When you turn on the TV, it’s because you’re often looking for an escape. And there’s no greater trip than leaving your time entirely. Movies about time travel transport you to another reality, one far in the future — or far in the past. 

Here, we’ve compiled eight films on Netflix that will have you watching the clock (or not). From comedies to sci-fi to Christmas flicks, these movies are worth your time... today. 

The Adam Project

Many time-travel movies center around the main character losing a loved one, and that’s exactly the case with The Adam Project. In a dystopian future, Adam Reed (played by Ryan Reynolds) discovers his wife has gone missing, and tries to travel back to the past to rescue her. When he crash-lands into the present, he’s forced to work with his 12-year-old self to save their future. The fun action-comedy also stars Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, and Zoe Saldaña.

The Adam Project

1h 46m   PG-13   2022

My List

Watch

Explore

In the Shadow of the Moon

This sci-fi thriller is a whodunit spread over decades. Philadelphia police officers Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook) and Winston Maddox (Bokeem Woodbine) first investigate a string of murders in 1998. Nine years later, Lockhart investigates what is assumed to be copycat murders. A suspect emerges — but she appears not to age. The film, which also stars Michael C. Hall, Cleopatra Coleman, and Rudi Dharmalingam, twists and turns throughout Lockhart’s life as he becomes obsessed with finding the truth.

In the Shadow of the Moon

1h 55m   TV-MA   2019

My List

Watch

The Knight Before Christmas

A squire from 1334 England and a high school teacher from present-day Ohio — it’s a match made in Christmas movie heaven! Vanessa Hudgens stars as Brooke Winters, the teacher, who meets a strange man named Cole (Josh Whitehouse) around Christmas time. He’s been sent to the future to complete a quest and earn a knighthood. But will he choose knighthood or true love? We suspect you can predict the ending, but that doesn’t make the watching of this Christmas flick any less fun. 

The Knight Before Christmas

1h 32m   TV-14   2019

My List

Watch

Mirage

What would you do if you woke up and your husband is married to someone else and your daughter was never born? That’s what Vera (Adriana Ugarte) must figure out in Mirage, a 2018 Spanish mystery. It all starts when they move into a new apartment and find a film that was recorded on VHS during an electrical storm in 1989, when a young boy was tragically killed. When they decide to watch it, a similar electrical storm hits. Vera discovers she’s able to interact with the boy in the video, which has drastic implications for both of them. She must figure out a way to save the boy in 1989 — and her family in the present day.

Mirage

2h 9m   TV-MA   2018

My List

Watch

See You Yesterday

Eden Duncan-Smith stars in See You Yesterday as C.J., a teenage science prodigy who works with her best friend, Sebastian (Danté Crichlow), to develop time travel. When C.J.’s brother is murdered by the police for carrying a cellphone — which the cops mistook for a weapon — C.J. decides to fix the past. As with most time-travel movies, her changes to the timeline complicate the future. The 2019 film was written by Stefon Bristol and Fredrica Bailey and earned them an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay. (Also, for an extra time-travel treat, keep your eyes peeled for a cameo from a certain Back to the Future star.) 

See You Yesterday

1h 27m   TV-MA   2019

My List

Watch

Time Cut

Two classic genres — the teen flick and the slasher film — collide with a time-traveling twist in Time Cut, a new horror movie starring Outer Banks’ Madison Bailey. Her character, Lucy Field, stumbles upon a time machine and uses it to travel to the not-too-distant past of 2003. The early ’00s is the perfect backdrop for Lucy to stop the horrific murders of four teens in her hometown. It’s personal because one of the victims was Lucy’s sister, Summer (Ginny & Georgia’s Antonia Gentry), whom she never even got to meet. You’ll have to watch the film — co-written by Hannah Macpherson (who directed episodes of School Spirit) and Michael Kennedy (who wrote the slasher comedy Freaky) — to see if she’s able to change the past. Bonus points if you pull out your low-rise jeans and 2000s playlist for the occasion.

Time Cut

1h 31m   TV-14   2024

My List

Watch

When We First Met

In this rom-com, Adam Devine stars as Noah Ashby, a man who will go to great lengths not to be friend-zoned — even if it means time-traveling. He first meets Avery Martin (Alexandra Daddario) at a 2014 Halloween party. Avery sees Noah as a friend, and as luck would have it, she meets her future fiancé the next day. At their engagement party, Noah drunkenly passes out in a photo booth, which was also at the Halloween party. What ensues is part time travel, part Groundhog Day: Noah keeps traveling back to the day he met Avery, and takes new approaches to steal her heart.

When We First Met

1h 37m   TV-14   2018

My List

Watch

Dive Deeper Into Netflix’s Worlds on TudumEvery day we’re publishing news, insider info, deep lore, sneak peeks and more.