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K-PAX poster

Movies that feel likeK-PAX (2001)

Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.

If you loved K-PAX, the closest films we have are Contact (1997), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Marjorie Prime (2017). All three share K-PAX's cerebral and twisty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ugetsu (1953).

🍅 41% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Iain Softleycerebralcontemplativetwistydreamlike
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If K-PAX hit the spot, these will too

Contact poster
Contact
1997 · dir. Robert Zemeckis
🍅 69%★ 7.5drama · science fiction · mystery

The same mix in both: ideas, then stillness

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.

Vanilla Sky poster
Vanilla Sky
2001 · dir. Cameron Crowe
🍅 41%★ 6.9mystery · romance · science fictionParamount+Peacock

One thread runs through both: dreams

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than K-PAX does

David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.

Marjorie Prime poster
Marjorie Prime
2017 · dir. Michael Almereyda
🍅 89%★ 6.3drama · mystery · science fiction

Twisty science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: Easier on the dream logic than K-PAX

A service which creates holographic projections of late family members allows an elderly woman to spend time with a younger version of her deceased husband.

Source Code poster
Source Code
2011 · dir. Duncan Jones
🍅 92%★ 7.5thriller · science fiction · mystery

Common ground: the investigation

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than K-PAX does

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.

Solaris poster
Solaris
1972 · dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
🍅 92%★ 7.9drama · science fiction · mysteryMax

Drama with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

The difference: 29 years apart, and the 1970s show

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 repressed memories and obsessions.

Donnie Darko poster
Donnie Darko
2001 · dir. Richard Kelly
🍅 88%★ 8fantasy · drama · mysteryPrime VideoHulu

Both lean on stillness more than on mystery

After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

The Skeleton Key poster
The Skeleton Key
2005 · dir. Iain Softley
🍅 38%★ 6.5drama · horror · mysteryPrime VideoPeacock

Iain Softley directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.

Mirage poster
Mirage
2018 · dir. Oriol Paulo
★ 7.4thriller · drama · mysteryNetflix

Twisty drama in both cases

During a mysterious thunderstorm, Vera, a young mother, manages to save a life in danger, but her good deed causes a disturbing chain of unexpected consequences.

Mulholland Drive poster
Mulholland Drive
2001 · dir. David Lynch
🍅 83%★ 7.9thriller · drama · mystery

Mystery built on ideas, twice over

Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.

Ugetsu poster
Ugetsu
1953 · dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
🍅 100%★ 8.1fantasy · drama · mysteryMax

Science fiction built on dream logic, twice over

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

The Return poster
The Return
2003 · dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
★ 7.9drama · mystery

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

Two young brothers in contemporary Russia are reunited with a father they know only from an old photograph after his sudden return from a long absence. With their mother’s reluctant consent, they set out on a remote trip that quickly becomes an uneasy test of authority, trust, and masculinity. As the journey moves deeper into the wilderness, the fragile bonds between father and sons are pushed to their limits.

Innocence poster
Innocence
2005 · dir. Lucile Hadžihalilović
🍅 71%★ 6.8drama · mystery

Both lean on twists more than on mystery

At a peculiar all-girls academy, new arrivals, including Iris, are delivered in coffins. Guided by enigmatic teachers, the students dance through enchanted woods by day, while the night unveils sinister lessons that blur innocence and awakening.

In the mood for more cerebral?

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The best-reviewed films that share K-PAX’s defining feeling.