Cerebral movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant cerebral movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out cerebral, psychological, surreal, philosophical, mind bending and twisted films and TV shows about / with philosophy, existentialism, metaphysics, waking up, moving, time travel, trippy, puzzle, death and mind game plots mostly in Drama, Sci-Fi and Mystery genres shot in USA, UK, Canada and other countries.
cerebral
 3387
cerebral movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as cerebral: One Point O (2004), I Origins (2014), What Dreams May Come (1998), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Arrival (2016), The Fountain (2006), Cube (1997), Lucy (2014), Moon (2009), Blade Runner (1982).

List of cerebral movies

Type:
Year:
Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
 5.9
 6K
One Point O (2004)
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Romania, Iceland
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Paranoid computer programmer Simon wakes up to find a package in his room one day. Despite attempts at securing his apartment, the packages keep arriving. While cameras watch Simon's every move, he struggles to find the answers to the ...
Style: surreal, enigmatic, psychological, cerebral, confusing ...
Plot: cyberpunk, paranoia, mind control, computer, technology, distopia, existentialism, hacking, neighbor, investigation, hacker, life is a bitch ...
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 133K
I Origins (2014)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story: 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 ...
Style: thought provoking, spiritual, mind bending, philosophical, enigmatic ...
Plot: reincarnation, eye, metaphysics, spirituality, religion, genetics, buddhism, atheism, evolution, society, love story, elevator ...
Time: year 2014, 2010s, 90s, year 1998, year 2012 ...
Place: india, usa, new york, asia, new haven connecticut ...
Is relevant ?
What Dreams May Come (1998)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA, New Zealand
Duration: 113 min.
Story: Chris Neilson dies to find himself in a heaven more amazing than he could have ever dreamed of. There is one thing missing: his wife. After he dies, his wife, Annie killed herself and went to hell. Chris decides to risk eternity in hades for the ...
Style: surreal, philosophical, touching, inspirational, tear jerker ...
Audience: family friendly, teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot: afterlife, heaven and hell, life & death, life philosophy, heaven, redemption, reincarnation, spirituality, love, hell, metaphysics, life after death ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: cuba
Is relevant ?
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min.
Story: At Princeton University, John Nash struggles to make a worthwhile contribution to serve as his legacy to the world of mathematics. He finally makes a revolutionary breakthrough that will eventually earn him the Nobel Prize. After graduate school he ...
Style: psychological, touching, cerebral, dramatic, intellectual ...
Audience: teens, date night, family friendly, chick flick
Plot: mathematics, mental illness, schizophrenia, genius, paranoia, insanity, scientist, mathematician, imaginary friend, nobel prize, obsession, prodigy ...
Time: year 2001, 60s, 20th century, 1940s, 2000s ...
Place: boston, harvard university, new jersey, persia, detroit ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.9
 759K
Arrival (2016)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 116 min.
Story: 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.
Style: psychological, intellectual, philosophical, reflective, futuristic ...
Audience: family friendly, teens, adult
Plot: alien, first contact, female protagonist, linguist, ufo, time, science, alien race, alien contact, extraterrestrial, scientist, creature ...
Time: future, year 2016, 2010s
Place: china, montana, america, massachusetts, venezuela ...
Is relevant ?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story: 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 ...
Style: psychological, surreal, melancholic, romantic, mind bending ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, teens, girls' night, adult
Plot: memory, surrealism, dream, love, love story, memory loss, existentialism, loneliness, couples, amnesia, relationships, introspection ...
Time: 2000s, year 2004, future, year 2003, 21st century
Place: persia, america, usa, new york
Is relevant ?
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Western
Country: USA, Canada, UK
Duration: 160 min.
Story: Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill ...
Style: cerebral, atmospheric, suspense, realistic, serious ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: assassination, jesse james, betrayal, biopic, vengeance, depression, assassin, modern west, modern western, robbery, wild west, sheriff ...
Time: 19th century, year 2007, 2000s, 1800s, ancient times ...
Place: missouri, america, kentucky, usa, kansas city ...
Is relevant ?
 7.2
 248K
The Fountain (2006)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world.
Style: surreal, melancholic, artsy, philosophical, atmospheric ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: metaphysics, spirituality, afterlife, cancer, buddhism, immortality, surrealism, multiple storylines, obsession, loneliness, love, death ...
Time: future, 2000s, year 2006, 16th century, 21st century
Place: spain, tibet, latin america, europe, central america ...
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 246K
Cube (1997)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min.
Story: Seven strangers are taken out of their daily lives and placed mysteriously in a deadly cube where they all agree they must find their way out.
Style: psychological, surreal, suspenseful, mind bending, psychological thriller ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: survival, trap, trapped, claustrophobia, isolation, mathematics, maze, escape, group of strangers, survival horror, death, game of death ...
Time: 90s, future, 20th century
Is relevant ?
 6.4
 531K
Lucy (2014)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: France, Germany, Taiwan, Canada, USA, UK
Duration: 89 min.
