Movies Like Primer

Primer (2004) is a science fiction and drama film directed by Shane Carruth. Its recurring themes include distrust, garage, mathematics, identity crisis. The 20 films below were selected because they overlap with it on measurable signals — shared genres, shared themes, overlapping cast or crew, and the audiences TMDB records as watching both. Primer stars Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden; where a recommendation shares one of those performers it is noted on the card.

Looking for the original? Watch Primer on FreeFlix.

20 movies similar to Primer

Interstellar (2014) poster

Interstellar

2014Adventure, Drama8.5

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 in…

Why it’s similar: Drama • Science Fiction • time travel

Stowaway (2021) poster

Stowaway

2021Science Fiction, Drama6.0

A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Drama • Thriller

Next (2007) poster

Next

2007Action, Science Fiction6.1

Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interes…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Thriller • time travel

Transcendence (2014) poster

Transcendence

2014Thriller, Science Fiction6.1

Two leading computer scientists work toward their goal of Technological Singularity, as a radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent them from creating a world where c…

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Science Fiction • Drama

Source Code (2011) poster

Source Code

2011Thriller, Science Fiction7.3

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Science Fiction • time travel

Pi (1998) poster

Pi

1998Mystery, Drama7.1

A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.

Why it’s similar: Drama • Thriller • mathematics

Frequency (2000) poster

Frequency

2000Science Fiction, Crime7.3

When a rare phenomenon gives police officer John Sullivan the chance to speak to his father, 30 years in the past, he takes the opportunity to prevent his dad's tragic death. Afte…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Thriller • time travel

Omni Loop (2024) poster

Omni Loop

2024Science Fiction, Drama6.0

Diagnosed with a black hole growing inside her chest and stuck in a loop reliving the last five days of her life, a 55-year-old wife and mother from Miami, Florida decides to solve…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Drama

In Time (2011) poster

In Time

2011Action, Thriller7.0

In the not-too-distant future, the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The…

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Science Fiction

Paycheck (2003) poster

Paycheck

2003Action, Adventure6.2

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 incapa…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Thriller

Geostorm (2017) poster

Geostorm

2017Action, Science Fiction6.1

After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global clima…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Thriller

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) poster

Terminator: Dark Fate

2019Science Fiction, Action6.4

Decades after Sarah Connor prevented Judgment Day, a lethal new Terminator is sent to eliminate the future leader of the resistance. In a fight to save mankind, battle-hardened Sar…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Thriller

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) poster

X-Men: Days of Future Past

2014Action, Adventure7.5

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods as they join forces with their younger selves in an epic battle that must change th…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction

12:01 (1993) poster

12:01

1993Science Fiction, Thriller6.2

Office employee Barry Thomas is caught in a "time bounce" caused by a glitch in the company's secret project. Now the same day occurs again and again - and Barry's the only one who…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Thriller

RoboCop (2014) poster

RoboCop

2014Action, Science Fiction5.9

In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but hav…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction • Thriller

Avengers: Endgame (2019) poster

Avengers: Endgame

2019Adventure, Science Fiction8.2

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must a…

Why it’s similar: Science Fiction

Your Name. (2016) poster

Your Name.

2016Animation, Romance8.5

High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This biza…

Why it’s similar: Drama

Déjà Vu (2006) poster

Déjà Vu

2006Action, Thriller6.9

Called in to recover evidence in the aftermath of a horrific explosion on a New Orleans ferry, Federal agent Doug Carlin gets pulled away from the scene and taken to a top-secret g…

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Science Fiction

Young Hearts (2024) poster

Young Hearts

2024Drama, Romance8.6

14-year-old Elias increasingly feels like an outsider in his village. When he meets his new neighbour of the same age, Alexander, Elias is confronted with his burgeoning sexuality.

Why it’s similar: Drama

Super 8 (2011) poster

Super 8

2011Thriller, Science Fiction6.8

In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train derailment. Soon after, their quiet town is gripped by unexplained disappearances…

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Science Fiction

How this list was built

Candidates come from the recommendation and similar-title data TMDB publishes for Primer, merged and deduplicated. Each candidate is then re-ranked on genre overlap, shared TMDB keywords, shared director or cast members, and audience-rating confidence. Titles without a poster, a synopsis or enough votes to be a meaningful signal are dropped rather than padded in — which is why some pages show ten results and others twenty.

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