Christopher Nolan’s filmography itself has at least three perfect movies to watch after Inception, although one of those was released before 2010. There are also three animated films, two of which premiered before Nolan’s film, that deliver a similar experience to Inception. Lastly, genre-bending sci-fi films like Inception can also be found among recent and classic Hollywood blockbusters. Here are 10 sci-fi movies to watch after Inception.

11 Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Directed by Mamoru Oshii, Ghost in the Shell (1995) is based on The Ghost in the Shell manga by Masamune Shirow, and it is one of the rare examples in which the anime adaptation arguably improves the original novel. The Ghost in the Shell movie takes the world and the characters from the manga and adds a philosophical debate to it, using the concept of “ghost” to discuss what it even means to exist. The best works of sci-fi are the ones in which highly advanced technology and incredible machines are used to tell a story about humans, which is what Ghost in the Shell delivers.

Ghost in the Shell has served as an inspiration for several works of fiction, and there are similarities between the 1995 animated movie and Inception. The discussion of what it means for something to be real, which sets the tone for Cobb’s story in Inception and culminates in the question of whether Cobb’s top totem stopped spinning, is present in Ghost in the Shell. The difference is that the Major does not question necessarily the world around her but rather her own existence. Like Inception, Ghost in the Shell is an action-packed film that offers more than just visually stunning fighting scenes.

10 The Matrix (1999)

A machine that s humans’ subconscious inside an artificial reality in which the rules of gravity can be broken if the person is able to dream big enough describes Inception’s dream device. However, it also fits into the story of The Matrix, a groundbreaking sci-fi film directed by the Wachowskis that changed how action blockbusters are made and influences the industry to this day. The Matrix, which was followed by two immediate sequels and has recently received a third one, is one of the best examples of how action-packed blockbuster films can also challenge the audience with a heavy story that makes a bit more sense with every rewatch.

The Matrix influenced Inception, but it also seems to have influenced Christopher Nolan’s overall style of combining action with a deep, thought-provoking story. More than 20 years after The Matrix, the film continues to spark theories about Neo’s Chosen One story and the war between humans and machines, similar to how Inception’s ending is debated to this day. Inception was one of The Matrix’s many spiritual successors, and while they are very different films, the action-heavy blockbuster meets sci-fi combination works perfectly for both.

9 Minority Report

Tom Cruise’s sci-fi movies include Minority Report, an instant classic directed by Steven Spielberg based on The Minority Report by Phillip K. Dick. Similar to Inception, Minority Reports brings audiences into a slightly futuristic world in which dangerously complex technology has become mundane. Instead of a machine to create collective, lucid dreams, Minority Report sees a future in which crimes can be prevented before they even happen, creating a seemly perfect world in which there is no crime at all. Minority Report soon begins to deconstruct that perception, and it follows John Anderton, Tom Cruise’s character, as he tries to understand what is really behind this technology.

8 Paprika (2006)

Directed by Satoshi Kon, Paprika is perhaps the most similar movie to Inception audiences can find, and it most likely inspired Nolan’s film. The animated feature introduces a machine used by therapists to enter their patient’s dreams, allowing them to interact with how the patients perceive themselves and the world around them. Paprika follows a detective and a therapist as they try to find the machine after it is stolen, embarking on a journey of self-discovery in which ghosts from their pasts return in the form of dreams. An instant classic, Paprika is a thought-provoking, genre-bending film often listed as one of the best-animated movies ever made.

7 The Prestige (2006)

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Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is a must-see for those who enjoyed how the director handled Cobb’s story and the unreliable narrator element of Inception. Released between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, similar to how Inception was released between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige sees Nolan steering away from Batman and going back to his Memento days. With a narrative that alternates between Christian Bale’s Alfred Boden and Hugh Jackman’s Robert Angier, The Prestige’s story is told non-linearly, in a journey that can be even more confusing than Memento’s Leonard Shelby’s. Still, The Prestige’s payoff, like the third act in a magic trick, is worth it.

5 Shutter Island (2010)

A 2010 film starring Leonard DiCaprio in which the protagonist is not sure about whether things around him are what they seem aptly describes both Inception and Shutter Island. Directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island is not necessarily a traditional sci-fi movie. For once, it is not set in either a close or far future like Inception, as Shutter Island takes place in 1954. The story itself starts with a mostly ordinary premise – two detectives are sent to a mental hospital to investigate the disappearance of a patient – but the successive turns make it an instigate thriller potentiated by great performances.

4 Interstellar (2013)

The first non-Batman Christopher Nolan movie since 2010, Interstellar had the difficult mission of being seen as “Nolan’s next Inception”. After The Dark Knight, Inception, and the record-breaking The Dark Knight Rises, the expectations for Nolan’s next movie could not have been higher, which, in some ways, may have hurt Interstellar’s reception. Fortunately, Nolan did not try to emulate his previous original film and instead went for something completely different with Interstellar. Whereas the dream machine is what makes Inception sci-fi rather than just something mostly metaphysical, Interstellar is a sci-fi film from start to finish, borrowing from classics of the genre like 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Set in a not-so-distant future in which Earth’s natural resources are ending, Interstellar sees a retired pilot embarking on a journey to scout for potentially habitable planets with the help of a mysterious wormhole that connects the solar system to the distant galaxies. Similar to Inception, Interstellar plays with characters experiencing time differently. Instead of Inception’s dream levels, it is relativity that helps Nolan’s Interstellar to bend time in a story that is as emotional as it is complicated. Interstellar is longer than Inception, but the former’s payoff is as good as the latter’s.

3 Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Based on the All You Need is Kill manga by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Edge of Tomorrow was directed by Doug Liman and stared Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt as Cage and Rita, respectively, two soldiers fighting in a war to save what is left of humanity from alien invaders. Edge of Tomorrow’s alien invasion by itself is enough to label the film as sci-fi, yet its most interesting premise lies in time travel. Bill Cage is granted to ability to essentially respawn at the beginning of the same day every time he dies in battle.

Edge of Tomorrow is therefore both a time travel and an alien invasion movie, resulting in a film that feels like a video game brought to life. Like Inception, Edge of Tomorrow’s ending can be confusing on first watch, but that does not remove from the film’s thrilling experience. Edge of Tomorrow combines its sci-fi premise with incredible, non-stop action, and it delivers bigger action pieces compared to Inception. Though an Edge of Tomorrow sequel or prequel has yet to happen, the film continues to spark theories about how its time travel works and what the Mimics’ real goal was.

2 Your Name (2016)

Directed by Makoto Shinkai, Your Name sees dreams and reality become one as Taki and Mitsuha begin to dream of a completely different life in which they are another person living in another city. Despite featuring some classic rom-com tropes, Your Name sets itself apart from similar movies by combining its engaging, emotional love story with mythology, comedy, and a unique take on how movies deal with time travel. Your Name is not an action film like Inception, but it is similar to Nolan's Inception in the sense that they both go beyond their genre – rom-com and heist, respectively – by adding a sci-fi twist to it.