17 Great Time Travel Movies You've Probably Never Seen

Unlike the usual suspects that grab all the spotlight, these gems keep things fresh, bending time in ways that'll make your head spin – in a good way.

From indie hits to foreign wonders, each brings something unique to the table – be it a quirky take on time loops or a deep dive into the butterfly effect, without relying on blockbuster budgets or A-list names to make an impact. Think clever plots over flashy effects; these films rely on storytelling sharpness to pull you in.

1. Needle in a Timestack (2021, R)

When the fabric of time becomes a plaything for the wealthy, a devoted husband must navigate through altered realities and past decisions to preserve his love from being erased by his rival's time-travel interventions.

2. Transcendence (2014, PG-13)

A brilliant scientist on the brink of a breakthrough in artificial intelligence uploads his consciousness to a computer, leading to unforeseen power and autonomy that challenges the boundaries between human and machine, and poses a global threat.

3. I'll Follow You Down (2013, Not Rated)

After a scientist disappears mysteriously during a business trip, leaving his family grappling with loss, his son discovers years later his father's secret experiments with time travel, embarking on a quest to unravel the truth and potentially alter their past.

4. Source Code (2011, PG-13)

A soldier wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train, a mission that involves reliving the incident over and over in an alternate reality.

5. The Jacket (2005, R)

A Gulf War veteran, subjected to a bizarre experimental treatment for his amnesia, discovers he can travel through time within his own life span but must use this power to unravel the mystery of his death and alter the woman he loves' future.

6. Frequency (2000, PG-13)

A miraculous cross-time radio link connects a father and son across 30 years, allowing them to team up to prevent the father's untimely death and solve a series of murders, altering the fabric of their lives.

7. Timeline (2003, PG-13)

A group of archaeologists and students travel back to 14th century France to rescue their professor but find themselves embroiled in the midst of a war, facing the challenge of surviving history and finding a way back to the present.

8. See You Yesterday (2019)

Two brilliant teenage inventors embark on a daring mission to use their homemade time machines to save a loved one, but their actions in the past have unpredictable consequences on the future.

9. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012, R)

A quirky and mysterious classified ad leads a disillusioned journalist and two interns to investigate its writer, who believes he can time travel, leading to unexpected friendships, discoveries, and the possibility of a second chance.

10. Synchronicity (2015, R)

A physicist invents a time machine but must dodge his own sabotage from a future version of himself while navigating a complex love affair and a dangerous paradox that could disrupt the very fabric of reality.

11. 2067 (2020, Not Rated)

In a future Earth ravaged by climate change and with humanity on the brink of extinction, a man is sent into the future to find a cure for the dying world, but he discovers truths about his own past and the fate of humanity.

12. Deja Vu (2006, PG-13)

An ATF agent uses a top-secret government program to fold time and prevent a terrorist attack on a ferry in New Orleans, but his actions to alter the past bring unexpected consequences to the present.

13. A Promise of Time Travel (2016)

An accidental encounter with a mysterious time traveler leads a young woman on a journey to solve a series of coded messages that unravel her future and the true nature of time travel itself.

14. The Butterfly Effect (2004, R)

A college student discovers he can inexplicably travel back to pivotal moments in his past, altering his life and the lives of those around him in profound and often tragic ways, challenging the nature of fate and consequence.

15. Predestination (2014, R)

A temporal agent embarks on his final time-traveling assignment to catch an elusive terrorist known as the "Fizzle Bomber," but his mission is complicated by his interactions with a mysterious stranger, leading to revelations about his own identity and destiny.

16. Project Almanac (2015, PG-13)

A group of teens discover secret plans for a time machine, leading to thrilling adventures as they use it for personal gain, only to face the dire consequences of tampering with time.

17. The Time Machine (2002, PG-13)

After a tragic loss, a Victorian-era scientist builds a time machine to alter the past, but instead, he travels far into a dystopian future, discovering humanity divided into two species with a fate he feels compelled to change.