41 film time travel

41 Movie Explained (2012 Film Plot And Ending Analysis)

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Hi, this is Barry, and welcome to my site. 41 is a 2012 time-travel movie written and directed by Glenn Triggs made with a teeny tiny budget . The plot is centred on a man whose life gets turned upside down when he lands up at a motel to discover a hole in the bathroom floor that takes him back through time. A big thank you to many of my readers for recommending this movie to me. There’s a lot going on in this film, so I’ve created a timeline diagram to help with the plot-walkthrough. Here’s the plot analysis and the ending of the 2012 time-travel movie 41 explained, spoilers ahead.

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41 Movie: Full Film

Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:

• – Timeline Diagram
• – Timeline-1 (Prime Timeline)
• – Timeline-2
• – Timeline-3
• – Timeline-4
• – Timeline-5
• – How is Patient X a Lawyer in that diner scene?
• – Timeline-6
• – Ending Explained
• – Who is the manager at Heathscape motel?
• – Is Lauren saved, or is she dead?

Before we begin, we need to establish the rules of time travel in the movie 41. When one goes back in time, they leave their own timeline and land up in the past by 12 hours in one of many parallel universes (a.k.a timelines). This is similar to the time travel in Avengers: Endgame  and  Primer’s time travel logic . What does this imply? It means that Aidan can’t go back in time to change his own past; he can never save his  Lauren. He can only alter and affect the past events of other timelines. What’s more? Every timeline has visits from more than one Aidan at various points in time. I know this sounds confusing, so let’s go through the events one timeline at a time.

41 Movie: Timeline Diagram

41 Movie: Timeline-1 Explained (Prime Timeline)

This is the prime timeline where the movie begins. This is the Aidan the film follows from the beginning to the ending of the movie 41; we’ll call him Aidan-1. This does not mean that Timeline-1 is the one to initiate the time-travel mess. It is merely one of the countless timelines caught in the web of interlocked timelines. The numbering from 1 is just for convenience. It’s essential to know that there are other Aidan’s in Timeline-1 that the plot doesn’t follow. They are from other undisclosed timelines:

• Aidan-a, who shows up and says, “Don’t go to the Heathscape motel”. He appears to be here to stop the accident but is the one who causes it in Timeline-1.
• Aidan-b, the old manager of the motel. He appears to have gone to the past to save his grandfather but failed. Why failed? Remember, the grandmother is alone in Timeline-1.
• There could also be others – Aidan-c, who is taken into custody, and Aidan-d, who breaks Aidan-c out and leaves a hacksaw for him. Though this is not shown in the film, it is very likely that these events happen in Timeline-1 just as they do in the other timelines.

Timeline-1’s Main Events

• Aidan-1’s day begins well enough with his philosophy exam. 
• Aidan-1 is met by his doppelganger (Aidan-a) warning him to not go to the Heathscape motel. 
• Aidan-1 goes to the hospital to spend time with Grandma-1. 
• Aidan-1 gets a call from his friend Nick-1 who asks for his brother’s middle name. Aidan-1 responds correctly and hangs up. At this point (not shown), Nick-1 is sitting with another Aidan (perhaps Aidan-a) who is claiming to be a time traveller.
• Aidan-1 goes to the motel and meets his ex-girlfriend, Lauren-1.
• Lauren-1 and Aidan-1 head to a diner. We hear someone drop plates. This is caused by the other Aidan (possibly Aidan-a) but is not shown on screen.
• Aidan-1 offers Lauren-1 a lift home, and they meet with an accident. We are shown that the person on the road is another Aidan, but only for a fraction of a second (again, this is probably Aidan-a).
• Aidan-1 is at the hospital, and Lauren-1 dies. 
• A set of cops (cops-1) tell him to stay in the hospital as he’s being charged with murder.
• A patient tells Aidan-1 that he needs to go to room 41 of the Heathscape motel and find a hole in the bathroom floor. This is not shown, but this man was earlier at the motel and happened to see another Aidan (Aidan-a) magically appear from the bathroom. After that, he investigates the bathroom and finally cuts his wrists and is admitted (Aidan-a makes the 911 call). We’ll call this chap Patient-X1.
• Aidan-1 goes to the motel, finds the hole in room 41 and enters it. He travels back in time and leaves Timeline-1, and goes to Timeline-2.

Just to make a point here, Timeline-1’s people would have suddenly had their Aidan-1 disappear on them. All they’d know is he ran away from the hospital and went missing. And would be experienced by every parallel universe as long as Aidan from that universe uses room 41’s bathroom floor portal.

41 Movie: Timeline-2 Explained

• Aidan-1 arrives in Timeline-2 12 hours earlier than he left Timeline-1.
• Aidan-1 exits the bathroom and runs into Patient-X2, jumping on the bed. Patient-X2 has not yet met an Aidan yet.
• Aidan-1 leaves the room to see Aidan-2 and Lauren-2 heading out. Aidan-1 follows them.
• At the diner, Aidan-1 runs into his professor, Wertz-2, who tells him about a meeting he has with other professors to discuss philosophy.
• Aidan-1 knocks over a bunch of plates. This event tells us that Timeline-1 also had another Aidan (Aidan-a) who broke the plates.
• Aidan-1 runs to the spot of the accident and waves his hands desperately. Lauren-2 sees him and pulls at the steering wheel, causing the accident.
• Aidan-1 returns to the motel in disbelief. In the room, Patient-X2 is lying with his wrists slit, and Aidan-1 calls 911. This is how we know that in Timeline-1, another Aidan (Aidan-a) saved Patient-X1.
• Aidan-1 enters the hole in the bathroom floor and leaves Timeline-2, and goes to Timeline-3 12 hours prior.

41 Movie: Timeline-3 Explained

• Aidan-1 hoes home, takes a nap and talks to Nick-3 and Jess-3 about his time-travel episodes. Aidan-1 asks Nick-3 to call their Aidan (Aidan-3).
• Nick-3 calls, Aidan-3 picks up. Nick-3 asks what his brother’s middle name is and gets the correct response. This is how we know that in Timeline-1, the other Aidan (Aidan-a) was with Nick-1 when Aidan-1 receives the call at the hospital.
• Aidan-3 goes to the site of the accident to see another Aidan (Aidan-e) waiving his hands. Aidan-1 pushes Aidan-e out of the way and punches him in the face. I find it odd that a person could smack himself from a completely different parallel universe yet feel the pain.
• The accident occurs anyway. We don’t know why. Perhaps another Aidan (Aidan-f) came to that spot and waved as Aidan-1 was beating up Aidan-e.
• Aidan-1 goes over to the car, takes dead Lauren-3 and heads to the motel. He tries to take her with him through the hole. Aidan-1 leaves Timeline-3 and goes to Timeline-4 12 hours prior.

41 Movie: Timeline-4 Explained

• Aidan-1 arrives in Timeline-4, but Lauren-3’s body didn’t make it. It looks the dead don’t travel through timelines, or Lauren-3’s body was sent to a different unknown Timeline.
• Aidan-1 goes over to his professor’s house, Wertz-4. Here he learns that he is lost among the infinite parallel universes. And neither can he hope to go back to his own Timeline-1, nor can he save his  Lauren-1. Wertz-4 advises that any jump back in time should be made for the right reasons.
• Disappointed, Aidan-1 wanders the city and is caught by cops-4.
• At the station, Aidan-1 tries to tell the truth. He is broken out by an Aidan from another timeline, Aidan-g.
• Finding a strategically placed hacksaw, Aidan-1 cuts himself free and makes a run for it.
• Aidan-1 loses cops-4 and breaks into a garage to saw the remainder of the handcuff. As he picks the hacksaw, Aidan-1 realizes that another Aidan from another timeline helped him get free.
• Knowing he needs to do the same in his following timeline, Aidan-1 takes the saw to the motel. Aidan-1 leaves Timeline-4 and goes to Timeline-5 12 hours prior.

41 Movie: Timeline-5 Explained

• Aidan-1 triggers the alarm at the station and leaves the hacksaw under the trashcan. He does this as he knows some Aidan (Aidan-h) is held captive by the cops-5 in this timeline.

How is Patient-X a Lawyer in that diner scene?

• Aidan-1 goes to a diner where he sees Patient-X5, who’s not lost his mind and claims to be a lawyer. Patient-X5 says that he had enrolled for the war in his youth, but something made him change his mind. While we’re not shown this Patient-X from some timeline has arrived in the past of Timeline-5 and altered a critical moment causing a cascading effect on Patient-X5’s life. Instead of going to war and losing his mind, he is now a reputed lawyer.
• Aidan-1 gets a call from the hospital and heads over to meet Grandma-5. Looks like she’s fading and is going to die soon. She sorrowfully remembers how a golf ball caused her husband to drown in 1957 and has missed him ever since. Aidan-1 realizes that in at least one timeline, he can save his grandfather.
• Aidan-1 heads back to the motel and leaves Timeline-5, and goes to Timeline-6 12 hours prior.

