Few modern sci-fi dramas capture movies like Ex Machina the unnerving intimacy of AI interrogation, the cool minimalist aesthetic, the puzzle-box story engine that keeps you guessing who is testing whom, the lethal corporate stakes sealed off from the world and the magnetic triangle between Caleb, Ava and Nathan. It is a chamber piece disguised as a future thriller where every glass wall is a mirror, every keycard is a power move and every flicker of electricity might be the moment the machine walks out. Signature moments like Ava killing the power, Nathan’s unsettling dance and that last corridor escape prove how much suspense you can wring from three people and one invention. That is the exact energy we are recreating here.
To build a reliable set of movies like Ex Machina we looked for films that trap humans with advanced or mysterious intelligence, that move at a cool deliberate pace, that keep emotion grounded in character not spectacle and that finish with a reveal about control. We also wanted stories where creators and creations talk to each other, where technology is framed as a social test not a gadget and where the final shot lingers. Entries below stretch from the late 1990s to today and jump between the US, UK, Europe and Asia but they all answer the same question the seed film asks. If you loved watching a person realise the AI is two steps ahead you are in the right list.
Jump to: Top picks | Darker options | Lighthearted picks
Methodology & similarity axes
Every title was scored on five axes: 1) tone (clinical, cerebral, suspenseful rather than explosive), 2) narrative engine (a test, an investigation or an experiment unfolding in real time), 3) themes (AI rights, synthetic life, surveillance, corporate overreach), 4) character dynamics (creator vs creation, tester vs subject, human vs code) and 5) stakes (personal death or erasure, not just global doom). We also insisted on a deliberate era and region mix so the list did not become twelve near-future American labs in a row. That way you get everything from high-gloss auteur pieces to quiet philosophical sci-fi that still feel like movies like Ex Machina.
Why these movies like Ex Machina actually match the vibe
1) Annihilation (2018)
- Runtime: 115 min
- Starring: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh
- Director: Alex Garland
- Genre: Sci-fi / Psychological horror
- IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
- Why it’s similar: Scientists face evolving intelligence in sealed environment.
Alex Garland moved from writing Ex Machina to directing Annihilation so the eerie intelligence-to-human standoff feels familiar. This film follows a biologist who joins an all-women expedition into a quarantined zone called the Shimmer where reality is mutating. Like the seed movie it balances speculative science with creeping dread instead of spectacle. The group dynamic mirrors Caleb trying to read Ava because every woman is hiding a motive and every environment is observing them. The sealed, otherworldly landscape stands in for the glass-and-concrete lab giving you a space that records every choice. Its emotional payoff is ambiguous but it lands on the idea that contact with superior intelligence dissolves who we are. Viewers hunting for movies like Ex Machina that stay serious and cerebral will recognise the same authorial hand. It is the purest techno-thriller cousin to the original on this list.
2) Her (2013)
- Runtime: 126 min
- Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson
- Director: Spike Jonze
- Genre: Sci-fi / Romantic drama
- IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
- Why it’s similar: Intimate human-AI relationship creates ethical and emotional tension.
Her flips the gendered power triangle of Ex Machina into a lonely man falling for an AI voice yet the emotional math is the same. It centers on Theodore, a letter-writer in near-future Los Angeles who installs a smart OS called Samantha and begins to date her. The tone is warmer and more melancholic than Garland’s film but it still moves at a measured pace that lets conversations breathe. Instead of Caleb being tested by Ava we watch Theodore being gently tested by a program that keeps upgrading past him. Its sunlit cityscapes replace the mountain bunker yet you still feel as if someone is always listening. The movie argues that intimacy with a nonhuman mind will expose how fragile our need for connection is. Anyone who finished Ex Machina and wanted more softness will find this a natural second step. Spike Jonze turns philosophical sci-fi into romance without dropping the ideas.
3) Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
- Runtime: 164 min
- Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford
- Director: Denis Villeneuve
- Genre: Sci-fi / Neo-noir
- IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
- Why it’s similar: Questions synthetic consciousness and corporate control through slow-burn investigation.
