Hey, so this is the list of movies on my local media server which are tagged as “cyberpunk”. I am looking for suggestions on more movies I should add to this list. Cheers,
ETA: Well, OK, this should keep me busy for a while. Thanks - y’all are amazing and awesome.
Equilibrium
Ghost in the shell
Upgrade 2008
Solid list OP. I didn’t watch the peripheral, gonna check it out.
I know everyone recommended a bunch of movies, if you want my take, looking at the compilation list someone posted, from that list if I had to recommend just one cyberpunk movie it would be The original Ghost in the shell (1995)
And now I am questioning what cyberpunk is? I think I had a firm grasp on what it is but now I am not sure because I don’t know if The matrix really checks that many boxes, there are no corporations and like poverty. There are people living in dare situations but it is more like in a post apocalypse way.
Anyway, cheers o/
Metropolis (2001)
Don’t see Johnny Mnemonic
Well timed post. I was about to start a collection myself and have a great list ready now. The Bubblegum Crisis etc stuff is really good, awesome cyberpunk vibe
Nice I have over 160 so far on my server. But yours is impressive list.
Movie list pulled from the comments, hard to tell If I missed anything or if there is a question to them being cyberpunk adjacent enough
- 964 Pinocchio (1991)
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
- A Scanner Darkly (2006)
- Aeon Flux (2005)
- Akira (1988)
- Alien (1979)
- Aliens (1986)
- Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
- Animatrix, The (2003)
- Antiviral (2012)
- Appleseed (2004)
- Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
- Appleseed XIII (2011)
- Appleseed Alpha (2014)
- Astro Boy (2009)
- Avalon (2001)
- Battle Angel Alita (Gunnm OVA) (1993)
- Belle (2021)
- Big Hero 6 (2014)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
- Brazil (1985)
- Burst City (1982)
- Chappie (2015)
- Cherry 2000 (1987)
- Crimes of the Future (2022)
- Cutie Honey (2004)
- Cyborg (1989)
- Dark City (1998)
- Demolition Man (1993)
- District 9 (2009)
- Dredd (2012)
- Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
- Electric Dragon 80.000 V (2001)
- Elysium (2013)
- Equilibrium (2002)
- Escape from L.A. (1996)
- Escape from New York (1981)
- eXistenZ (1999)
- Ex Machina (2015)
- The Fifth Element (1997)
- Free Guy (2021)
- Freejack (1992)
- Full Metal Yakuza (1997)
- Futureworld (1976)
- Gamer (2009)
- Gattaca (1997)
- Ghost in the Shell (1995)
- Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
- Ghost in the Shell (2008)
- Ghost in the Shell (2017)
- Ghost in the Shell Arise - Border 1 Ghost Pain (2013)
- Ghost in the Shell Arise - Border 2 Ghost Whispers (2013)
- Ghost in the Shell Arise - Border 3 Ghost Tears (2014)
- Ghost in the Shell Arise - Border 4 Ghost Stands Alone (2014)
- Ghost in the Shell Arise - Border 5 Pyrophoric Cult (2015)
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society (2006)
- Guns Akimbo (2020)
- Hackers (1995)
- Hardware (1990)
- Harrison Bergeron (1995)
- In Time (2011)
- Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
- Judge Dredd (1995)
- Mars Express (2023)
- megazone23 (1985)
- M3GAN (2022)
- M3GAN 2.0 (2025)
- Metropolis (1927)
- Metropolis (2001, anime)
- Minority Report (2002)
- Morgan (2016)
- Mute (2018)
- Nemesis (1992)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997)
- Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
- Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
- Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)
- Nova Seed (2016)
- Outland (1981)
- Pacific Rim (2013)
- Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
- Possessor (2020)
- Ready Player One (2018)
- Real Steel (2011)
- Repo Men (2010)
- Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
- Robocop (1987)
- Robocop 2 (1990)
- Robocop 3 (1993)
- Rollerball (1975)
- Rubber’s Lover (1996)
- Save the Green Planet! (2003)
- Sneakers (1992)
- Soldier (1998)
- Space Sweepers (2021)
- Space Truckers (1996)
- Split Second (1992)
- Strange Days (1995)
- Surrogates (2009)
- The Creator (2023)
- The Electric State (2025)
- The Lawnmower Man (1992)
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Net (1995)
- The Sixth Day (2000)
- The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
- THX 1138 (1971)
- Timecop (1994)
- Tokio Gore Police (2008)
- Total Recall (1990)
- Total Recall (2012)
- TRON (1982)
- TRON: Legacy (2010)
- TRON: Ares (2025)
- Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
- Upgrade (2018)
- Videodrome (1983)
- Virtuosity (1995)
- WALL·E (2008)
- Westworld (1973)
The majority of these that I’ve seen I disagree with. M3GAN is cyberpunk? Nah get outta here
Are we getting to a point that people think cyberpunk as the same as sci-fi? Because that is what this lists looks like. A lot of just sci-fi that is not even close to be cyberpunk.