41 Movie: Timeline-6 Explained

• Aidan-1 runs into Patient-X, who is not from Timeline-6. How do we know? This Patient-X seems to know about time travel and recognizes Aidan-1. It appears he has no recollection was what day it is. 
• The hotel manager shows up, and Aidan-1 and Patient-X run into the bathroom. Patient-X confirms to Aidan-1 that it is possible to change a timeline if one influences the right moments.
• Patient-X uses the hole and disappears to an unknown timeline.
• Aidan-1 leaves Timeline-6 and goes to Timeline-7 12 hours prior.

41 Movie: Timeline-7.8.9.10.11…… Explained

Aidan-1 repeatedly uses the hole to keep going backwards in time through various timelines. He takes breaks to revisit his breakup and then the earlier unforgettable moments of his relationship with Lauren. Remember, Aidan-1 is traversing through multiple timelines here, one per each jump backwards in time.

41 Movie: Ending Explained: Timeline-N

After countless trips in and out of the hole ( about 40,150 times, okay, I counted ), Aidan-1 goes back to the year 1957 in Timeline-N, a day before Grandpa-N drowned and meets him. To ensure Grandpa-N doesn’t swim over to the golf ball and drown, Aidan-1 gifts him a golf ball but tells him not to open the present just yet. When Grandpa-N strikes his ball into the lake, he decides to go swim and get it. Upon feeling his pocket, he realizes Aidan-1 has gifted him a golf ball. Content, he walks away home. Grandpa-N doesn’t die and lives happily with Grandma-N. In the ending of the movie 41, we are shown that in Timeline-N, Grandpa-N is by the bedside of Grandma-N.

Who is the manager at Heathscape motel?

At the end of the movie 41, it is revealed that the old motel manager is Aidan. In this timeline (Timeline-N), Aidan-1 has was able to save his grandfather. This is an exceptional timeline. If you notice, the grandmother was all alone in all other timelines even though those timelines had an old manager Aidan. Perhaps the golf ball gift trick didn’t work in alternate timelines, or the other Aidans took a different approach to save the grandfather and failed.

Is Lauren saved, or is she dead?

While the 41 movie ending shows Aidan-N and Lauren-N deciding to walk instead of taking the car, this didn’t happen in many of the other timelines. In Timeline-N, old Aidan-1 meets a young Aidan-N to tell him to go to the Heathscape motel. When Aidan-N is contemplating dropping Lauren-N back home, he looks up to see the manager, old Aidan-1. Aidan-N doesn’t know why the manager called him to the motel, but he considers this to be a moment of divine intervention. Perhaps, to spend a longer time with Lauren-N, Aidan-N offers to walk her home. She agrees, and the two leave. Old Aidan-1 smiles happily as he’s understood how to influence circumstances to change the events. 

So yes, this Lauren-N has been saved, and this Aidan-N may not travel through time. But this happy ending is limited to a small set of timelines where an Aidan could make the right impact. Sadly, the remaining majority of the universes will have Lauren dying and Aidan disappearing.

What are your thoughts on the movie 41? Drop a comment below, let’s discuss!

Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time. Click to browse all his film articles

41 Review – A Pretentious And Laborious Time Travel Movie

• Published on 23 April 2021
• by The ScreenSlut

41 tries to answer deep philosophical questions that arise from the existence of time travel , but unfortunately, much like the acting in this, the plot is amateurish at best. Rather than being the clever time travel movie they had hoped, it is more like a student project that goes on for far too long.

41 starts off with a narration that ponders the questions of life and how much we take for granted. We then switch to a philosophy class, in which the big topic of what happens after you die is being debated. Aidan, our protagonist, (played Chris Gibson ) is leaving the class when he runs into someone who looks exactly like him and warns him to not go to Heathscape Motel. However, after a tragic accident, with the lure of being able to stop it from happening, he rushes to the hotel to find a portal that allows him to go back to yesterday. 

I was intrigued by this as most time travel movies deal with a bigger timeline than today and yesterday, so I was hoping that we would have an intriguing time mystery. But it feels a very shallow attempt at being clever. With the voice-over at the beginning and the meta discussion, it is quite clear that this is what they were going for, a cerebral time travel film. But it lacks credible acting, dialogue and canon to actually achieve that. 

Rather than adding to the movie, this meta discussion of the movie, just ends up pointing out the flaws and all the things that 41 lacks. The tragic accident that prompts Aidan to go into time travel mode is something we have all seen before. If they had managed to take a new spin on it, this could be forgiven, but it does not go beyond the very basics. With a story that has proclaimed that it is not relying on any twists and special effects, it is only on the strength of the story that it can be judged.

41 manages to be a culmination of poor choices. I do not expect perfect acting in a low budget independent movie, but I expect it to be fairly tolerable. None of the scenes in this feel organic at all, as all the conversation is very stilted. In some scenes, it feels like the actors aren’t even trying to act and yet in other scenes, the actors over exaggerate every facial expression. This can be seen most clearly in the scenes involving the philosophy discussion and the police.

The philosophy scenes are where they decide to go meta talking directly about the film, but our protagonist says he’s writing a novel to sidestep weird questions. It would have been possible to add some nuance to this and flesh out any plot canon. But instead they go over very basic tenets of time travel, that anyone who has ever watched a movie involving time travel would be very familiar with. The experts in this after school discussion try so hard to act clever and profound, but their dialogue is incredibly moronic. There is no new ground covered here, and that sums up why 41 fails as a movie.

Then there are the police, who seem like caricatures of themselves. They are questioning Aidan regarding the accident, which they believe to be a crime, though nothing explains why they come to this conclusion. They try to act hard and menacing, but it just comes off as comical. Clearly added to create some friction in the plot, but it just leaves the audience perplexed.

However, even at this point, I was willing to give it a chance, if the ending had paid off. There is much emphasis on using this time travel for important reasons. But when Aidan devises a plan to change events (which ignores the rules they had set out in the meta discussion), it is just the same thing he was trying to do but with a different person in a different time.

There is no grand scheme to all of this, except self-indulgence even if he does end up saving someone. Which is what I feel is very much sums up, what 41 is like. Rather than being the clever time travel movie it thought it was, it comes across as pretentious, smug and shallow. 

Even without taking those flaws into consideration, the ending has to be the most convoluted way to solve a time travel paradox. There are many ways that this time travel dilemma could have been avoided, yet we go around in circles avoiding the obvious solution.

In fact, what is most frustrating is that Aidan is the cause of all the issues that happen and he repeats his mistakes over and over. 41 should have really been a 30 minute short, rather than the laborious 80 minutes it takes to make its point. Plus the motel, which is the epicenter of it all, could have no way to feature in its conclusion, as there is no way it is more than 50 years old. 

41 is full of glaring inconsistencies, bad dialogue and even worse acting, that makes this sci-fi movie a herculean struggle to finish. 

41 is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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41 Time Travel Film (Australian-made Sci-Fi Movie)

41 time travel film.

In 41 Time Travel Film, a young man discovers a hole in the floor of a local motel that leads to yesterday.

Australian director Glenn Triggs is a very talented and dedicated young film maker who is on the right road if he chooses to continue. The thing that is most striking about ’41’ was its absolute reliance on pure storytelling. It did not have the luxury of CGI or other big-budget distractions like expensive props or exotic locations. Glenn and his tiny crew have used just what they had available in order to achieve what they intended.

This is a very small, indie film, made on a shoestring. If you’re looking for big stars, great effects, aliens?, turn away. You won’t like this. Nonetheless, what the makers accomplish is amazing! It draws the viewer into it. It feels like you’re actually becoming a part of it.

In a League of its Own

Time-travel themes are often frustrating to deal with. The paradoxical nature of these types of stories continually leaves unanswered questions and different possible outcomes. You just are not even going to come close to pleasing everybody with a movie like this.

Some have faulted the hospital and police station sets, yet others think that they were perfect! One can never be sure that those guys even WERE the police. It makes you wonder if they had some inside info on what he was doing and were govt agents, posing as police.

The actors/ actresses don’t seem like they are “acting” at all. It seems more like you – as the viewer – are just listening in on conversations. And the story never explains everything. Make no mistake, the answers are there, but you’ll have to listen and pay attention to get them. This movie treats the viewer as intelligent, which is a rare happening today.

Some have said that this movie has the best soundtrack that they have ever heard in a small movie! Haunting all the way through. At the end of the day, 41 is a fine story.

Dark Epic Films presents a Glenn Triggs Film.

WINNER* Rhode Island Flickers Film Festival. Las Vegas Film Festival. Maverick Movie Awards. Made in Melbourne Film Festival. (2012/2013).

Starring: Chris Gibson, Dafna Kronental, David Macrae, Menik Gooneratne, Nick Antoniades, Glen Hancox, Anne Cordiner, Robert Plazek, Shane Lee, Keith Gordon, Bethia Triggs.

