12 Sci-Fi Movies That Purposefully Mess With Your Head

Who knew a film from the son of legendary lunatic David Bowie would be weird, right?

In this thoughtful slice of sci-fi from future Warcraft helmer Duncan Jones, Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, a lone space station employee left out on the moon, mining nuclear material alone for years at a time.

Only that’s not quite the case, as we discover once he nears retirement - Sam is one of many clones of himself, a warehouse full of whom inhabit the lunar outpost ready to be deployed once each serves their three years and begins to break down. This realization comes midway through the film and throws the opening half into sharp relief, with the reality that our protagonist has never been himself occurring to us the audience at the same time it becomes clear to him.

From thereon out the movie is easier to track, but only upon a re-watch will viewers be able to understand the film’s treatment of themes as diverse as identity, conformity, and the work/ life balance under late capitalism.