Two of my favorite movie genres are science fiction and mystery. Here are 10 of my favorite movies that combine sci fi and mystery. They’re listed in no particular order.

1.) Paycheck (2003) – Michael Jennings (actor Ben Affleck) is a brilliant engineer who analyzes technologies and reverse engineers them. To protect himself from legal problems, he wipes his memory clean after each job. On one job he builds a device to see into the future but then mysterious people are trying to murder him. Who’s responsible and why?

2.) Deja Vu (2006) – Agent Douglas Carlin (played by Denzel Washington) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is sent back in time to prevent a domestic terrorist attack that takes place on a passenger ferry in New Orleans. Can he discover who’s behind the plot and change the past? Very clever plot with time travel paradoxes nicely explained.

3.) Dark City (1998) – A man wakes up next to a murdered prostitute. He can’t remember who he is or how he got there. He is pursued by the Strangers. Who are they? Why is it always night time?

4.) Minority Report (2002) – In the year 2054, the PreCrime department arrests criminals before they commit crimes, based on the ability of three psychics called Precogs to see the future. Actor Tom Cruise plays Chief of PreCrime John Anderton, who is framed for a future murder. Who is responsible and why?

5.) Gog (1954) – A government investigator (Richard Egan) is sent to a super-secret underground desert laboratory complex to solve a series of bizarre deaths. Which of the many suspects is responsible?

6.) Source Code (2011) – A man (actor Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a passenger train and has no idea who he is or how he got there. He slowly learns he is a U.S. Army officer who is repeatedly sent back in time to discover who planted a bomb on the train. Can he stop the plot and also save himself? The ending was setting up to be terribly sad but an unexpected twist made a happy ending.

7.) Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – In the future, Blade Runners are policemen who track down replicant androids who go rogue. Replicant K (actor Ryan Gosling) is a Blade Runner who must solve a series of mysteries including the story of his own origin.

8.) Total Recall (1990) – A man (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels to Mars, which is under the control of a corrupt corporation, to discover who is trying to kill him.

9.) The Power (1968) – One of a group of six scientists, including one played by George Hamilton, has super mind control powers and is murdering the others in the group one by one. Who is it and how can he/she be stopped?

10.) 12 Monkeys (1995) – Actor Bruce Willis travels back and forth in time to uncover the mystery of what, exactly, is/are the 12 monkeys and are they responsible for a viral plague that wiped out most of the planet?