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2012 Directed by Glenn Triggs

Time travels with you

A young man discovers a hole in the floor of a local motel that leads to yesterday.

Chris Gibson Dafna Kronental David Macrae Shane Lee Keith Gordon Nick Antoniades Menik Gooneratne Glen Hancox Robert Plazek Warwick Leeson Matt Young Lauren Wade Anne Cordiner Toby Pierpoint Peter Bright Bethia de Groot Gordon Boyd Stephanie Lillis Jessica Miller Elliot Cyngler Rose Lewis Zachary Hare Clara Francesca Pagone Charlotte McDonald Alan Jacobs Don Bridges

Director Director

Glenn Triggs

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Fiona Eloise Bulle

Producers Producers

Glenn Triggs Fiona Eloise Bulle

Writer Writer

Casting casting.

Jessica Miller Glenn Triggs Bethia de Groot Stephanie Lillis

Editor Editor

Cinematography cinematography, composer composer.

Heath Brown

Makeup Makeup

Adrian Straton

Dark Epic Films

Alternative Title

41 The Movie

Science Fiction Drama

Monsters, aliens, sci-fi and the apocalypse Thrillers and murder mysteries Imaginative space odysseys and alien encounters Thought-provoking sci-fi action and future technology Engaging casino gambling drama Humanity's odyssey: earth and beyond Suspenseful crime thrillers Show All…

Releases by Date

20 jul 2012, 09 aug 2013, 29 nov 2014, 21 jul 2015, releases by country.

• Premiere Made In Melbourne Film Festival
• Premiere Las Vegas Film Festival
• Premiere Rhode Island International Film Festival
• Digital PG-13 Internet Release

80 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by CGS ★★

If you're going to do a story with time travel in it, I think you have two options if you don't want to confuse or annoy the viewer:

1. You either nail the time logic ( Primer , Timecrimes )

2. You use time travel poetically and you don't even worry about the logic ( The Terminator , Somewhere in Time )

41 tries to have it both ways and therefore fails.

But I think my biggest gripe was that there's NO way that motel is over 50 years old.

Review by Alex Jackson ★½ 1

If I could go back in time to yesterday, I wouldn’t watch this film

Review by porksweats ★★½

this movie could have been 41 minutes and much better, I did like how they approached time travel though that was neat

Review by park618 ½ 3

Just slash your tires dude

Review by Max Wagner ★★½

How many times did Aidan crawl out of the hole while some dude was takin a shit, and had to go “FUCK FUCK SORRY YOU DIDNT SEE ANYTHING IM GOING BACK IN THE HOLE NOW”

Review by Brandon Williams ★★★

A micro-budget SF time travel adventure... where have I seen that before 🤔. While certainly not Primer, did build a reasonably complex narrative. It has one of the more impactful last acts of mini budget SF I've seen. No waterworks, but sparked emotion. So if you choose this one, make sure to hang in there.

Admit I had to restart the film once because after a heavy pasta dinner, the first act was slow enough that I fell asleep. Only made it about 20 mins in. After a nice long nap and a Starbucks doubleshot, I grinded on through the second act. While more interesting, it still hadn't hooked me. Once past the ridiculous cop characters at the 50 min…

Review by Dina ▪️🔹 ★★★

Watched on a road trip. Time travel, so interesting premise but overall felt empty /flat.

Review by Ben “Trash King” Jones ★★★½

Time travel films are always difficult to pull off. It either requires a sound internal logic that manages to tie together all the lose ends or you have something less science based and go with a fantastical idea of what you want time travel to be and let others worry about how it all works.

However, where 41 fails is that it tries to appease both, and whilst this works in short bursts, it ultimately falls apart because of the lack of consistency.

Despite this, what 41 does have is a lot of heart. Whilst the film changes gears several times, it's not until the final reel that it really hits it's stride, revealing the consequence in a moment of…

Review by Bram Christiaens ★½

It was a good try, but there were too many holes in his logic. Either he didn't see Timecrimes or he didn't pay attention.

Review by Rolf ★★★½

A philosophy student meets his Doppelgänger who tells him not to got to a certain place. Of course he still does which sets in motion a time travel scenario... Imagine TIMECRIMES without the crime angle. 41 uses the same premise creating many timelines which our protagonist learns to deal with until he literally finds his way. It uses all the elements which make the genre so much fun and really leaves you thinking after it's finished. It's no PRIMER though and never loses sight of its emotional core which keeps the audience close by. Made for a tiny budget in Australia 41 is clearly a passion project which may lack cinematic grandeur and struggles a bit with its cast but as so very often with this genre, it's the story that counts and I'm very happy with what I got.

Make or Break Scene: Revealing the identity of a character in the end.

MVT: The story.

Score: 7/ 10

Review by Matt White ★½

His grandmother is in a “nursing home” laying on a fucking folding table. Wtf?

Review by dklenci ★½

don't typically like to dunk on more underground stuff but this is the most bland time travel movie i've ever seen

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41 is Low Budget Time Travel Brilliance

There was a moment in the movie 41 when I thought to myself, I’ve never enjoyed a more thoroughly awful movie so much before. Yes, I realize that sentence doesn’t even make sense. But, like 41, this sentence is a perfect Gordian knot that better explains the low low budget, Australian, indie time travel flick than I ever could outright. I think the best way to put it plainly is this, sometimes it is more important to investigate an idea, than to nail its particulars. The acting here is poor. The sets and the casting, nonexistent. The directing is mediocre at best. The lot of it is best seen as an nearly acceptable senior class project. But it is the big ideas behind this little film that could, that propel it to us today. It is the insightful resolutions and mindjob twists that are really worth our trouble and our time.

Here on THiNC. we pride ourselves on looking for under valued films within the mainstream cinema world to discuss and unpack together. We look for movies that the box office has passed over because it is in this slush pile that we find independent film makers that are the least beholden to formula and Hollywood expectation. By daring to make the movie 41, we see things that aren’t generally done in film. And that is the exciting bit. If you are trying to decide if it is worth your time, I’d most liken it to Timecrimes , Diverge , or actually, maybe Anti Matter would be more apropos? Here, regardless have a trailer…

So you can see for yourself, really really low production quality. And yet, it’s here. On this page… being promoted by me, for you to see! It’s got to have something more going on here. GOT TO. So, why don’t we dig in and see what we can see under the hood of this little car, shall we? But from here on out be spoilers. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you can watch the movie right here:

The Movie 41 Deep Dive Walkthrough

The movie starts out with our protagonist, Aidan, arriving to tell himself a warning. Yes, you heard me correctly. Aidan shows up, and tells Aidan, not to go to the Heathscape Hotel. Now, remember, this is a SPOILER FILLED discussion. And that being the case, I figure, heck, let’s blow this thing up right out of the gates and start with this complicated little diagram I created of the entirety of the movie and the directions through time Aidan moved.

And granted, sans context, this diagram is complicated to take in. But after I flipped back through some of the timelines and infographics I created in the past, I figured I needed to do one for this movie too. For instance, Timecrimes , or my diagram Live Die Repeat maybe, or Mr. Nobody’s shattered timeline , or this Dark intrigue poster I threw together, or maybe some Upstream Color goodness? You get the idea. But yeah, I figured I might as well throw some paint at this movie’s timeline as well. If anyone knows Glenn Triggs, and can entice him to come out of hiding for an interview – maybe this interview will inform him what kind of nutter I am, and that he should actually steer clear? Alright, let’s dive into the timeline.

41 Movie Timeline Aidan#1

As the movie kicks off, Aidan heads to university, and then afterwards he has the surreal encounter to meet himself. Aidan’s other self tells him, “Do not… NOT, go to the Heathscape Motel. Afterwards, he goes and visits with his grandmother – and while there he gets a call from himself and his brother in timeline 3 asking what his brother’s middle name is.

After visiting with his grandmother, he heads to the Heathscape Motel, completely disregarding his own advice. He sees his ex-girlfriend, Lauren, whom he broke up with several years ago. They have dinner, hear something crash (A2), and then Aidan offers to give her a ride home. And during the drive, Aidan crashes and kills Lauren. Aidan heads to the hospital where he meets Patient X who tells him he needs to get to the Heathscape Motel, room 41 specifically. So he breaks out of the hospital, heads to the hotel and breaks into the room through the window. He finds the hole in the bathroom Patient X told him about, and he goes in.

41 Movie Timeline Aidan#2

When Aidan comes out of the hotel room and onto the balcony, he sees A1 about to invite Lauren to dinner. Aidan2 follows the two of them to the cafe and watches from afar. The person next to Aidan2 tells him that his paper was extraordinary this time, and that he should join his physics discussion club. PAPER? What paper? Anyway, in his excitement he bumps into a waitress and causes things to crash – which A1 hears. Aidan2 runs to the spot on the road A1 and Lauren crashes, but ends up being the cause for the crash. Aidan2 runs back to the hotel room 41, and sees that Patient X is there on the bed, having attempted suicide.