Story: A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
Style: futuristic, surreal, philosophical, intellectual, exciting ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, girls' night, boys' night, adult
Plot: supernatural, intelligence, tough girl, brain capacity, supernatural ability, experimental drug, telekinesis, telepathy, strong female lead, superhuman powers, human brain, mind control ...
Time: year 2014, future, 2010s, stone age, 1900s ...
Place: france, new york, berlin germany, rome italy, paris france ...
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 375K
Moon (2009)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: With only three weeks left in his three year contract, Sam Bell is getting anxious to finally return to Earth. He is the only occupant of a Moon-based manufacturing facility along with his computer and assistant, GERTY. When he has an accident ...
Style: psychological, philosophical, suspense, futuristic, cerebral ...
Audience: adult
Plot: isolation, moon, outer space, loneliness, space travel, astronaut, solitude, cloning, space and aliens, robot, dystopic future, space ...
Time: future, year 2009, 2010s, near future, y2k ...
Place: hawaii, mexico
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 817K
Blade Runner (1982)
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 117 min.
Story: 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.
Style: neo noir, futuristic, tech noir, atmospheric, thought provoking ...
Audience: adult
Plot: cyberpunk, dystopia, artificial intelligence, existentialism, dystopian future, distopia, androids, cyborgs, melancholy, fugitives, police detective, fugitive ...
Time: future, 2010s, year 2019, 20th century, near future ...
Place: los angeles, california, bolivia, usa
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
reflective movies
2585
talky movies
6276
allegory movies
2778
 8.1
 144K
Stalker (1979)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 162 min.
Story: Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A Stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep seeded ...
Style: philosophical, atmospheric, bleak, art house, cerebral ...
Audience: family friendly, adult
Plot: stalker, distopia, human nature, post apocalypse, trippy, dystopian future, surrealism, wish come true, dog, society, post apocalyptic, dystopia ...
Time: future, year 1979, distant future, near future
Place: soviet union, ussr, russia
Is relevant ?
 8.7
 2.1M
Interstellar (2014)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, UK, Canada
Duration: 169 min.
Story: Interstellar chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Style: futuristic, mind bending, cerebral, philosophical, thought provoking ...
Audience: teens, date night, kids, chick flick, girls' night ...
Plot: space travel, time travel, outer space, father daughter relationship, nasa, astronaut, space, survival, end of the world, distopia, natural disaster, apocalypse ...
Time: future, year 2014, 2010s, near future, 21st century
Place: los angeles, colorado
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 581K
Minority Report (2002)
Genre: Action, Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min.
Story: John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.
Style: futuristic, suspense, neo noir, cerebral, mind bending ...
Audience: boys' night, chick flick, date night
Plot: cyberpunk, murder, dystopian future, foreknowledge, precognition, time loop, distopia, psychic, dystopia, frame up, law enforcer, consciousness ...
Time: future, near future, 20th century, distant future, year 2002 ...
Place: washington d.c., virginia, usa
Is relevant ?
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 149 min.
Story: Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.
Style: futuristic, philosophical, psychedelic, mind bending, cerebral ...
Audience: family outing, teens, kids, adult
Plot: space travel, astronaut, outer space, space, artificial intelligence, moon, scientist, computer, trippy, space opera, human versus computer, space station ...
Time: future, year 2001, 20th century, stone age, year 1968 ...
Place: persia
Is relevant ?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 166 min.
Story: Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.
Style: touching, philosophical, dramatic, sentimental, melancholic ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, teens, girls' night, adult
Plot: destiny, true love, life & death, life philosophy, aging, existentialism, love and romance, fictional biography, melancholy, puzzle, tragic love, old age ...
Time: 50s, 20th century, 1940s, year 2008, 1950s ...
Place: new orleans, cambodia, usa, pearl harbor, france ...
Is relevant ?
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: Spike Jonze’s debut feature film is a love story mix of comedy and fantasy. The story is about an unsuccessful puppeteer named Craig, who one day at work finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for ...
Style: surreal, cerebral, mind bending, psychological, offbeat ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, adult
Plot: surrealism, puppeteer, subconscious, psychology, philosophy, existentialism, satire, lesbianism, insanity, body swapping, mind control, magic realism ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1999
Place: new york, new jersey, usa, manhattan new york city
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 8.0
 98K
Solaris (1972)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 167 min.
Story: 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 ...
Style: art house, atmospheric, cerebral, enigmatic, psychedelic ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: outer space, scientist, space travel, space and aliens, dream, metaphysics, space station, space, astronaut, loneliness, insanity, science ...
Time: year 1972, 70s, future, distant future
Place: soviet union, ussr, russia
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 582K
Ex Machina (2014)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story: Caleb, a 26 year old coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds ...
Style: psychological, futuristic, philosophical, twist ending, mind bending ...
Audience: girls' night, adult
Plot: artificial intelligence, robot, androids, existentialism, technology, cyberpunk, isolation, cyborgs, manipulation, androids and robots, female robot, psychology ...
Time: future, 2010s, year 2015, year 2014, year 2016 ...
