Are you in the mood for a movie that tackles a unique premise? If you’re anything like me, you’re tired of run-of-the-mill storylines, predictable plots, and straightforward girl-meets-boy dramas. Whether you’re looking for a movie with a creepy story, alternate realities, artificial intelligence, or questioning the nature of good and evil, internet film buffs swear by these 15 movies that explore interesting concepts.
1. A Ghost Story (2017)
After dying in a car accident, a man haunts his former home as a ghost and witnesses the passage of time and the impact of his life and death on his loved ones. The film takes a unique approach to life after death and experiencing grief.
2. Minority Report (2002)
Set in a future where a special police unit arrests criminals before they commit a crime, a cop is accused of a future murder and goes on the run to prove his innocence. Minority Report is a harrowing warning against the dangers a society with the kind of technology that can predict the future to prevent crime would mean for the societal standard of innocent until proven guilty.
3. Primer (2004)
Two engineers accidentally invent a device that enables them to time travel, leading to complex moral and ethical dilemmas as they attempt to exploit the invention. Primer is known for its intricate plot and realistic portrayal of time travel challenges.
4. Coherence (2013)
A group of friends gathers for a dinner party, but their reality is shattered when a comet passes overhead, causing strange and unsettling events. This movie sent a chill down my spine. Its clever use of parallel universes and plot twists will leave you questioning the nature of your reality and who you are.
5. Timecrimes (2007)
A man accidentally travels back in time and becomes embroiled in a series of events that leads him to question his morality. A brilliant exploration of the “butterfly effect” and the idea that consequences can arise from the smallest actions. Warning: This movie may lead you to overthink your every choice going forward.
6. Predestination (2014)
A time-traveling agent journeys through time to prevent a future crime, but his mission becomes complicated when he meets a man who might be the key to his identity. Predestination challenges the audience’s perception of reality.
7. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
An IRS auditor begins hearing a voice narrating his life, leading him to discover he is a character in a novel and must find the author to prevent his death. Its clever meta-fictional concept and exploration of the boundaries between fiction and reality are incredibly unique.
8. Ex Machina (2014)
A programmer is invited by his employer to administer a Turing test to an intelligent humanoid robot, leading to complex ethical dilemmas and a sinister turn of events. Ex Machina examines the distinction between human consciousness and artificial intelligence and how these lines may become blurred in the future.
9. The Lobster (2015)
In a dystopian society where single people are turned into animals if they fail to find a romantic partner, a man attempts to find love while avoiding the fate of becoming a crustacean. The Lobster boasts one of the most surreal premises, and its scathing commentary on societal pressure to conform to certain norms is done cheekily.
10. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
A young couple moves into a New York City apartment where the neighbors have sinister motives, and the wife becomes pregnant with a child who might be the spawn of Satan. It’s a poignant metaphor for losing control over one’s body and life.
11. Looper (2012)
Set in a future where time travel exists but is illegal, a hitman known as a “looper” is hired to kill targets sent back from the future, leading to a complex and morally ambiguous storyline. Looper explores the moral implications of time travel — an angle not often tackled in science fiction.
12. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
A surgeon becomes entangled in a sinister plot after befriending a teenage boy who seeks revenge for a past transgression. The Killing of a Sacred Deer explores themes of guilt, sacrifice, and consequences of one’s actions in an unsettling atmosphere.
13. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Everything Everywhere All at Once was a smash hit, destroying box office numbers and Oscar records. But this movie is complex and not your typical watch. When a Chinese immigrant is told she is the only way to save the different multiverses, she’s able to see her life in all these different dimensions, where she’s a completely different person.
14. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
When Joel (Jim Carey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) break up, Joel is shocked to learn that Clementine underwent a surgery to erase all of her memories of Joel. Because Joel is mad about her choice, he decides to undergo the same procedure to hopefully forget his lost love, but is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? Joel decides he hates the void left and tries to get his memories with Clementine back.
15. Children of Men (2017)
In the near future, the birth rates have plummeted after all the women on Earth have become infertile. As was and deception breaks out across the globe, the savior of humanity lies in the only pregnant woman on Earth and her guaranteed survival. This movie really puts our humanity in question and makes us ponder what we would do in a situation like this.
Source: Reddit.
Jaimee Marshall is a writer who hails from the suburbs of Philadelphia but has spent the past few years living abroad in Australia. She considers herself a bit of a movie buff with a knack for horror and clever sci-fi flicks. When she isn’t watching or writing about movies, she’s probably either posting political memes, cooking vegan food, or being active. She covers entertainment news, and reviews films and television for Wealth of Geeks. You can also catch her deep dives on sociopolitical issues at Evie Magazine, Katie Couric Media, and Her Campus or watch her appearance on Popcorned Planet, where she discusses heated issues like due process in our current social climate.