41 Movie Timeline Aidan#3

Aidan3 heads to his brother’s house, and he attempts to tell his brother that he has jumped in time. To prove it, he has his brother call his own phone, and Aidan1 picks up. Aidan’s brother asks him what his brother’s middle name is, he answers South, and then hangs up. After this dinner, he runs out to the spot where the accident happens and Aidan3 tackles Aidan2, attempting to save Lauren from getting killed in the accident. But as they are lying in the grass, Aidan3 hears the car crash anyway. Aidan3 heads back to the time portal with Lauren’s body (but she just disappears – can someone explain this logic to me? Like all of it. Why did he take her in the first place? Why did she disappear? Did he just leave her in the hole? Gah.)

41 Movie Timeline Aidan#4

The beginning of the 4th timeline is this weird science/physics discussion group Aidan was invited to. It is funny in that Aidan poses a hypothetical question to this group as a fictional play, asking for help on how to solve this literary conundrum (but the girlfriend keeps dying!). But all I could think about was Glenn Triggs, asking his fictional characters for help with the sticking points in this conundrum filled plot! hahah. Regardless, the question for Aidan that is on the table is simple enough – how does he change Lauren’s fate? Nothing is working. And the big take away from this conversation, that literally changes Aidan’s perspective on what to do next, is that he needs to change the person, not the event. Or that was my take away anyway.

After he leaves the physics discussion group, he is captured by the agents that had originally told him not to leave the hospital. And when Aidan4 tells them about the time portal and about his not having anything to do with the accident, the agents ask him why he doesn’t break himself out if this is true. Voila, just like that, the fire alarm goes off. But it wasn’t another Aidan that pulled the alarm, rather it was Patient X (which is significant from a narrative standpoint, in that it would require one more detail that we would have had to clean up later, as we’ll see in a second). And in kicking over the trashcan nearby, Aidan sees a hacksaw that allows Aidan to saw off his handcuffs and flee. (I knew IMMEDIATELY that Aidan5 was going to have put that there for Aidan4…)

41 Movie Timeline Aidan#5

Aidan jumps backwards in time, and places the hacksaw under the trashcan for his previous timeline, then heads off to the diner. He meets Patient X there, but this time X seems fairly well adjusted and normal. Aidan begins to think that there is significance in the change that X was able to make, and that things aren’t determined… but, in fact, may actually be changeable, which is always the push and pull of time travel movies. You think they are about time travel, and about love. But no. They are actually a metanarrative discussing freewill and determinism. I digress though, because right now, Aidan is more concerned about saving Lauren, not with having a philosophical discussion. And so he heads back to room 41 and finds Patient X there, but this time, a raving lunatic. The two are chased by the owner of the motel.

And I’m going to pause right here a second and discuss this guy. The owner. Right? Now, tell me… the very first time that Aidan walks into the the motel, and meets Lauren. Remember that? Did you, or did you not, IMMEDIATELY guess who the motel owner was? Right, all those of you that guessed correctly, please raise your hands. Interesting. All those who didn’t? OK, and how many of you would like me to finish the timeline so that we can actually talk about what it all means. OH! hahah. OK, I’m going already. Geeze. What I meant to say was, AidanX was chasing Aidan5, and Aidan starts traveling back and back, and further back in time.

41 Movie Timeline Aidan#6

Into the hole, out of the hole… and he stops at the point where Aidan and Lauren broke up. (Speaking of which, Aidan mentions that they broke up “several years ago,” and in order to go, let’s say, 3 years back, he would have had to jump into that hole, and back out again, two thousand one hundred ninety times! Aidan’s calves and biceps should be ripped! hahah.)

Now, we see Aidan arguing with Lauren, and eventually walking away. But then we see Aidan crawl out of Lauren’s closet (which isn’t creepy at all), and we cut away. But soon after this scene, we start to notice Aidan1 (otherwise known as Aidan) and Lauren continuing their relationship when it shouldn’t actually be continuing. But with Aidan and Lauren back together again, Aidan6 has nothing to do in this time – and so he heads back to the motel.

41 Movie Timeline Aidan#7

Aidan, not content with his calves and biceps workout to go back in time three years, decides to go back in time 74 years. (Not to be anal retentive, but that would literally be over 50,000 entrances and exits. And that doesn’t count for sleeping, eating, breaks, interruptions by guests staying in the hotel room…which, we see that there are plenty of. We also don’t see any embarrassing wait times for individuals sitting on the toilet. If we account for that, sleep, food, and other things, I’m guessing his trip back in time probably took him well over 2 months to pull off. And that’s with things going well! Hahahah. So funny. He could bike across the United States faster!)

Regardless, our tired, but intrepid hero arrives in 1941! And what does he do? He meets his grandfather and then saves him from the infamous death-via-golf ball story his grandmother loves to tell anyone who will listen. And with that?!? There is only one last thing for Aidan7 to figure out. And that is, what the heck should he do with himself? He can’t hang out with Lauren, she’s with Aidan1 (though I would have stolen her and taken her back in time with me. With the knowledge of where the stock market goes, and even a rudimentary knowledge of sports he would soon be a billionaire!) and so he eventually takes over as the manager of the Heathscape Hotel. Right? We’ve covered this before. And with that, the movie ends with Aiden and Lauren deciding to walk instead of drive… but it also wouldn’t have been a huge deal because they weren’t broken up. They’d just choose not to drive, as opposed to driving on that fateful day.

The Ending of the Movie 41 Explained

There is a very clear, and unambiguous answer to what happens at the end of the movie. I sort of explained what happened above. But not really how the times flow at the end. And even the movie doesn’t discuss all of the various issues and problems still outstanding.

So, as I said above, the glitch of this film is that any top level change refused to allow Lauren to survive. All summarized by the phrase, “Don’t go to the Heathscape Motel.” But nothing Aidan does allows her to survive. Not going to the spot to warn himself. Not taking himself out, and keep him from trying to warn them. And so he realized, the only real solution was to not have separated in the first place. By not ever separating, he keeps himself from stumbling upon her at the hotel. Which, in turn, 100% totally changes the line of the original (white timeline above) storyline. Which solves the key point of the movie – which was, how does Aidan save his lost love of his life.

The second large question that faces us as we come to the end is – what the heck happens to the extra Aidan? Well, as we discussed, he becomes the hotel manager and waits his entire life in order to see himself avoid the pitfalls he originally caused. But, that isn’t the right question to ask. The right question to ask is, where did ALL of the Aidan’s go? Here, let me pull a diagram I created for Primer that will explain the problem:

Whenever someone walks into a time machine, they come out, backwards in time. And the logic would say, as long as the you of the future gets into that time machine, you have one long line of you, even if there are two of you standing in one room at the same time. But there is nothing forcing your future you to get in the hole. Sure, they did once, but they might not. Heck, you could walk up to the hole with a backhoe and fill it with 12 stories of fill dirt. And then there would always be two of you. Which, (again, relying on my trusty Primer post diagrams again) would look something like this:

Which, was a very very important detail for Primer, but wasn’t really discussed much in this movie. There could be piles and piles of Aidan’s at the end of the movie, to be honest.

But What Does It All Mean?

As the movie ends, we are given the following quote:

“We are not really here that long, and for the majority of us, we only get one chance, at all of this.”

Doesn’t it feel like we are shown the amount of work necessary to correct a simple mistake – which was Aidan’s breaking up with the girl of his dreams? And couple that with the fact that we only get one chance at this life, maybe we shouldn’t be too proud to ask forgiveness and apologize? Maybe it is in our best interest to regularly consider the long term impacts of our choices. Yes, your decision between Taco Bell and McDonald’s probably doesn’t matter much (minus the fact that you should have chosen NEITHER). But it could be that your pigheadedness with your spouse, or daughter, your parent, over some issue that ultimately didn’t matter is really going to have lasting impacts throughout your life. Could this be the message of 41?

In the making of 41 documentary , Glenn Triggs talks about how he saw the movie as if the world existed in a multiverse where any possibility could actually happen, but maybe not actually to you. So, you make a mistake with your spouse, and the next thing you know, you are divorced and on the street. But in the next universe over it could be that that mistake didn’t actually happen. And the old Aidan signifies this universe where the mistake happened – but the young Aidan, the one that ends up with Lauren is signifying this other multiverse universe where the mistake never happened.

Which, is interesting, because with Primer , Shane Carruth’s story had nothing to do with time travel. It was all about what would make a strong relationship fall apart? What level of power would corrupt that kind of friendship? And here we have a time travel movie talking about mistakes and our short time on earth. About how we need to be super careful with the people that we love and the choices that we make in this short amount of time that we have.

Edited by, CY

Where to watch 41

Thanks for the suggestion, as always. Just watched. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Regarding the critiques of acting and directing, for example, perhaps we need to re-THiNC the rating scale. Yes, this movies lacks all of that, but packs every missing aspect into the mindjobness. The end result is an overall score that’s lacking for a movie that exactly what a lot of us are looking for here.

