Best Movies And TV Shows Based On Philip K. Dick Works

Philip K. Dick is one of my favourite authors. His stories really got me into sci-fi and now it’s a genre I actively seek out. I’ve seen most of the well known movies and TV shows based on his works like Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. I wanted to see what I’m missing, so I’ve gathered all the movies and TV shows and ranked them in order of IMDb score to see what I should watch next. Let me know in the comments what your favourite is.

Blade Runner

For Fans of: Ghost in the Shell, Brazil, Ex Machina
IMDb Score: 8.1
WYALAN Rating: 4.5/5

A noir-soaked fever dream of neon and existential dread, Blade Runner redefined sci-fi cinema with its haunting vision of a future where synthetic humans blur the line between machine and soul. Harrison Ford broods magnificently as Rick Deckard, a weary cop hunting rogue replicants, while Rutger Hauer delivers one of the most poetic death monologues in film history. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator), the film was famously snubbed at the Oscars but has since become a cult cornerstone. It’s slow, strange, and stunning – and it’ll linger in your head like rain on a neon sign.

Blade Runner 2049

For Fans of: Arrival, Her, Children of Men
IMDb Score: 8.0

Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Dune) takes the reins and somehow makes a sequel to Blade Runner that’s just as hypnotic, if not more so. Ryan Gosling plays a replicant cop with a secret that could unravel civilisation, while Harrison Ford returns with more grit and less ambiguity. The visuals are jaw-dropping, the sound design is thunderous, and Roger Deakins finally won his long-overdue Oscar for cinematography. It’s a slow burn, but the kind that leaves scorch marks.

The Man in the High Castle

For Fans of: The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, Counterpart
IMDb Score: 7.9

What if the Axis powers won World War II? This Amazon series takes that terrifying premise and spins it into a tense, multi-layered alternate history drama. With standout performances from Rufus Sewell and Alexa Davalos, the show explores resistance, propaganda, and the slippery nature of truth. Executive produced by Ridley Scott, it’s a slow-building epic that rewards patience with paranoia. The production design alone deserves its own Emmy.

Minority Report

For Fans of: Inception, Looper, The Fugitive
IMDb Score: 7.6
WYALAN Rating: 4.5/5

Tom Cruise runs (a lot) through a future where crimes are stopped before they happen, until he’s accused of one himself. Directed by Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Saving Private Ryan), this slick thriller blends philosophical questions with jetpack chases and psychic twins. Samantha Morton and Colin Farrell round out a strong cast, and the tech predictions are eerily prescient. It’s popcorn with a brain, and it still slaps.

Total Recall (1990)

For Fans of: Robocop, The Matrix, Escape from New York
IMDb Score: 7.5
WYALAN Rating: 4.5/5

Arnold Schwarzenegger wakes up to find his memories may be fake, his wife may be an assassin, and Mars may be calling. Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Starship Troopers), this ultra-violent, ultra-weird sci-fi classic is packed with mutant rebels, exploding heads, and one unforgettable three-breasted alien. It won a Special Achievement Oscar for its practical effects, which still hold up. The 2012 remake tried – this one triumphed.

Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams

For Fans of: Black Mirror, Love Death + Robots, The Twilight Zone
IMDb Score: 7.2
WYALAN Rating: 4/5

This anthology series is a grab bag of speculative tales, each one adapted from Dick’s short fiction and given a glossy, high-concept makeover. With stars like Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, and Janelle Monáe popping up across episodes, the show swings between dystopian horror and melancholic wonder. Not every instalment hits, but the ambition is undeniable. It’s like rummaging through a box of sci-fi chocolates – some bitter, some brilliant.

A Scanner Darkly

For Fans of: Waking Life, Trainspotting, Requiem for a Dream
IMDb Score: 7

Animated like a hallucination and narrated like a breakdown, A Scanner Darkly is Richard Linklater’s (Boyhood, Before Sunrise) trippy take on surveillance, addiction, and identity collapse. Keanu Reeves leads a cast of chemically compromised misfits including Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder, all caught in a web of paranoia and double-crosses. The rotoscope animation makes every frame feel unstable, like reality itself is glitching. It’s bleak, brilliant, and unlike anything else.