Few things on the list hit 100% of the core tenants; it really depends on how strict you’re looking to be.
Corporate tech hubris: a company rushes an AI product to market, ignores ethics, and treats safety as a PR problem.
AI autonomy and loss of control: M3GAN crossing from tool to actor is a classic question about agency.
Tech replacing human relationships: the doll as a surrogate caregiver fits neatly into the anxiety about mediated humanity.
It probably only hits half the criteria, but in a numbers game, there’s a lot there that’s celebrated as Cyberpunk that fails as many checks.
In all, I was looking to capture the contents strewn about, not make a judgment call on what stays. I fugure if people don’t want parts, they can easily just not use that part of the list.
I feel that people think about the high tech and forget about the low life.
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
added
You absolute legend! Amazing! Thank you
I’d like to chime in here and add that just about everything I could possibly think of is on that list.
Okay, maybe Megazone23 if you’re into classic anime with great animation and b-tier plots. There’s probably a lot more in that genre.
I’d also like to give Avalon a shout since I think it’s underrated, and kind of a unique film.
added megazone23
I’m doing the same thing you are, truing up my own stuff. Figured sharing the list might be helpful.
Altered Carbon S1
That series absolutely blew me away. Season 2 didn’t really compare so I just plan to watch season one once per year or so.
Considering I loved The Peripheral, this is for sure going on my list - thanks!
I’m still pissed that Amazon cancelled The Peripheral. I’m dying for Gibson to finish the book trilogy.
Snow Crash once someone makes it
Snowcrash (brought to you by Meta)
Yes.
And Neuromancer (goddammit).
Honey, we have Neuromancer at home. ::holds up copy of Johnny Mnemonic::
I want it too, but there’s no need. Johnny Mnemonic was the original short-story template for Neuromancer, and fits into a feature-length film just fine. Campyness be damned - I love that movie. Meanwhile, Neuromancer would need a miniseries to do it justice. And we’re “people living in orbit” and “AGI” away from being inside that book.
Plus it’s permanently stuck in development hell, so we’ll probably never get one.
Trying to avoid the already great recs, for varying levels of cyberpunk themes or aesthetics…
Movies
Gattaca 1997
Elysium 2013
Ex Machina 2015
TV
Almost Human
Cowboy Bebop (any)
Devs
Incorporated (highly recommend!)
Max Headroom
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
I scrolled pretty far and didn’t see Duncan Jones’s Mute. Very strong cyberpunk aesthetics, and a great story.
Hackers
This one from 1995, yeah?
That’s the one. It might be to literally cyber and punk but both are definitely in this film.
Is there any other?
Battle Angel Alita was a lot of fun. (Admittedly, I’m a sucker for good action sequences.)
Battle Angel Alita being the original anime, as opposed to Alita: Battle Angel which is the pseudo live action reimagining, which was also OK
Both are cyberpunk
The 1993 Gunnm OVA isn’t that great tbh, rather watch the James Cameron adaptation. It covers mostly the same story, but it’s paced better.
