Best movies like Vanilla Sky
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 282000
Genere: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Spain
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, philosophical, enigmatic, twist ending, mind bending, non-linear, confusing, psychological thriller, artsy
Best tv shows and movies like Vanilla Sky (2001):
Similar in 82%
Frequencies (2013)
Plot Summary:
The story of the forbidden relationship between a 'low born' boy and a 'high born' girl in an alternate reality where every person's relationships and life worth are determined by their innate 'frequencies'.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Australia, UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: cerebral, mind bending, philosophical, futuristic, humorous, semi serious, surreal, thought provoking, mind blowing, spiritual
Similar in 78%
Wicker Park (2004)
Plot Summary:
Matthew, a young advertising executive in Chicago, puts his life and a business trip to China on hold when he thinks he sees Lisa, the love of his life who left him without a word two years earlier, walking out of a restaurant one day.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sexy, romantic, suspense, emotional, psychological, contemplative, clever, mind bending, stylized, psychological thriller
Similar in 77%
Premonition (2007)
Plot Summary:
A depressed housewife who learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously, awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home, and then awakens the day after to a world in which he is still dead.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, psychological, mind bending, suspenseful, serious, suspense, psychological thriller, tense, confusing, suspense thriller
Similar in 84%
The Nines (2007)
Plot Summary:
A troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, philosophical, confusing, mindfuck, thought provoking, surreal, cerebral, mind bending, psychological thriller, mind blowing
Similar in 79%
The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Plot Summary:
A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him – and chooses to fight for his own destiny. Battling the powerful Adjustment Bureau across, under and through the streets of New York, he risks his destined greatness to be with the only woman he's ever loved.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 268000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: mind bending, romantic, philosophical, suspense, surreal, psychological, cerebral, thought provoking, suspenseful, clever
Similar in 79%
The Discovery (2017)
Plot Summary:
In the near future, due to a breakthrough scientific discovery by Dr. Thomas Harbor, there is now definitive proof of an afterlife. While countless people have chosen suicide to reset their existence, others try to decide what it all means. Among them is Dr. Harbor's son Will, who has arrived at his father's isolated compound with a mysterious young woman named Isla. There, they discover the strange acolytes who help Dr. Harbor with his experiments.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, psychological, philosophical, non-linear, intellectual, dark, melancholic, stylized, depressing, bleak
Similar in 77%
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Plot Summary:
After Dr. Bill Hartford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 366000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 159 min
Plot tags: sexual, psychological, sexy, artsy, neo noir, atmospheric, psychological thriller, disturbing, surreal, suspense
Similar in 80%
The Box (2009)
Plot Summary:
Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: suspense, enigmatic, psychological, mind bending, mindfuck, suspenseful, twist ending, surprise ending, bad ending, surreal
Similar in 75%
The Jacket (2005)
Plot Summary:
A military veteran goes on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death and is left with questions that could save his life and those he loves.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 118000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, enigmatic, mind bending, tricky, cerebral, suspense, mindfuck, twist ending, confusing
Similar in 77%
Open Your Eyes (1997)
Plot Summary:
A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 72000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Spain, France, Italy
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: psychological, enigmatic, surreal, suspense, atmospheric, mind bending, philosophical, mindfuck, suspenseful, psychological thriller
Similar in 90%
I Origins (2014)
Plot Summary:
I Origins follows a molecular biologist studying the evolution of the human eye. He finds his work permeating his life after a brief encounter with an exotic young woman who slips away from him. As his research continues years later with his lab partner, they make a stunning scientific discovery that has far reaching implications and complicates both his scientific and and spiritual beliefs. Traveling half way around the world, he risks everything he has ever known to validate his theory.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 132000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, spiritual, mind bending, enigmatic, philosophical, cerebral, atmospheric, psychological, romantic, mindfuck
Similar in 82%
The Science of Sleep (2006)
Plot Summary:
A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychedelic, psychological, philosophical, mind bending, intellectual, meditative, visually appealing, cerebral, mindfuck
Similar in 78%
Mr. Nobody (2009)
Plot Summary:
Nemo Nobody leads an ordinary existence with his wife and 3 children; one day, he wakes up as a mortal centenarian in the year 2092.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 243000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Belgium, Germany, Canada, France, UK, Luxembourg, USA
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, philosophical, mind bending, thought provoking, confusing, cerebral, mind blowing, reflective, offbeat
Similar in 80%
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Plot Summary:
A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 371000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, UK, Spain
Duration: 172 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, psychological, futuristic, mind bending, surreal, spiritual, enigmatic, non-linear, atmospheric, reflective
Similar in 85%
