5 Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Movies Better Than Backrooms, I’m Sure You’ll Agree
Not many movies have been more talked about in 2026 than Backrooms. The A24 film is a twisty project where you never feel quite settled while watching it, and you have no clue what’s coming next. Mind-bending is a fantastic way to describe Backrooms, especially when you learn more about the making of the movie and how they actually built the sets. People on the crew even got lost while exploring the vast sets, which further adds to how unsettled you’ll feel while viewing the film. Backrooms centers on a furniture store owner and his therapist who find a seemingly endless network of interconnected rooms in the store’s basement. Between getting lost down there and discovering that they aren’t alone, Backrooms will terrify you and warp your mind. The movie was a huge financial success and was a hit with critics, yet some similar films are even better.
Backrooms is mainly a horror film, yet it leans into the sci-fi genre, which is where you’ll find the most mind-bending movies. Whether they were made on a big budget, were indie films, or if they’re also thrillers or horrors, these sci-fi movies are actually better than Backrooms.
5) Coherence
Not enough people seem to know about Coherence. Released in 2013, the indie flick from James Ward Byrkit focuses on four couples who gather one night for a dinner party. It just so happens that this dinner party falls on the same night as a mysterious comet passes closely by. The comet causes all sorts of odd occurrences that include the possibility of alternate realities. There’s no signal, leaving the house causes more bad things to happen, and the deeper into the night they go, the more unexpected twists pop up.
While the sci-fi elements are at the heart of the story, the mystery is what truly keeps you around. Mystery is also at the heart of Backrooms, as you’re dying to know what’s actually going on. With Coherence, each new scene leaves you unsure of what’s happening or what’s causing it. The film holds an impressive 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the best modern hidden gems of the genre.
4) Possessor
David Cronenberg is one of the masters at crafting movies in the body horror genre, yet it looks like his son Brandon will be a big player in the world of mind-bending thrillers. Possessor (2020) is Brandon’s second feature film and centers on an assassin who performs her kills by possessing the bodies of other people. That sounds like a foolproof way for a killer to get away with what they’re doing, but Possessor dives into the mind of the assassin as they struggle to fight for control of the person they’ve taken over.
What follows is a gripping and original story that focuses on the psyche of a killer. Possessor has plenty of horror elements, though it’s not quite as scary as Backrooms. The film feels like it’s destined to become a cult classic, as it was a hit with critics and remains one of the most underrated movies of the decade.
3) Under The Skin
While she was starring in billion-dollar hits as Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson appeared in the lead role of Under the Skin and delivered one of her greatest performances. Johansson puts on a masterclass in this 2013 indie from Switzerland, portraying a character simply known as The Female. Under the Skin sees The Female prowl the streets of Glasgow as she seductively follows and entraps her prey, which is unsuspecting men.
It would be too much to say what The Female is doing, as the movie is much better when you go in blind because experiencing what happens to these men will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s also captivating to see Johansson command the screen despite having little to no dialogue. The combination of her performance and the shocking visuals of her character’s actions makes Under the Skin a film that sci-fi fans need to see.
2) I Saw The TV Glow
The most recent movie on this list (2024), I Saw the TV Glow comes from creative filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun. There aren’t many films from the past few years that can match it in terms of its trippiness; the story follows a teenager named Owen who forms a bond with their classmate Maddy over a mysterious TV show called The Pink Opaque. Their obsession with the show leads them to question their reality, their identities, and more.
I Saw the TV Glow is not an easy watch, and it’s a film that demands your attention. It will also likely take multiple viewings for you to take it all in. The movie works as an allegory for being transgender and is already a classic among the LGBTQ+ community. It was up for Best Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards, and the emotionally deep narrative mixed with the visual aesthetic lays out just how fantastic this movie is.
1) Annihilation
Annihilation, based on the novel of the same name, had all the makings of a twisty sci-fi hit. It comes from the mind of acclaimed writer/director Alex Garland, has a stellar cast that includes Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac, and has a premise that can grab almost anyone. The story sees a group of female scientists enter a quarantined zone known as The Shimmer, due to its visual style. In The Shimmer, people have gone mad, while the animals and plants inside have mutated.
Like Backrooms, one of the most intriguing things about Annihilation is seeing what exists inside this unknown space. The climax of the movie brings another handful of twists that change the way you look at the rest of the film. The visuals are incredible, the performances are top-notch, and the entire thing is strange enough to stand out from the rest of the genre. This 2018 film is one of the best movies of the entire 2010s and one of the best mind-bending sci-fi movies ever.