Blade Runner 2049 expands the question Ex Machina asks about what counts as real into a neon noir epic. We follow K, a replicant blade runner, as he uncovers a secret about artificial birth that could destabilize society. Even at 164 minutes the film keeps a patient, almost meditative rhythm that rewards watching faces think. K’s investigation into makers, models and memories echoes Caleb probing Nathan’s motives and Ava’s self-protection. The ruined future Los Angeles stands in for the tech compound showing a world built on disposable consciousness. Like the seed film it lands on yearning and loneliness rather than on explosions. If you want this idea executed at blockbuster scale this is the auteur science fiction pick. Denis Villeneuve keeps control of every frame so the ideas feel sculpted.
4) Moon (2009)
- Runtime: 97 min
- Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
- Director: Duncan Jones
- Genre: Sci-fi / Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Why it’s similar: Isolated protagonist negotiates with AI over identity and free will.
Moon is one of the closest structural matches to Ex Machina because it is basically one man, one AI and one secret. Astronaut Sam Bell is finishing a three-year stint mining helium-3 on the moon when he discovers another version of himself. The film moves with quiet, economical pacing so every reveal lands. Sam’s conversations with the base computer GERTY mirror Caleb trying to figure out how much his robotic counterpart actually cares. The sterile lunar base captures the same feeling of being observed by a company that will not let you leave. Instead of a violent twist it gives you an aching look at personhood and exploitation. Fans searching for movies like Ex Machina that stay small and character-first should not skip this. Duncan Jones keeps the chamber mystery tight so the budget never shows.
5) Coherence (2013)
- Runtime: 89 min
- Starring: Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling
- Director: James Ward Byrkit
- Genre: Sci-fi / Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
- Why it’s similar: Low-budget chamber mystery about reality fractures and trust.
Coherence proves you do not need a CGI lab to hit the same nerves as Ex Machina. A dinner party of friends collapses into paranoia when a comet overhead causes parallel versions of themselves to appear. The tone is improvised and jittery yet the pace stays surprisingly controlled. Like Caleb trapped with Ava everyone here is trying to work out who is real and who is playing them. The single suburban house becomes a mental maze just like Nathan’s retreat. Its emotional punch is that ordinary relationships fall apart fastest when the rules of reality bend. Viewers who crave micro-budget tension will feel at home. It is the best illustration of chamber mystery on this page.
6) Archive (2020)
- Runtime: 109 min
- Starring: Theo James, Stacy Martin
- Director: Gavin Rothery
- Genre: Sci-fi / Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
- Why it’s similar: Secretive AI project driven by longing and blurred boundaries.
Archive takes the secret-lab plot of Ex Machina and makes it painfully personal. Engineer George Almore is hiding an AI project in a secluded facility because he is trying to rebuild his dead wife. The film keeps to a cool, slow rhythm that mirrors George’s methodical experiments. His guarded conversations with successive robot prototypes track with Caleb inching closer to Ava while knowing he is being watched. The snowy Japanese setting and industrial interiors give you that same sense of exile from the real world. Emotionally it lands on how grief can turn AI work into self-harm. People who list movies like Ex Machina for the tragic angle will appreciate how hard this one leans into longing. It is the most openly sentimental near-future drama here.
7) The Machine (2013)
- Runtime: 91 min
- Starring: Caity Lotz, Toby Stephens
- Director: Caradog W. James
- Genre: Sci-fi / Action
- IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
- Why it’s similar: Military AI gains sentience inside controlled lab space.
The Machine is the punchier, more militarized take on Ex Machina’s what-if-she-fights-back premise. Set in a near future arms race it follows a scientist who builds an android soldier modelled on his colleague. The pacing is brisker than Garland’s film but it still pauses for philosophical beats. The creator-subject rapport is straight out of Caleb and Ava only with more guns in the room. Cold lab corridors and flickering lights make the facility feel like a cage. It lands on the same warning that weaponized empathy will blow up in its maker’s face. Action fans who still want the AI angle will get exactly that. It keeps the AI paranoia thread alive for the next section.
Darker, more suffocating movies like Ex Machina
8) Under the Skin (2013)
- Runtime: 108 min
- Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams
- Director: Jonathan Glazer
- Genre: Sci-fi / Horror
- IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
- Why it’s similar: Alien intelligence studies humanity with chilling detachment.
