The Japanese cult classic takes place in a dystopian reality where high school students are forced by the government to go on a killing spree against each other until there’s one survivor left. There have been a bunch of comparisons between this movie and other dystopian titles, like The Hunger Games, but Battle Royale stands the test of time for its extreme violence, dark humor and sociopolitical themes.

• Director: Kinji Fukasaku
• Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto
• Runtime: 114 min.

There are time loop movies, and then there’s Triangle. This is a little underdog of a movie filled with enough twists and terror to keep you invested. Heck, it burrowed itself into my brain when I first saw it in 2009 and stayed there for a while. The movie follows a woman named Jess as she struggles to survive a killer on a deserted boat. Sounds simple enough, but things go haywire rather quickly.

• Director: Christopher Smith
• Stars: Melissa George, Joshua McIvor, Jack Taylor, Michael Dorman, Henry Nixon, Liam Hemsworth
• Runtime: 99 min.

The 1987 sci-fi classic follows Alex Murphy (Peter Weller), a police officer who, after being killed by a gang of criminals, is brought back to life as half-human, half-robot. On the surface, RoboCop appears to be an action-packed revenge movie. But it operates in layers as a Reagan-era satire focusing on themes of social values, classism and the insidious nature of American capitalism.

• Director: Paul Verhoeven
• Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Paul McCrane, Ronny Cox
• Runtime: 103 min.

Highlander follows an immortal man named Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) who faces off in a centuries-long battle against five immortal enemies in the streets of New York City. This movie is peak ’80s sci-fi, which means if you’re looking for an action movie that leans heavily into the schlocky absurdity of the genre, this is the title for you.

• Director: Russell Mulcahy
• Stars: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown
• Runtime: 111 min.

Alien Romulus is a standalone film that takes place between the events of 1979’s Alien and its action-packed sequel. It has all the elements one would want in an Alien movie, and does the job at bringing the franchise back to the basics that made it so iconic in the first place. It’s a terrifying and fun ride. What else is there to want?

• Director: Fede Alvarez
• Stars: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux
• Runtime: 119 min.

Steven Spielberg directs this video game-inspired blockbuster (based on the book of the same name) that follows a young man who ventures into the OASIS to find an elusive treasure. He’s not alone in this competition, though, and considering the fantastical world he’s jacked into, there is a plethora of challenges he must overcome to achieve his goal. 

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Stars: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn
• Runtime: 140 min.

Mickey 17 takes place in a reality where disposable employees are created to perform tasks too dangerous for humans. The story follows Mickey 17 on his mission to help colonize an icy world called Niflheim. A clone of his, Mickey 18, is accidentally brought into being, resulting in an off-beat exploration of humanity, classism and colonialism. What else would you expect from director Bong Joon Ho?

• Director: Bong Joon Ho
• Stars: Robert Pattinson, Anamaria Vartolomei, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, Samuel Blenkin, Holliday Grainger, Patsy Ferran
• Runtime: 139 min.

What happens if you find your true love and devote yourself to him, only to learn that it’s not of free will, but your programming? That’s the conundrum Iris finds herself in when she discovers she’s actually a robot companion and not a human. Her owner, Josh, turns out to be quite a piece of work, leading to a fight for survival from her perspective. It’s a funny, dramatic and action-packed movie that explores themes of misogyny, toxic relationships and AI.

• Director: Drew Hancock
• Stars: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Rupert Friend, Harvey Guillén
• Runtime: 97 min.

What if there were a pill that could turn any person into a hyperintelligent super genius? Limitless aims to answer that question. The movie stars Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra, a down-on-his-luck writer who takes the untested drug and uses it to massively level up his life. Of course, what goes up must come down, and Eddie soon finds out that sometimes, it’s best to leave mysterious meds alone.

• Director: Neil Burger
• Stars: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Johnny Whitworth, Andrew Howard, Hill Harper, Richard Bekins, Daniel Breaker, Robert John Burke
• Runtime: 105 min.

Chris Pratt stars in this action movie that follows a group of soldiers who travel back in time to warn of a future where humanity is losing the war against an army of alien invaders. Mankind’s only hope lies in a group of would-be heroes who are tapped to travel to the future in order to save the present.

• Director: Chris McKay
• Stars: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Jasmine Mathews, Sam Richardson, J.K. Simmons
• Runtime: 138 min.

A Quiet Place: Day One takes audiences back to the very beginning of the alien invasion. While it may not be a necessary entry in the franchise — like, say, 10 Cloverfield Lane — the movie digs its heels into the human experience amid an otherworldly cataclysmic disaster. Come for the disaster, stay for the cute cat.

• Director: Michael Samoski
• Stars: Joseph Quinn, Lupita Nyong’o, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, Thea Butler, Denis O’Hare 
• Runtime: 99 min.

In John Carpenter’s postapocalyptic cult classic, it’s 1997 in New York and the city has been ravaged by war. Manhattan has been turned into a giant walled-in prison. After the president is taken hostage, former Special Forces officer (and current prisoner) Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is recruited to save the day in return for his own freedom.

• Director: John Carpenter
• Stars: Kurt Russell, Adrienne Barbeau, Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, Harry Dean Stanton, Ernest Borgnine, Isaak Hayes, Frank Doubleday
• Runtime: 99 min.

This mind-bending cult classic stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a misunderstood high schooler who, after seemingly surviving a horrific accident, begins traveling through time. In the process, he discovers the joy of being alive and in love. Themes of depression, repression and alternative universes fill this delightfully bizarre film. Also, let’s not forget that giant demon bunny named Frank.

• Director: Richard Kelly
• Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze, Mary McDonnell, Noah Wyle
• Runtime: 113 min.