Movies Like The Purkinje Effect

If you liked The Purkinje Effect (2025), a movie directed by Craig Trumbo and Mary Beth Eversole, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Arrival (2016)
★ 7.6/10
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
2
Species (1995)
★ 6/10
In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but…
3
Axcellerator (2019)
★ 6.2/10
When a young car thief stumbles on the invention of the century (and the various government agencies that want to kill him), he and a sassy checkout clerk named Kate have the adventure of a lifetime.
4
Margaux (2022)
★ 5.9/10
As a group of seniors celebrate their final college days at a smart house, the house's highly advanced AI system, Margaux, begins to take on a deadly presence of her own. A carefree weekend of partying turns into a…
5
The Island (2005)
★ 6.7/10
In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly…
6
Lucy (2014)
★ 6.5/10
A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
7
Paycheck (2003)
★ 6.2/10
Michael Jennings is a genius who's hired – and paid handsomely – by high-tech firms to work on highly sensitive projects, after which his short-term memory is erased so he's incapable of breaching security. But at the…
8
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
★ 7.6/10
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…
9
Project Hail Mary (2026)
★ 8.6/10
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the…
10
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
★ 6.8/10
An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
11
Knowing (2009)
★ 6.3/10
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…
12
No Exit (2022)
★ 6.8/10
Stranded at a rest stop in the mountains during a blizzard, a recovering addict discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car belonging to one of the people inside the building which sets her on a terrifying struggle to…
13
Coherence (2014)
★ 7.2/10
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
14
Cosmos (2019)
★ 6/10
Three astronomers accidentally intercept what they believe to be a signal from a distant alien civilization, but the truth is even more incredible than any of them could have imagined.
15
Infinite (2021)
★ 6.5/10
Evan McCauley has skills he never learned and memories of places he has never visited. Self-medicated and on the brink of a mental breakdown, a secret group that call themselves “Infinites” come to his rescue…
16
The Invisible Man (1933)
★ 7.5/10
After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.
17
Naked Lunch (1991)
★ 7/10
Blank-faced bug killer Bill Lee and his dead-eyed wife, Joan, like to get high on Bill's pest poisons while lounging with Beat poet pals. After meeting the devilish Dr. Benway, Bill gets a drug made from a centipede…
18
The Spectacular Now (2013)
★ 6.7/10
Sutter, a popular party animal, unexpectedly meets the introverted Aimee after waking up on a stranger's lawn. As Sutter deals with the problems in his life and Aimee plans for her future beyond school, an unexpected…
19
Swan Song (2021)
★ 7.1/10
In the near future, Cameron Turner is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Presented with an experimental solution to shield his wife and son from grief, he grapples with altering their fate in this thought-provoking…
20
Frequencies (2013)
★ 6.6/10
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'.