Thanks again.

Sure, it wasn’t the best movie I have brought you all… but I’m sorry, they can’t all be Primer! hahah.

@Taylor, and yet you took the time and effort to break the movie down for us, what with the infographics and all, such drive and dedication!

I found this movie amazingly touching; the ending was like an opposite version of a “dark sucker punch,” as I was CERTAIN that Aidan was destined to become Patient X – which is what I am sure was the author’s intent, what with the grandmother constantly going on about her husband (or was it Aidan’s father?) being bald and whatnot. So no, I certainly cannot raise my hand when it comes to the motel manager’s identity – I had no clue. I often can spot “plot twists” a mile away, but this one got me – and I’m so glad it did. Very powerful for an old cynic like me.

So, if you look at this NOT as a time travel movie, but as a parallel-universe traveling movie: All the universes exist, but they are offset by 1 day. Going into the hole just gets you to the next universe over, whose events occur 1 day later. Some Aidens enter a universe where the “local” Aiden hasn’t left yet, and sometimes Aiden enters one where Aiden already left. Ultimately, you end up with an infinite number of parallel universes where: some have no Aidens, some with 1 Aiden, and some with several Aidens. As for why he put the girlfriend in the hole (realizing she was already dead), once he closed the lid, and reopened it, the body would be gone. The “body” would never open the lid to exit, so the body would have shifted to an inaccessible place and never be a problem again.

In 41 Movie Timeline Aiden #2: When he goes to the diner and the person tells him he did a great job on ‘the paper’, it’s his University professor – commenting on how great his final exam was (from the start of the film). He mentions it again in the meeting with the other two professors in the apartment.

In 41 Movie Timeline Aiden #3: He takes Lauren’s body to the portal and she disappears. Because she’s dead. She can’t re-emerge 12 hours earlier because she wasn’t dead 12 hours earlier. She was alive and already living in that timeline.

Not sure if you will see this but I think you made a mistake unless its me that is mistaken but when goes back in time to when Aiden and the GF broke up, what we see isn’t them not breaking up but more so Aiden going back in time and thus we are seeing the earlier version of the relationship. When Old Aiden at the end tells Young Aiden to go to the hotel, I’m pretty sure that Aiden is still broken up with the GF. The decision to walk vs drive at the end was just a different decision that this Aiden made. At least that was my take on it, I really enjoyed this film and enjoyed reading your take on it.

Yeah, could be. I should ask the writer director… get his take, see if I screwed up or if it as a different earlier decision…

Fun fact: the exterior diner shots are of the Olympia Diner in Newington, Connecticut. Which completely messed up the movie for me since it’s supposed to take place in Australia

How many times did old Aidan have to witness the accident before he managed to prevent it? We see him at the beginning of the movie but Aidan and Lauren still crash. So I’m guessing he would have gone back to try something else, right? It seems that preventing the grandfather’s death and giving young Aidan a father figure growing up wasn’t enough to prevent the accident, so old Aidan had to keep tweaking the past. At the beginning of the movie Aidan asks Lauren if she still lives around there (near the hotel), and she says no, she moved away actually. But by the end of the movie Aidan is able to walk her home from the hotel. Did old Aidan finally figure out how to keep Lauren from moving? Was that just one of the tweaks he had to make?

So what do you think Lauren was about to say right before the accident that was so important?

Every no budget film should be this well done. One time where the concept really did carry the film to a successful conclusion despite lacking slickness.

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Movies Featuring Time Loops & Time Travel

The most complete list of movies in which time traveling or time looping are a prominent plot device. Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, generally using a theoretical invention known as a "time machine". Let's face it, the time traveling concept was always an preoccupation in literature and filmography. You can't find a person who didn't think about time traveling or building a time travel machine. That's why movies with those themes were and always will be interesting and amusing to watch. P.S. Although this list is about movies only, I highly recommend watching the tv show Dark (2017) . Notable mentions: Travelers (2016) and Timeless (2016) . Tags: Time Loop, Time Travel, Day Repetition, Time Traveler, Leaping Through Time, Time Machine, Chrononaut.

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Donnie Darko (2001)

R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

Director: Richard Kelly | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal , Jena Malone , Mary McDonnell , Holmes Osborne

Votes: 834,248 | Gross: $1.48M

Best of its kind, hands down.

2. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

TV-PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.

Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Riisa Naka , Takuya Ishida , Mitsutaka Itakura , Ayami Kakiuchi

Votes: 69,544

Best anime movie revolving around time travel.

3. Time Traveller (2010)

Not Rated | 122 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi

A high-school girl acquires the ability to time travel.

Director: Masaaki Taniguchi | Stars: Riisa Naka , Akiyoshi Nakao , Munetaka Aoki , Anna Ishibashi

Votes: 1,699

4. Steins;Gate (2011–2015)

TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama

After discovering time travel, a university student and his colleagues must use their knowledge of it to stop an evil organization and their diabolical plans.

Stars: Mamoru Miyano , Asami Imai , Kana Hanazawa , Ashly Burch

Votes: 70,073

Best anime series revolving around time travel.

5. 12 Monkeys (1995)

R | 129 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.

Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Bruce Willis , Madeleine Stowe , Brad Pitt , Joseph Melito

Votes: 637,410 | Gross: $57.14M

Second only to Donnie Darko. Absolute time travel classic.

6. The Visitors (1993)

R | 107 min | Comedy, Fantasy

A medieval knight and his servant ask a familiar wizard to move them back in time to prevent father-in-law's accidentally killing. Instead, they fly away to the 20th century.

Director: Jean-Marie Poiré | Stars: Christian Clavier , Jean Reno , Valérie Lemercier , Marie-Anne Chazel

Votes: 37,133 | Gross: $0.70M

A pretty good comedy including time travel. It features a sequel: Les couloirs du temps: Les visiteurs II from 1998. and a third part coming in 2016. named La Terreur: Les Visiteurs III. Furthermore, there is a spin-off named Just Visiting from 2001.

7. Groundhog Day (1993)

PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.

Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray , Andie MacDowell , Chris Elliott , Stephen Tobolowsky

Votes: 666,287 | Gross: $70.91M

Probably the best known movie about a time loop.

8. Looper (2012)

R | 119 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.

Director: Rian Johnson | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Bruce Willis , Emily Blunt , Paul Dano

Votes: 594,239 | Gross: $66.49M

9. The Terminator (1984)

R | 107 min | Action, Sci-Fi

A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Linda Hamilton , Michael Biehn , Paul Winfield

Votes: 904,737 | Gross: $38.40M

10. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

R | 137 min | Action, Sci-Fi

A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Linda Hamilton , Edward Furlong , Robert Patrick

Votes: 1,148,037 | Gross: $204.84M

11. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

R | 109 min | Action, Sci-Fi

A machine from a post-apocalyptic future travels back in time to protect a man and a woman from an advanced robotic assassin to ensure they both survive a nuclear attack.

Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Nick Stahl , Kristanna Loken , Claire Danes

Votes: 413,441 | Gross: $150.37M

12. Terminator Salvation (2009)

PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?

Director: McG | Stars: Christian Bale , Sam Worthington , Anton Yelchin , Moon Bloodgood

Votes: 373,071 | Gross: $125.32M

13. Source Code (2011)

PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

A soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.

Director: Duncan Jones | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal , Michelle Monaghan , Vera Farmiga , Jeffrey Wright

Votes: 540,032 | Gross: $54.71M

14. Sphere (1998)

PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi

A spaceship is discovered under three hundred years' worth of coral growth at the bottom of the ocean.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Sharon Stone , Samuel L. Jackson , Peter Coyote

Votes: 110,861 | Gross: $37.02M

15. Primer (2004)

PG-13 | 77 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Four friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention. C b

Director: Shane Carruth | Stars: Shane Carruth , David Sullivan , Casey Gooden , Anand Upadhyaya

Votes: 112,101 | Gross: $0.42M

16. Triangle (2009)

R | 99 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Five friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.

Director: Christopher Smith | Stars: Melissa George , Joshua McIvor , Jack Taylor , Michael Dorman

Votes: 125,876

17. Timecrimes (2007)

R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.

Director: Nacho Vigalondo | Stars: Karra Elejalde , Candela Fernández , Bárbara Goenaga , Nacho Vigalondo

Votes: 67,481 | Gross: $0.04M

18. Dead End (I) (2003)

R | 85 min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery

Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.

Directors: Jean-Baptiste Andrea , Fabrice Canepa | Stars: Ray Wise , Lin Shaye , Mick Cain , Alexandra Holden

Votes: 31,325

19. Time Lapse (2014)

Not Rated | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures twenty-four hours into the future, and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.

Director: Bradley King | Stars: Danielle Panabaker , Matt O'Leary , George Finn , John Rhys-Davies

Votes: 48,218

20. Project Almanac (2015)

PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

A group of teens discovers secret plans for a time machine, and construct one. However, things start to get out of control.