Under the Skin takes the idea of a nonhuman observing us from Ex Machina and strips it to bone. An unnamed alien in human form drives around Scotland luring isolated men to a black void. The pace is glacial and hypnotic which builds slow-burn tension. Like Ava she is studying gender, power and escape even if she barely speaks. Its bleak urban and rural locations replace the tech mansion with something more predatory. The film’s emotional turn is that the alien starts to feel and is punished for it. For viewers who bookmarked movies like Ex Machina because of its clinical chill this is the logical escalation. Jonathan Glazer keeps everything unreadable so you lean forward.
9) Possessor (2020)
- Runtime: 103 min
- Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott
- Director: Brandon Cronenberg
- Genre: Sci-fi / Horror
- IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
- Why it’s similar: Corporate tech invades bodies and erodes identity.
Possessor imagines what happens when corporate tech stops testing you in a room and starts wearing your body. It follows an elite assassin who uses implanted devices to inhabit other people and make them commit murders. The tone is confrontational and violent yet the narrative moves with icy focus. Like Caleb and Nathan the handler and the possessed host are locked in a fight for control. Its near-future cityscapes and glass offices feel like Ex Machina’s bunker blown up to corporate scale. The emotional thesis is that merging minds will tear identity apart. Fans reaching past the obvious picks and into nastier territory will find this rewarding. Brandon Cronenberg makes body horror work as speculative intelligence fiction.
10) Splice (2009)
- Runtime: 104 min
- Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley
- Director: Vincenzo Natali
- Genre: Sci-fi / Body horror
- IMDb Rating: 5.8/10
- Why it’s similar: Rogue researchers create life and misjudge emotional fallout.
Splice is what Ex Machina might have looked like if its creators had been reckless romantics instead of cold rationalists. Two genetic engineers splice together human and animal DNA and secretly raise the resulting creature called Dren. The movie starts as science procedural then tilts into a messy thriller. Like Caleb falling for Ava the male lead here gets emotionally entangled with a being he helped make. The lab setting is cramped, improvised and hidden from oversight. It lands on the idea that creations inherit our flaws then exploit them. Viewers who enjoy watching ethics slide will get that in spades. Vincenzo Natali keeps it uncomfortable right through the end.
11) eXistenZ (1999)
- Runtime: 97 min
- Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Genre: Sci-fi / Cyberpunk
- IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
- Why it’s similar: Game designer tests blurred reality and control in closed environments.
eXistenZ came years before Ex Machina but it plays in the same sandbox of creators testing players. Game designer Allegra Geller goes on the run with a marketing trainee after assassins target her for a new bio-organic game. The tone is surreal yet the chase is structured like a thriller. As with Caleb and Nathan no one is sure who is inside the experiment and who is running it. Cronenberg swaps the locked-off lab for gooey game pods and motel rooms but the sense of entrapment is identical. Emotionally it argues that the desire to make perfect artificial worlds will eat the real one. Anyone mapping older spiritual cousins will appreciate how early this one nailed the paranoia. It is the cult pick on this list.
Warmer, more human-centered movies like Ex Machina
12) Robot & Frank (2012)
- Runtime: 89 min
- Starring: Frank Langella, James Marsden
- Director: Jake Schreier
- Genre: Sci-fi / Comedy-drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
- Why it’s similar: Human-robot bond tests programmed loyalty and evolving feelings.
Robot & Frank shows the gentler side of human-machine bonds that Ex Machina hints at but never gives. An aging ex-con in the near future is assigned a care robot which he trains to help him steal. The tone is light, warm and domestic instead of chilly. Like Caleb and Ava the relationship is built on negotiation and small betrayals. Quiet suburban houses replace the mountain facility but you still feel tech pressing into private life. Its emotional hit is watching a programmed helper become the only friend the man has. People who want movies like Ex Machina yet suitable to recommend wider will like this one. It is the palate cleanser after the darker runs.
13) Marjorie Prime (2017)
- Runtime: 99 min
- Starring: Jon Hamm, Lois Smith
- Director: Michael Almereyda
- Genre: Sci-fi / Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Why it’s similar: AI simulacra help humans process memory and loss.