The Adjustment Bureau

For Fans of: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Limitless, The Matrix
IMDb Score: 7

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt have electric chemistry in this romantic thriller where fate is literally enforced by men in hats. Based on a short story by Dick, the film imagines a shadowy organisation that tweaks reality to keep people on their “correct” paths. Directed by George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum screenwriter), it’s part sci-fi, part love story, and part philosophical rabbit hole. The premise is bonkers, but the emotional core lands.

Paycheck

For Fans of: Enemy of the State, Source Code, The Island
IMDb Score: 6.3

Ben Affleck plays a reverse-engineer who wakes up with no memory and a bag of random objects that might save his life. Directed by John Woo (Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II), the film is heavy on slow-motion shootouts and light on subtlety. Uma Thurman adds some spark, but the real draw is the central mystery: what did he see that was so dangerous it had to be erased? It’s a slick, if slightly dated, ride.

Screamers

For Fans of: Terminator, Event Horizon, The Thing
IMDb Score: 6.3

On a war-ravaged planet, killer machines evolve into something terrifyingly human. Screamers is based on Dick’s short story Second Variety, and while it’s rough around the edges, the paranoia and body horror vibes are strong. Peter Weller (yes, Robocop) anchors the film with grim determination, and the twisty plot keeps you guessing who’s real and who’s a walking death trap. It’s low-budget sci-fi with teeth – sometimes literally.

For Fans of: Déjà Vu, Push, Knowing
IMDb Score: 6.2

Nicolas Cage can see two minutes into the future, which is somehow enough to stop a nuclear attack and flirt with Jessica Biel. Based on The Golden Man, this loose adaptation leans hard into action and soft into logic. Directed by Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day), it’s chaotic, occasionally clever, and very much a product of its time. Cage dodging bullets in real time is peak 2000s absurdity.

Total Recall (2012)

For Fans of: I, Robot, Oblivion, Elysium
IMDb Score: 6.2

Colin Farrell steps into the memory-warping shoes of Schwarzenegger, but this sleek remake trades Martian madness for a more grounded dystopia. Directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld), the film boasts impressive visuals and a solid supporting cast including Kate Beckinsale and Bryan Cranston. Unfortunately, it forgets to bring the campy charm or philosophical bite of the original. It’s shiny, serious, and slightly soulless.

Impostor

For Fans of: Equilibrium, Dark City, The X-Files
IMDb Score: 6.2

Gary Sinise wakes up accused of being an alien replicant, and the film never lets him breathe. Originally a short story and a short film, Impostor was expanded into a full-length feature that’s claustrophobic, paranoid, and surprisingly bleak. Madeleine Stowe and Vincent D’Onofrio round out the cast, and the twisty plot keeps you guessing. It’s not pretty, but it’s pure Dickian dread.

The Crystal Crypt

For Fans of: Twilight Zone (classic), Moon, Primer
IMDb Score: 6.2

This indie short film adapts one of Dick’s earliest stories, set on Mars and dripping with Cold War paranoia. It’s a minimalist production, but the tension builds nicely as a group of travellers are interrogated about a vanished city. No big names, no flashy effects – just a slow-burn mystery with a retro sci-fi vibe. It’s a curiosity more than a classic, but Dick completists will appreciate the effort.

Radio Free Albemuth

For Fans of: The OA, The Leftovers, The Trial
IMDb Score: 5.6

This deeply personal adaptation of Dick’s semi-autobiographical novel is more meditative than thrilling. Jonathan Scarfe plays a record store clerk who receives transmissions from a cosmic intelligence named VALIS, while Alanis Morissette (yes, really) turns up as a mysterious freedom fighter. It’s lo-fi, loopy, and loaded with political allegory. Not for everyone, but if you like your sci-fi with a side of spiritual crisis, it’s worth a look.

You might also be interested in…