Director: Dean Israelite | Stars: Amy Landecker , Sofia Black-D'Elia , Virginia Gardner , Jonny Weston

Votes: 83,185 | Gross: $22.35M

21. Timespace (2014)

90 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

After successfully traveling back in time, an inquisitive up-and-coming physicist combats protesters, naysayers, tragedies, and a guilt-ridden conscience on a quest to discover the meaning of life.

Director: Daniel Ziegler | Stars: Bryan Raiton , Jessica Mirl , Ben Miller , Sarah France

22. Coherence (2013)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.

Director: James Ward Byrkit | Stars: Emily Baldoni , Maury Sterling , Nicholas Brendon , Elizabeth Gracen

Votes: 141,417 | Gross: $0.07M

23. The I Inside (2004)

R | 90 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

An amnesiac discovers himself leaping through time between 2000 and 2002 as his past returns to him.

Director: Roland Suso Richter | Stars: Ryan Phillippe , Sarah Polley , Piper Perabo , Robert Sean Leonard

Votes: 11,270

24. Retroactive (1997)

R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A psychiatrist makes multiple trips through time to save a woman that was murdered by her brutal husband.

Director: Louis Morneau | Stars: Jim Belushi , Kylie Travis , Shannon Whirry , Frank Whaley

Votes: 6,569

25. Time (2006)

Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance

To save her relationship, a woman puts herself through extensive plastic surgery.

Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Ha Jung-woo , Ji-Yeon Park , Jung Gyu Woon , Jun-yeong Jang

Votes: 12,725 | Gross: $0.01M

26. Lost Highway (1997)

R | 134 min | Mystery, Thriller

Anonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Bill Pullman , Patricia Arquette , John Roselius , Louis Eppolito

Votes: 150,100 | Gross: $3.80M

Two words: David Lynch

27. Dark Country (2009)

R | 88 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

A couple en route from Las Vegas are forced to deal with a body in the desert, making their honeymoon one hellish ride.

Director: Thomas Jane | Stars: Thomas Jane , Lauren German , Ron Perlman , Chris Browning

Votes: 4,822

28. Repeaters (2010)

89 min | Action, Crime, Drama

Three twenty-somethings find themselves in an impossible time loop, where each day they awaken to the same terrifying day as the preceding one.

Director: Carl Bessai | Stars: Dustin Milligan , Amanda Crew , Richard de Klerk , Alexia Fast

Votes: 6,977

29. Memory Lane (III) (2012)

Not Rated | 70 min | Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller

An orphaned war veteran routinely travels between our world and the afterlife in search of his fiancée's killer by stopping and starting his own heart.

Director: Shawn Holmes | Stars: Michael Guy Allen , Meg Braden , Julian Curi , Zac Snyder

Votes: 1,628

30. The Reeds (2010)

R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

A weekend boating party turns into a nightmare for a group of young Londoners when they stumble upon a terrifying secret hidden in the reeds.

Director: Nick Cohen | Stars: Anna Brewster , Geoff Bell , Daniel Caltagirone , Emma Catherwood

Votes: 2,755

31. The Butterfly Effect (2004)

R | 113 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.

Directors: Eric Bress , J. Mackye Gruber | Stars: Ashton Kutcher , Amy Smart , Melora Walters , Elden Henson

Votes: 511,729 | Gross: $57.94M

If you liked this movie, don't watch its sequels: The Butterfly Effect 2 from 2006. and The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations from 2009.

32. Extracted (2012)

R | 89 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

A scientist who has invented a technology to construct virtual realities from people's memories finds himself in a perilous situation, after he reluctantly allows it to be used for a purpose he never imagined.

Director: Nir Paniry | Stars: Sasha Roiz , Jenny Mollen , Dominic Bogart , Richard Riehle

Votes: 12,432

33. 11 Minutes Ago (2007)

Not Rated | 83 min | Romance, Sci-Fi

Traveling in 11-minute increments, a time-tumbler from 48 years in the future spends two years of his life weaving through a two-hour wedding reception.

Director: Bob Gebert | Stars: Ian Michaels , Christina Mauro , Evan Lee Dahl , Taryn Reneau

34. Premature (2014)

R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

A high school senior has to re-live losing his virginity over and over again until he gets it right, with the right girl.

Director: Dan Beers | Stars: John Karna , Caroline Traywick , Kate Kneeland , Steve Coulter

Votes: 10,558

Your usual teen comedy meets Groundhog Day.

35. Fetching Cody (2005)

Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Art, a drug-addicted dealer and hustler, arrives at his girlfriend Cody's apartment to find that she has overdosed on heroin. He tries to fix things by traveling back in time in an attempt to prevent her death.

Director: David Ray | Stars: Jay Baruchel , Sarah Lind , Jim Byrnes , Lucas Blaney

Votes: 1,456

36. Ditto (2000)

110 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi

Two students, separated in time, are somehow able to talk to each other using amateur radio, one in 1979 and the other in 2000.

Director: Jeong-kwon Kim | Stars: Yoo Ji-tae , Ha-neul Kim , Ha Ji-Won , Do-Yoon Kim

Votes: 2,194

37. The Door (2009)

103 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

A successful artist loses control of his life after his young daughter's death. A chance for a new start appears, but all is not what it seems.

Director: Anno Saul | Stars: Mads Mikkelsen , Jessica Schwarz , Valeria Eisenbart , Thomas Thieme

Votes: 6,231

38. Enter Nowhere (2011)

Three strangers arrive one by one at a mysterious cabin in the middle of nowhere only to learn they've been brought together for a reason.

Director: Jack Heller | Stars: Katherine Waterston , Scott Eastwood , Sara Paxton , Shaun Sipos

Votes: 12,238

39. Happy Accidents (2000)

R | 110 min | Comedy, Romance

New Yorker Ruby Weaver believes she has found the man of her dreams in Sam Deed, who is her best catch in some time--except that he assures her that he came from the future.

Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: Marisa Tomei , Vincent D'Onofrio , Holland Taylor , Mick Weber

Votes: 10,126 | Gross: $0.69M

40. Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)

PG-13 | 83 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi

While drinking at their local pub, three social outcasts attempt to navigate a time-travel conundrum.

Director: Gareth Carrivick | Stars: Chris O'Dowd , Marc Wootton , Dean Lennox Kelly , Anna Faris

Votes: 35,786

FAQing funny.

41. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

R | 86 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.

Director: Colin Trevorrow | Stars: Aubrey Plaza , Mark Duplass , Jake Johnson , Karan Soni

Votes: 129,770 | Gross: $4.01M

42. Pleasantville (1998)

PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.

Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Tobey Maguire , Jeff Daniels , Joan Allen , William H. Macy

Votes: 134,379 | Gross: $40.57M

43. The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

A Chicago librarian has a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, creating complications in his marriage.

Director: Robert Schwentke | Stars: Eric Bana , Rachel McAdams , Ron Livingston , Michelle Nolden

Votes: 155,897 | Gross: $63.41M

44. About Time (I) (2013)

R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.

Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Domhnall Gleeson , Rachel McAdams , Bill Nighy , Lydia Wilson

Votes: 374,374 | Gross: $15.32M

45. Midnight in Paris (2011)

PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Owen Wilson , Rachel McAdams , Kathy Bates , Kurt Fuller

Votes: 442,737 | Gross: $56.82M

More like "visiting the past".

46. The Time Machine (1960)

G | 103 min | Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi

A man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.

Director: George Pal | Stars: Rod Taylor , Alan Young , Yvette Mimieux , Sebastian Cabot

Votes: 43,835

47. The Lake House (2006)

PG | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside house begins to exchange love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Director: Alejandro Agresti | Stars: Keanu Reeves , Sandra Bullock , Christopher Plummer , Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Votes: 155,668 | Gross: $52.33M

48. The Time Machine (2002)

PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th century inventor instead travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds humankind divided into two warring races.

Director: Simon Wells | Stars: Guy Pearce , Yancey Arias , Mark Addy , Phyllida Law

Votes: 128,687 | Gross: $56.68M

49. La Jetée (1962)

Not Rated | 28 min | Short, Drama, Romance

The story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III's devastation, told through still images.

Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Étienne Becker , Jean Négroni , Hélène Chatelain , Davos Hanich

Votes: 36,290

Short but epic.

50. Timeline (2003)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A group of archaeologists become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve a friend. The group must survive in 14th-century France before they can escape back to the twenty-first century.

Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Paul Walker , Gerard Butler , Billy Connolly , Frances O'Connor

Votes: 65,098 | Gross: $19.48M

51. Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

Billy Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors of the 1945 fire-bombing of Dresden.

Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Michael Sacks , Ron Leibman , Eugene Roche , Sharon Gans

Votes: 13,682 | Gross: $0.57M

52. Time After Time (1979)

PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.

Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell , Mary Steenburgen , David Warner , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,226

Unfortunately, the soundtrack isn't featuring Cyndi Lauper. :(

53. The Final Countdown (1980)

PG | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Director: Don Taylor | Stars: Kirk Douglas , Martin Sheen , Katharine Ross , James Farentino

Votes: 26,197 | Gross: $16.65M

54. The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)

PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

A United States Navy destroyer escort participates in a Navy "invisibility" experiment that inadvertently sends two sailors forty years into the future.

Director: Stewart Raffill | Stars: Michael Paré , Nancy Allen , Eric Christmas , Bobby Di Cicco

Votes: 16,400 | Gross: $8.10M

Not nearly as good sequel: The Philadelphia Experiment from 1993.

55. Back to the Future (1985)

PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox , Christopher Lloyd , Lea Thompson , Crispin Glover

Votes: 1,271,917 | Gross: $210.61M

56. Back to the Future Part II (1989)

PG | 108 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

After visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox , Christopher Lloyd , Lea Thompson , Tom Wilson

Votes: 560,264 | Gross: $118.50M

57. Back to the Future Part III (1990)

PG | 118 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Stranded in 1955, Marty McFly learns about the death of Doc Brown in 1885 and must travel back in time to save him. With no fuel readily available for the DeLorean, the two must figure how to escape the Old West before Emmett is murdered.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox , Christopher Lloyd , Mary Steenburgen , Tom Wilson

Votes: 470,640 | Gross: $87.73M

58. S. Darko (2009)

R | 103 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Donnie Darko's little sister Samantha and her best friend Corey are on a cross-country road trip, but soon find themselves entangled in a dangerous glitch in the time-space continuum.

Director: Chris Fisher | Stars: Daveigh Chase , Briana Evigan , James Lafferty , Ed Westwick

Votes: 14,324

Donnie Darko's little sister. As one critic nicely put it: "All style, no substance."

59. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

PG | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.

Director: Leonard Nimoy | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan

Votes: 89,977 | Gross: $109.71M

60. Star Trek (2009)

PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Chris Pine , Zachary Quinto , Simon Pegg , Leonard Nimoy

Votes: 615,351 | Gross: $257.73M

61. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Music

Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.

Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Keanu Reeves , Alex Winter , George Carlin , Terry Camilleri

Votes: 139,142 | Gross: $40.49M

62. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)

PG | 93 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

A tyrant from the future creates evil android doubles of Bill and Ted and sends them back to eliminate the originals.

Director: Peter Hewitt | Stars: Keanu Reeves , Alex Winter , William Sadler , Joss Ackland

Votes: 79,851 | Gross: $38.04M

63. Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986)

PG | 108 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi

Daring British WWI fighter pilot James "Biggles" Bigglesworth and 1980s low-level business executive Jim Ferguson discover that they can time travel to each other's eras. They try to stop the Germans from changing the outcome of WWI.

Director: John Hough | Stars: Neil Dickson , Alex Hyde-White , Fiona Hutchison , Peter Cushing

Votes: 3,269 | Gross: $0.11M

64. Timestalkers (1987 TV Movie)

Not Rated | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

Scott McKenzie, a history professor, becomes involved with two time travelers from the year 2586 after making a discovery in an old photograph from 1886.

Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: William Devane , Lauren Hutton , John Ratzenberger , Forrest Tucker

Votes: 1,495

65. The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)

PG | 92 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Men seeking relief from the Black Death, guided by a boy's vision, dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand.

Director: Vincent Ward | Stars: Bruce Lyons , Chris Haywood , Hamish Gough , Marshall Napier

Votes: 3,905 | Gross: $1.33M

66. Millennium (1989)

PG-13 | 108 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

An NTSB investigator seeking the cause of an airline disaster meets a warrior woman from 1000 years in the future.

Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Kris Kristofferson , Cheryl Ladd , Daniel J. Travanti , Robert Joy

Votes: 6,808 | Gross: $5.78M

67. Grand Tour: Disaster in Time (1991)

PG-13 | 99 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi

Before they can complete renovations on their new inn, Widower (Ben Wilson) and daughter (Hillary) are visited by a woman seeking immediate lodging for her strange group of travellers. Why ... See full summary  »

Director: David Twohy | Stars: Jeff Daniels , Ariana Richards , Emilia Crow , Jim Haynie

Votes: 2,984

68. Time Runner (1993)

R | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

During the unstoppable alien invasion of 2022, one man flees through a wormhole to 1992 in hope of changing the future. But attempt after attempt is made by someone there to catch and kill him.

Director: Michael Mazo | Stars: Mark Hamill , Rae Dawn Chong , Brion James , Mark Baur

Votes: 1,114

69. Magic Müller (1993 TV Movie)

Mueller is a young and unsuccessful actor who has one big problem. He does not have time. He does not have time for his little daughter Elina and he does not have time for Petra who ... See full summary  »

Director: Thomas Bohn | Stars: Ingo Naujoks , Maria Schrader , Julia Böning , Jaymes Butler

70. Run Lola Run (1998)

R | 80 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.

Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Franka Potente , Moritz Bleibtreu , Herbert Knaup , Nina Petri

Votes: 204,356 | Gross: $7.27M

71. 12:01 (1993 TV Movie)

PG-13 | 92 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Thriller

A man likes a woman at work. He sees her get murdered. He gets drunk and zapped at 12:01AM. Next morning she's back and everything is exactly like the day before. The time loops gives him chances to save her.

Director: Jack Sholder | Stars: Helen Slater , Jonathan Silverman , Nicolas Surovy , Robin Bartlett

Votes: 5,397

72. Timecop (1994)

R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

Max Walker, an officer for a security agency that regulates time travel, must fend for his life against a shady politician who's intent on changing the past to control the future.

Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme , Mia Sara , Ron Silver , Bruce McGill

Votes: 62,742 | Gross: $44.85M

Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision is a 2003. direct to video sequel of this movie.

73. Demolition Man (1993)

R | 115 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

A police officer is brought out of suspended animation in prison to pursue an old ultra-violent nemesis who is loose in a non-violent future society.

Director: Marco Brambilla | Stars: Sylvester Stallone , Wesley Snipes , Sandra Bullock , Nigel Hawthorne

Votes: 188,593 | Gross: $58.06M

74. 100 Million BC (2008 Video)

R | 85 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A scientist leads a team of Navy SEALs back in time to the Cretaceous Period to rescue the first team he sent back during the 1940s. Things go wildly when he accidentally brings a giant dinosaur back into Los Angeles.

Director: Griff Furst | Stars: Michael Gross , Christopher Atkins , Greg Evigan , Marie Westbrook

Votes: 4,694

Trashy trash but surprisingly fun.

75. Moebius (1996)

88 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

A train on the Buenos Aires subway system suddenly vanishes.

Director: Gustavo Mosquera R. | Stars: Guillermo Angelelli , Roberto Carnaghi , Annabella Levy , Jorge Petraglia

Votes: 2,115

76. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

The Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed.

Director: Jonathan Frakes | Stars: Patrick Stewart , Jonathan Frakes , Brent Spiner , LeVar Burton

Votes: 130,445 | Gross: $92.00M

77. Thrill Seekers (1999 TV Movie)

PG-13 | 88 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

A reporter, learning of time travelers visiting 20th century disasters, tries to change the history they know by averting upcoming disasters.

Director: Mario Azzopardi | Stars: Casper Van Dien , Catherine Bell , Theresa Saldana , Peter Outerbridge

Votes: 2,707

78. Frequency (2000)

PG-13 | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

An accidental cross-time radio link connects father and son across 30 years. The son tries to save his father's life, but then must fix the consequences.

Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Dennis Quaid , Jim Caviezel , Shawn Doyle , Elizabeth Mitchell

Votes: 113,809 | Gross: $45.01M

79. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

PG | 142 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint , Richard Griffiths

Votes: 671,498 | Gross: $249.36M

80. Slipstream (2005)

R | 89 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

A scientist goes to a bank to meet a pretty bank-teller. His time-machine allows him to go 10 minutes back in time and correct his approaches to her. He's shadowed by 2 FBI agents and the bank gets robbed.

Director: David van Eyssen | Stars: Sean Astin , Vinnie Jones , Ivana Milicevic , Kevin Otto

Votes: 3,476

81. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi

A malfunctioning time machine at a ski resort takes a man back to 1986 with his two friends and nephew, where they must relive a fateful night and not change anything to make sure the nephew is born.

Director: Steve Pink | Stars: John Cusack , Rob Corddry , Craig Robinson , Clark Duke

Votes: 183,054 | Gross: $50.29M

Soon: Hot Tub Time Machine 2.

82. All Over Again (2001)

PG | 90 min | Drama

17 year old Z.T., a brilliant mind and solid athlete, dreams of a great college and a future of invention and innovation. But he still grieves over his mother's recent death, a shoulder ... See full summary  »

Director: Noah Knox Marshall | Stars: Ean Mering , Robert Loggia , Craig T. Nelson , John Amos

83. Click (2006)

A workaholic architect finds a universal remote that allows him to fast-forward and rewind to different parts of his life. Complications arise when the remote starts to overrule his choices.

