So I’ve been binge-watching shows again instead of doing literally anything productive, and it got me thinking about time travel stories. You know how most of them make your brain hurt in the worst possible way? Like, you’re sitting there trying to figure out if the protagonist just created a paradox or if the writers just gave up halfway through.
But here’s the thing – when time travel is done right, it’s absolutely incredible. I’m talking about stories that make you lie awake at night questioning everything you thought you knew about cause and effect. And those of you who know me or have followed me for awhile know that I’m a huge fan of time travel stories (I even wrote one: A Touch of Cedar). I’ll mention a few below to pique your interest…
Back to the Future is obviously the gold standard here. I mean, come on. Marty accidentally prevents his parents from falling in love and starts disappearing from a photograph? That’s both terrifying and brilliant. Plus, the DeLorean is just cool as hell. I remember being a kid and genuinely believing that if I could just get one up to 88 mph, I’d be set. The sequels get progressively weirder, but that first movie? Perfect.
Now, Groundhog Day might not seem like traditional time travel, but Phil Connors living the same day over and over again is basically the ultimate time loop story. Bill Murray’s gradual transformation from selfish jerk to someone who actually cares about other people hits different every time I watch it. The movie never explains why it’s happening, which somehow makes it better. Sometimes the mystery is more interesting than the answer.
Primer is the movie that makes you feel like you need a physics degree just to follow along. These guys build a time machine in their garage and the whole thing spirals into this complex web of multiple timelines and versions of themselves. I’ve watched it three times and I’m still not entirely sure what happened, but that’s kind of the point. It treats time travel like actual science instead of magic, which is both refreshing and completely exhausting.
TV shows have gotten really creative with this concept too. Dark on Netflix is this German series that starts with a missing child and becomes this intricate family saga spanning multiple generations. The way it weaves together past, present, and future is mind-blowing. Every character is connected in ways you don’t see coming, and by the end, you realize the whole thing is this beautiful, tragic loop. Fair warning though – you’ll need a family tree chart to keep track of who’s related to whom across different time periods.
The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher gets a lot of hate, but I actually think it’s underrated. The idea that changing small things in the past creates massive consequences in the present is genuinely unsettling. Sure, some of the execution is questionable, but the core concept of unintended consequences really stuck with me.
Then there’s Looper, which takes the whole “meeting your future self” thing and makes it incredibly personal. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has to kill his older self, played by Bruce Willis, and the makeup to make them look similar is honestly distracting. But the emotional weight of the story works. It’s about sacrifice and breaking cycles of violence, wrapped up in a sci-fi premise.
Russian Doll deserves a mention here too. Natasha Lyonne’s character keeps dying and resetting to the same bathroom at a party, but it’s not just about escaping the loop. It becomes this deeper exploration of trauma and how we repeat destructive patterns in our lives. The second season gets weird with generational trauma and time travel, but that first season is gold.
I have to admit, Predestination with Ethan Hawke completely broke my brain. I can’t even explain the plot without spoiling it, but it’s one of those stories where everything connects in ways that are both inevitable and impossible. You’ll spend days thinking about it afterward.
About Time takes a completely different approach – the main character can travel back in time to improve moments in his life, but the focus isn’t on changing the world or preventing disasters. It’s about appreciating ordinary moments and the people you love. It made me cry, which I wasn’t expecting from a time travel movie.
The thing about great time travel stories is they’re never really about the time travel itself. They’re about regret, second chances, the weight of our choices, and how we’re all connected across time. The best ones make you think about your own life and the moments you’d want to revisit or change.
What’s your favorite time travel story? Hit me up in the comments – I’m always looking for new ones to mess with my head.