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Movies that feel like Primer (2004)

If you loved Primer, the closest films we have are Contagion (2011), Under the Skin (2014) and The Platform (2019). All three share Primer's cerebral and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel and HBO Max and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 72% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Shane Carruthcerebralcontemplativetense

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If Primer hit the spot, these will too

Contagion poster
Contagion
2011 Β· dir. Steven Soderbergh
πŸ… 85%β˜… 6.8drama Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Both land ideas and stillness at once

As an epidemic of a lethal airborne virus - that kills within days - rapidly grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.

Feels alike?
Under the Skin poster
Under the Skin
2014 Β· dir. Jonathan Glazer
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6.3thriller Β· science fiction Β· drama

Science fiction built on tension, twice over

A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.

Feels alike?
The Platform poster
The Platform
2019 Β· dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Cerebral drama in both cases

A slab of food descends down a vertical facility. The residents above eat heartily, leaving those below starving and desperate. A rebellion is imminent.

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

Contemplative thriller, and it commits to that

The difference: A 1970s film, from a different era of filmmaking

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?
Europa Report poster
Europa Report
2013 Β· dir. SebastiΓ‘n Cordero
πŸ… 81%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· thriller Β· drama

Science fiction with a pulse of tension, in both cases

A crew travels to Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon, to investigate signs of life in its subsurface ocean, but disaster cuts them off from Earth, leading to a tense and dangerous exploration.

Feels alike?
Glass poster
Glass
2019 Β· dir. M. Night Shyamalan
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6.6thriller Β· drama Β· science fiction

Both trade on ideas more than on being drama

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

In a series of escalating encounters, former security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities. Meanwhile, the shadowy presence of Elijah Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

Feels alike?
The Day the Earth Stood Still poster
The Day the Earth Stood Still
2008 Β· dir. Scott Derrickson
πŸ… 21%β˜… 5.5drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Thriller built on stillness, twice over

A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. When barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides humankind shall be exterminated so the planet can survive.

Feels alike?
The Quiet Earth poster
The Quiet Earth
1985 Β· dir. Geoff Murphy
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.7drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Tense science fiction in both cases

After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.

Feels alike?
The Circle poster
The Circle
2017 Β· dir. James Ponsoldt
πŸ… 16%β˜… 5.4drama Β· thriller Β· science fiction

The same science fiction instincts

A young tech worker takes a job at a powerful Internet corporation, quickly rises up the company's ranks, and soon finds herself in a perilous situation concerning privacy, surveillance and freedom. She comes to learn that her decisions and actions will determine the future of humanity.

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Blade Runner poster
Blade Runner
1982 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 89%β˜… 8.1science fiction Β· drama Β· thriller

Drama approached the same way

In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

Feels alike?
I Am Legend poster
I Am Legend
2007 Β· dir. Francis Lawrence
πŸ… 68%β˜… 7.2drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Cut from the same thriller cloth

Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.

Feels alike?
Sleep Dealer poster
Sleep Dealer
2008 Β· dir. Alex Rivera
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Both are science fiction through and through

Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology.

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