Director: Frank Coraci | Stars: Adam Sandler , Kate Beckinsale , Christopher Walken , David Hasselhoff

Votes: 348,816 | Gross: $137.36M

84. Clockstoppers (2002)

PG | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

A teenager accidentally activates a machine that enables him to speed up his body so that other people seem to be standing still.

Director: Jonathan Frakes | Stars: Jesse Bradford , French Stewart , Paula Garcés , Michael Biehn

Votes: 14,932 | Gross: $36.99M

85. Deja Vu (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

After a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington , Paula Patton , Jim Caviezel , Val Kilmer

Votes: 322,583 | Gross: $64.04M

86. Freejack (1992)

R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

Bounty hunters from the future transport a doomed race car driver to New York City in 2009, where his mind will be replaced with that of a dead billionaire.

Director: Geoff Murphy | Stars: Emilio Estevez , Mick Jagger , Rene Russo , Anthony Hopkins

Votes: 17,126 | Gross: $17.13M

87. Grand Tour: Disaster in Time (1991)

88. idiocracy (2006).

R | 84 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Corporal Joe Bauers, a decisively average American, is selected as a guinea pig for a top-secret hibernation program but is forgotten, awakening to a future so incredibly moronic he's easily the most intelligent person alive.

Director: Mike Judge | Stars: Luke Wilson , Maya Rudolph , Dax Shepard , Terry Crews

Votes: 176,769 | Gross: $0.44M

89. Continuum (2013)

Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

After the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip, his son and wife struggle to cope, only to make a bizarre discovery years later - one that may bring him home.

Director: Richie Mehta | Stars: John Paul Ruttan , Rufus Sewell , Gillian Anderson , Kiara Glasco

Votes: 7,818

90. Journey to the Center of Time (1967)

Not Rated | 82 min | Sci-Fi

Hard-nosed new boss Stanton takes over a scientific research company upon the death of his benevolent father.

Director: David L. Hewitt | Stars: Scott Brady , Anthony Eisley , Gigi Perreau , Abraham Sofaer

91. Men in Black 3 (2012)

PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Agent J travels in time to M.I.B.'s early days in 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Will Smith , Tommy Lee Jones , Josh Brolin , Jemaine Clement

Votes: 380,170 | Gross: $179.02M

92. My Future Boyfriend (2011 TV Movie)

73 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

An archaeologist from 1000 years in the future uncovers a romance novel written in our time. Curious, he journeys back to find out about this thing called "love" from the novel's author.

Director: Michael Lange | Stars: Sara Rue , Barry Watson , Fred Willard , Enisha Brewster

Votes: 2,405

93. Lost in Space (1998)

PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Family

The Robinson family was going into space to fight for a chance for humanity. Now they are fighting to live long enough to find a way home.

Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Gary Oldman , William Hurt , Matt LeBlanc , Mimi Rogers

Votes: 74,193 | Gross: $69.12M

94. The Spirit of '76 (1990)

PG-13 | 82 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi

In 2176, a magnetic storm erases all recorded history, including the U.S. Constitution, so, three time travelers are sent back to July 4, 1776, to retrieve the heritage, but end up in 1976's Bicentennial, while being perceived as aliens.

Director: Lucas Reiner | Stars: Mark Mothersbaugh , Gerald Casale , Carl Reiner , Nancye Ferguson

95. Time Changer (2002)

PG | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

A Bible professor from 1890 comes forward in time to the present via a time machine and cannot believe the things that he sees!

Director: Rich Christiano | Stars: D. David Morin , Gavin MacLeod , Hal Linden , Jennifer O'Neill

Votes: 2,765 | Gross: $1.28M

96. Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)

PG | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A maverick motorbike racer wanders into a top-secret time-travel research test site which unintentionally teleports him to the mid-1800s and ends up having to fight violent outlaws for his survival.

Director: William Dear | Stars: Fred Ward , Belinda Bauer , Peter Coyote , Richard Masur

Votes: 2,440

97. Timequest (2000)

R | 92 min | Sci-Fi

A story about a man who travels back in time to Fort Worth, Texas on November 22, 1963 and prevents the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Director: Robert Dyke | Stars: Victor Slezak , Caprice Benedetti , Vince Grant , Bruce Campbell

98. The Yesterday Machine (1965)

Not Rated | 85 min | Sci-Fi

A Nazi scientist invents a time machine enabling him to go back to alter the events of WWII.

Director: Russ Marker | Stars: Tim Holt , James Britton , Ann Pellegrino , Linda Jenkins

99. 13 Going on 30 (2004)

PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Jenna Rink makes an unusual wish on her birthday. Miraculously, her wish comes true and the 13-year-old Jenna wakes up the next day as a 30-year-old woman.

Director: Gary Winick | Stars: Jennifer Garner , Mark Ruffalo , Judy Greer , Andy Serkis

Votes: 208,464 | Gross: $57.23M

100. 17 Again (2009)

PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Mike O'Donnell is ungrateful for how his life turned out. He gets a chance to rewrite his life when he tried to save a janitor near a bridge and jumped after him into a time vortex.

Director: Burr Steers | Stars: Zac Efron , Matthew Perry , Leslie Mann , Thomas Lennon

Votes: 212,043 | Gross: $64.17M

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Screen Rant

A 72-year-old movie has one of the best explanations for time travel.

Every time travel movie has its own set of rules, but one underrated movie from over seven decades ago might have the best explanation of them all.

• I'll Never Forget You provides a unique and realistic approach to time travel, surpassing many modern movies in its storytelling and execution.
• The movie's explanation of time travel, using the analogy of stars, is one of the best and most understandable concepts in the genre.
• The film's focus on the moral and ethical implications of time travel sets it apart, making it an underrated gem in the genre.

Every time travel movie has its own set of rules for the science fiction phenomenon, but one movie from over 70 years ago, I'll Never Forget You , has an explanation that trumps that of modern movies. Arriving nearly 35 years before time travel classic Back to the Future , the 1951 film I’ll Never Forget You follows scientist Peter Standish, whose decision to travel from the 1950s to the 18th century doesn’t quite work out as he had hoped. Rather than leaving behind the complexities of 20th century life for a simpler existence, Peter has a difficult time assimilating to the past. To make matters worse, Peter falls for the wrong woman, jeopardizing both his past and future.

Considering the concept of time travel wouldn’t become mainstream in movies until almost a decade later with The Time Machine in 1960, I’ll Never Forget You ’s love story is way ahead of its time. I’ll Never Forget You ’s tale is fully grounded in reality, which allows it to be easily accessible, shining a light on the moral and ethical implications of Peter’s journey in a way that modern movies often don’t. Not only is I’ll Never Forget You an underrated yet great time travel movie , but its distinct approach to and explanation for time travel remains one of the best.

I'll Never Forget You Perfectly Explains The Time Travel Concept

I’ll Never Forget You ’s explanation of the concept of time travel is one that makes that most sense. According to Peter Standish, the past is still happening around those in the present, and he uses the analogy of stars to convey his point. When people look at stars, they are often seeing them as they were long ago rather than how they are in the present due to the time it takes for light to travel. Peter claims that the problem is that the past is like stars : Those in the present can see it, but can’t reach it yet.

Related: 8 Time Travel Movies That Actually Make Sense

While all time travel movies offer their own rules for the concept of time travel, they often follow conventional standards for how time works. Most time travel movies operate under the assumption that time is linear or nonlinear , but I’ll Never Forget You ’s star analogy is easily one of the best explanations for the concept of time travel. It perfectly describes how the “ past ” can become the new “ present ,” and how time continues to pass in the “ present ”. I’ll Never Forget You ’s “ simultaneous ” concept of time is completely unique, which cements it as one of the most underrated time travel movies.

I'll Never Forget You's Time Travel Story Is Better Than Most Modern Movies

Though I’ll Never Forget You ’s story is straightforward, it manages to outdo those of many modern time travel movies. Other time travel movies can get bogged down in trying to explain its concept with science, which sometimes can lead to the plot becoming overly convoluted. However, I’ll Never Forget You ’s comparatively simple approach allows the movie to fully invest itself in the issues surrounding Peter’s flawed actions in the 18th century. The morality and ethics of time travel is a core tenant of all great movies in this genre, and I’ll Never Forget You ’s ability to focus on these questions contributes to its successful execution.

Part of I’ll Never Forget You ’s plot that puts it ahead of modern movies is its realistic approach . Because Peter keeps slipping up and can’t fit in, his 18th century peers deem him "insane" and take him into custody. While it’s a dismal outcome, it makes sense that someone from modern times wouldn’t be able to assimilate into a previous century, something time travel movies often get wrong . While I’ll Never Forget You is rarely considered in conversations about the greatest time travel movies, its unique yet realistic approach to the subject proves it should be.