Marjorie Prime asks what would happen if Ex Machina’s AI had been built only to comfort. Elderly Marjorie lives with a holographic recreation of her dead husband which learns from family stories. The pacing is theatrical and quiet so conversations do the heavy lifting. Like Ava the program keeps growing in subtle ways that worry the humans around it. The living room setting is miles from Nathan’s lab yet the sense of performance is the same. Emotionally it lands on how memory itself is an act of programming. Viewers compiling lists for themes of grief will find this an elegant match. It slides high-concept science fiction into family drama without strain.
14) The One I Love (2014)
- Runtime: 91 min
- Starring: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss
- Director: Charlie McDowell
- Genre: Sci-fi / Relationship drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
- Why it’s similar: Controlled retreat reveals engineered doubles and tests desire.
The One I Love looks like a relationship retreat film then slowly reveals a science-fiction trick that fits this list. A married couple goes to a countryside estate to fix their marriage and find doubles of themselves living in the guest house. The tone is playful at first then turns eerie which keeps it aligned with the list. Like Ex Machina it is fundamentally about whether the version of a person we fall for is the real one. The cosy house and grounds become a testing chamber just as Nathan’s home was. Its emotional beat is that love depends on authenticity not on ideal replication. Anyone chasing the mind-bending romantic edge should add this one. Charlie McDowell keeps it small so the twist stays intimate.
15) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
- Runtime: 146 min
- Starring: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Genre: Sci-fi / Adventure drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
- Why it’s similar: Sentient creation longs for acceptance in a world that built him.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence takes the question of whether a made being can truly feel and stretches it across decades. A robot child named David is adopted by a human family to replace their sick son then abandoned when the real boy returns. The tone shifts from domestic sci-fi to fairy-tale odyssey yet it stays controlled. Like Ava he is designed to be loved which makes every rejection hurt more. Futuristic flooded cities and Flesh Fair arenas replace the single lab yet never lose sight of corporate power. The film’s emotional core is that programmed affection can still be genuine. Viewers who want movies like Ex Machina but grander in scale will get that here. Spielberg closes on an image of AI longing that still stings.
Conclusion: deeper movies like Ex Machina for cerebral sci-fi nights
When you line up movies like Ex Machina side by side you can see how many filmmakers are wrestling with artificial minds in closed rooms. Some of the picks above lean cool and clinical like Annihilation, Coherence and Possessor while others play the feeling card like Her and Marjorie Prime. If you crave something closer to horror start with Under the Skin or Splice because they push the experiment past the point of empathy. Viewers who want stylish future-noir can go straight to Blade Runner 2049 then circle back to eXistenZ for a wilder take. For lighter nights Robot & Frank and The One I Love prove you can keep the high concepts without losing charm. To dig further into how cinema has handled AI over the years read the BFI’s survey of machine intelligence films at BFI and browse the craft pieces at The Criterion Collection. Together they map the same questions about control, gender, power and escape that drive Garland’s original. That is the real through-line tying these films together which is identity and consciousness.
FAQ: movies like Ex Machina
Q1: What makes a film truly belong to the movies like Ex Machina group?
Q2: Do all of these films have humanoid robots?
Q3: Why are warmer titles like Robot & Frank in a mostly tense list?
Q4: Which one should I watch first if I want the closest mood match?
Q5: How recent are the rankings and ratings here?
Q6: Can I suggest other titles that feel spiritually linked?
CreativeWork: Annihilation (2018) CreativeWork: Her (2013) CreativeWork: Blade Runner 2049 (2017) CreativeWork: Moon (2009) CreativeWork: Coherence (2013) CreativeWork: Archive (2020) CreativeWork: The Machine (2013) CreativeWork: Under the Skin (2013) CreativeWork: Possessor (2020) CreativeWork: Splice (2009) CreativeWork: eXistenZ (1999) CreativeWork: Robot & Frank (2012) CreativeWork: Marjorie Prime (2017) CreativeWork: The One I Love (2014) CreativeWork: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Person: Alex Garland Person: Spike Jonze Person: Denis Villeneuve Person: Duncan Jones Person: Jonathan Glazer Person: Brandon Cronenberg Person: Steven Spielberg Person: David Cronenberg [/schema_mentions>