Cypher (2002)
Plot Summary:
An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, tense, stylized, enigmatic, sexy, thought provoking, suspense, futuristic, intense
Similar in 79%
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Plot Summary:
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 11000000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, melancholic, romantic, mind bending, sentimental, philosophical, cerebral, psychedelic, clever
Similar in 84%
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 514000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, mind bending, philosophical, suspense, non-linear, dramatic, reflective, intellectual, intense, surprise ending
Similar in 77%
Donnie Darko (2001)
Plot Summary:
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 837000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, atmospheric, mind bending, philosophical, cult classic, clever, psychological thriller, cerebral, independent film
Similar in 89%
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Plot Summary:
A traumatized Vietnam war veteran finds out that his post-war life isn't what he believes it to be when he's attacked by horned creatures in the subway and his dead son comes to visit him.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: surreal, twist ending, psychological, disturbing, scary, bleak, surprise ending, atmospheric, psychedelic, psychological thriller
Similar in 83%
The Game (1997)
Plot Summary:
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a coldhearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad -- a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nearly a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 421000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: psychological, surprise ending, suspense, twist ending, neo noir, suspenseful, intellectual, unusual plot structure, clever, philosophical
Similar in 75%
The Machinist (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Machinist is the story of Trevor Reznik, a lathe-operator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances; yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. Trevor has lost the ability to sleep. This is no ordinary insomnia.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 410000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, France, UK, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, twist ending, surprise ending, depressing, mind bending, surreal, bleak, neo noir, enigmatic, atmospheric
Similar in 80%
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Plot Summary:
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 684000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 166 min
Plot tags: touching, philosophical, sentimental, dramatic, melancholic, atmospheric, cerebral, captivating, emotional, sad
Similar in 87%
Seven Pounds (2008)
Plot Summary:
An IRS agent with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 313000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: touching, sad, emotional, depressing, inspirational, sentimental, tear jerker, psychological, compassionate, heartbreaking
Similar in 79%
Pi (1998)
Plot Summary:
The debut film from Darren Aronofsky in which a mathematical genius Maximilian Cohen discovers a link in the connection between numbers and reality and thus believes he can predict the future.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 185000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, cerebral, black and white, mind bending, independent film, atmospheric, psychedelic, philosophical, dark
Similar in 76%
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Plot Summary:
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly, and patient Jeffrey Goines, the son of a famous virus expert, who may hold the key to the mysterious rogue group, the Army of the 12 Monkeys, thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 639000
Genere: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, twist ending, atmospheric, cerebral, non-linear, mind bending, apocalyptic, confusing, twisted
Similar in 76%
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
Plot Summary:
Computer scientist Hannon Fuller has discovered something extremely important. He's about to tell the discovery to his colleague, Douglas Hall, but knowing someone is after him, the old man leaves a letter in his computer generated parallel world that's just like the 30's with seemingly real people with real emotions.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 76000
Genere: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: mind bending, intellectual, twist ending, neo noir, atmospheric, psychedelic, philosophical, confusing, mind blowing, clever
Similar in 89%
Gone Girl (2014)
Plot Summary:
With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 10000000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 149 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, surprise ending, clever, twist ending, suspenseful, neo noir, tense, dramatic, psychological thriller
Similar in 84%
K-PAX (2001)
Plot Summary:
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away Planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 191000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, cerebral, sentimental, surprise ending, futuristic, philosophical, atmospheric, clever, mind twisting
Similar in 82%
Stay (2005)
Plot Summary:
Psychiatrist Sam Foster has a new patient, Henry Letham, who claims to be suicidal. In trying to diagnose him, Sam visits Henry's prior therapist and also finds Henry's mother -- even though Henry has said that he murdered both of his parents. As reality starts to contradict fact, Sam spirals into an unstable mental state. Then he finds a clue as to how and when Henry may try to kill himself, and races to try to stop him.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 85000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, surprise ending, twist ending, confusing, gloomy, mindfuck, suspense, mind blowing, mind bending
Similar in 82%
Shutter Island (2010)
Plot Summary:
World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by his troubling visions and also by a mysterious doctor.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 14000000
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: psychological, surprise ending, twist ending, suspense, confusing, dark, atmospheric, suspenseful, cerebral, neo noir