Place: england
Is relevant ?
 8.8
 2.3M
Fight Club (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 139 min.
Story: 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 ...
Style: surprise ending, psychological, twist ending, cerebral, philosophical ...
Audience: manly, boys' night, chick flick, girls' night, adult
Plot: twists and turns, psychology, fight, plot twist, schizophrenia, self destructing, insanity, fighting the system, split personality, losing-it hero, against the rules, nihilism ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 1999, year 2013
Place: delaware, america, los angeles, iran, seattle ...
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 1.4M
Shutter Island (2010)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min.
Story: 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.
Style: psychological, surprise ending, twist ending, suspense, confusing ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, adult
Plot: twists and turns, plot twist, investigation, mental illness, insanity, psychology, memory, paranoia, mental disorder, psychiatrist, schizophrenia, mental institution ...
Time: 1950s, year 2010, year 1954, 2010s, 2000s ...
Place: boston, persia, iran, america
Is relevant ?
Wings of Desire (1987)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: West Germany, France
Duration: 128 min.
Story: Wings of Desire is Wim Wender’s artistically beautiful film about the lonely and immortal life of angels during a post-war Berlin. It’s a poetic journey from the perspective of the angels of which one falls in love with a living woman and wants ...
Style: atmospheric, surreal, meditative, lyrical, cerebral ...
Audience: date night
Plot: angel, immortality, dream, circus, love, existentialism, philosophy, mortality, library, loneliness, love story, visceral ...
Time: 20th century, 80s, year 1987
Place: germany, berlin germany, west germany, east germany, europe
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.5
 292K
Contact (1997)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 150 min.
Story: Contact is a science fiction film about an encounter with alien intelligence. Based on the novel by Carl Sagan the film starred Jodie Foster as the one chosen scientist who must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and ...
Style: cerebral, inspirational, philosophical, futuristic, emotional ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: science, space travel, scientist, nasa, alien encounter, outer space, alien, space and aliens, first contact, astronomy, religion, alien contact ...
Time: future, 90s, 20th century, distant future
Place: puerto rico, new mexico, washington d.c., usa, hokkaido ...
Is relevant ?
 6.5
 49K
Time Lapse (2014)
Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story: Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Style: twist ending, psychological, tense, cerebral, clever ...
Audience: teens
Plot: time travel, parallel universe, time machine, time paradox, plot twist, time loop, paranoia, twists and turns, blackmail, murder, brutality, death threat ...
Time: future, year 2014, 2010s, near future
Is relevant ?
 8.6
 1.8M
Se7en (1995)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story: Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. ...
Style: detective, surprise ending, suspenseful, disturbing, neo noir ...
Audience: chick flick, adult
Plot: serial killer, investigation, twists and turns, psychopath, police, psychology, mind game, murder, insanity, police investigation, macabre, maniac ...
Time: 90s, year 1995, 20th century
Place: los angeles, america, iran, persia, usa ...
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 245K
Mr. Nobody (2009)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Belgium, Germany, Canada, France, UK, Luxembourg, USA
Duration: 141 min.
Story: 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.
Style: psychological, surreal, philosophical, mind bending, thought provoking ...
Audience: date night, teens, adult
Plot: time, philosophy, destiny, alternate reality, surrealism, butterfly effect, depression, choice, utopia, twists and turns, multiple outcomes, parallel world ...
Time: future, year 2009, year 2011, distant future, 2010s ...
Place: canada
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 352K
Total Recall (1990)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 113 min.
Story: Construction worker Douglas Quaid discovers a memory chip in his brain during a virtual-reality trip. He also finds that his past has been invented to conceal a plot of planetary domination. Soon, he's off to Mars to find out who he is and who ...
Style: futuristic, mind bending, cerebral, ambiguous ending, suspense ...
Audience: kids, manly, boys' night
Plot: cyberpunk, mars, memory loss, secret agent, dystopia, virtual reality, memory, alien, false memory, space colony, conspiracy, chase ...
Time: future, 20th century, near future, 90s, year 1990 ...
Is relevant ?
Captain Fantastic (2016)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A father living in the forests of the Pacific Northwest with his six young kids tries to assimilate back into society.
Style: intellectual, philosophical, sad, cerebral, sweet ...
Audience: date night, teen drama, adult
Plot: road trip, home schooling, capitalism, family drama, survivalist, precocious child, parenthood, teenage girl, dysfunctional family, suicide, children, funeral ...
Time: 2010s, year 2016, 90s, near future, 21st century
Place: washington state, nebraska, oregon, xian
Is relevant ?
 8.8
 2.5M
Inception (2010)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 148 min.
Story: Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another ...
Style: psychological, mind bending, clever, cerebral, surreal ...
Audience: teens, date night, adult
Plot: dream, virtual reality, memory, alternate reality, twists and turns, imagination, subconscious, philosophy, existentialism, fictional reality, heist, puzzle ...
Time: year 2010, future, 2000s, 2010s, near future
Place: paris france, japan, los angeles, iran, tokyo ...
Is relevant ?
Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
Related movie lists