Best movies like Donnie Darko
Last updated March 2024
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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
Best tv shows and movies like Donnie Darko (2001):
Similar in 86%
Inland Empire (2006)
Plot Summary:
An actress's perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Poland, USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, enigmatic, atmospheric, experimental, psychedelic, serious, mindfuck, mind bending, confusing
Similar in 85%
Blue Velvet (1986)
Plot Summary:
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of criminals who have kidnapped her child.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 212000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: neo noir, surreal, dark, detective, cerebral, disturbing, postmodern, controversial, erotic, atmospheric
Similar in 88%
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Plot Summary:
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 103000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, dark, atmospheric, psychedelic, mind bending, avant garde, cerebral, scary, art house
Similar in 89%
Solaris (1972)
Plot Summary:
A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 97000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 167 min
Plot tags: art house, atmospheric, cerebral, mind bending, enigmatic, psychedelic, intellectual, futuristic, surreal, psychological
Similar in 79%
Melancholia (2011)
Plot Summary:
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 193000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, atmospheric, surreal, art house, philosophical, apocalyptic, psychedelic, depressing, art film
Similar in 75%
Lost Highway (1997)
Plot Summary:
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgangers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: surreal, neo noir, mind bending, atmospheric, confusing, disturbing, psychedelic, cerebral, gothic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
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 90%
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%
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 84%
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Plot Summary:
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 377000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, art house, neo noir, atmospheric, mind bending, disturbing, cerebral, surprise ending, enigmatic
Similar in 89%
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 82%
Black Swan (2010)
Plot Summary:
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 808000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, cerebral, atmospheric, surreal, sexy, twist ending, psychological thriller, mind bending, visually appealing
Similar in 75%
Primer (2004)
Plot Summary:
Friends and fledgling entrepreneurs invent a device in their garage which reduces the apparent mass of any object placed inside it, but they discover that it has some highly unexpected capabilities - ones that could enable them to do and to have seemingly anything they want. Taking advantage of this unique opportunity is the first challenge they face. Dealing with the consequences is the next.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 113000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: psychological, philosophical, surreal, independent film, mind bending, confusing, thought provoking, enigmatic, clever, mindfuck
Similar in 89%
Source Code (2011)
Plot Summary:
Decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, discovering he's involved in a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. He learns he's part of a top-secret experimental program that enables him to experience the final 8 minutes of another person's life. Colter re-lives the train incident over and over again, gathering more clues each time. But can he discover who is responsible for the attack before the next one happens?.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 542000
Genere: Action, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada, France, Germany
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: suspense, surprise ending, clever, mind bending, thought provoking, suspenseful, captivating, cerebral, tricky, mindfuck
Similar in 88%
Coherence (2013)
Plot Summary:
On the night a comet is passing near Earth, eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of reality bending events. When the power goes out, they discover that the only house on the street left with power also holds many secrets.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 142000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: mind bending, psychological, mind blowing, suspenseful, tense, confusing, mindfuck, suspense, serious, intellectual
Similar in 89%
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 87%
Enemy (2013)
Plot Summary:
A mild-mannered college professor discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 209000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, Spain, France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, non-linear, twist ending, mind bending, atmospheric, mindfuck, suspense, disturbing, tense
Similar in 85%
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 86%
Vanilla Sky (2001)
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
Similar in 87%
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 82%
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Plot Summary:
A psychological thriller about an eight year old boy named Cole Sear who believes he can see into the world of the dead. A child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe comes to Cole to help him deal with his problem, learning that he really can see ghosts of dead people.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 10000000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: psychological, surprise ending, twist ending, suspense, suspenseful, atmospheric, psychological thriller, mind bending, touching, tense
Similar in 88%
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 86%
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 86%
Brazil (1985)
Plot Summary:
Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 209000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: surreal, futuristic, psychological, dark comedy, cerebral, atmospheric, disturbing, thought provoking, mindfuck, black comedy
Similar in 87%
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 90%
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 86%
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 90%
Fight Club (1999)
Plot Summary:
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.
IMDB Rating: 8.8
IMDB Votes: 23000000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, psychological, twist ending, cerebral, thought provoking, philosophical, surreal, stylized, mind bending, atmospheric
Similar in 76%
The Prestige (2006)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 14000000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, twist ending, clever, atmospheric, psychological, mind bending, intellectual, enigmatic, confusing, tense
Similar in 86%
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