigalondo
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.1science fiction Β· thriller

Science fiction approached the same way

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.

Feels alike?
Predator 2 poster
Predator 2
1990 Β· dir. Stephen Hopkins
πŸ… 36%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· thriller

The same thriller instincts

A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.

Feels alike?
The Day After Tomorrow poster
The Day After Tomorrow
2004 Β· dir. Roland Emmerich
πŸ… 46%β˜… 6.5science fiction Β· thriller Β· adventure

Both are science fiction through and through

After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.

Feels alike?
Cube poster
Cube
1998 Β· dir. Vincenzo Natali
πŸ… 61%β˜… 7.1thriller Β· science fiction Β· mystery

Cut from the same thriller cloth

A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.

Feels alike?
The Andromeda Strain poster
The Andromeda Strain
1971 Β· dir. Robert Wise
πŸ… 68%β˜… 7.2science fiction Β· thriller Β· drama

Both are science fiction through and through

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scrambles to a secure laboratory and tries first to isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form, unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.

Feels alike?

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The best-reviewed films that share Brainstorm's defining feeling.