In this special edition KBZ article, we’re going to review and list the Best Films About Premonitions & Precognition. Precognition is a psychic ability to have premonitions or predictions of the future. As we noted in our previous article on the Best Films About ESP & Clairvoyance, the clairvoyant psychic ability is often confused with an ability to have premonitions of the future. Clairvoyance is a form of ESP where the clairvoyant can use their ESP ability to obtain information about an object, person or location and see things and events happening far away.
Films About Precognition will also generally have some themes of clairvoyance and psychometry, but these films are typically rooted in narratives where the ability is paranormal in nature leading to ominous premonitions. Examples of popular precognition and premonitions films include The Shining (1980), The Dead Zone (1983), Final Destination (2000) and Minority Report (2002).
Though this article will only cover films about premonitions, you can check out our other lists of films by psychic ability below (including our entire list of every film listed by psychic ability):
- The Complete List of Films by Psychic Power Ability
- Best Films About Telekinesis
- Best Films About Telepathy
- Best Films About Pyrokinesis
- Best Films About ESP & Clairvoyance
- Best Films About Mediums
- Best Films About Premonitions & Precognition
- Best Psychic Powers Comedies
- The 30 Best Films Featuring Psychic Abilities
For our rankings we’re going to use some criteria to help define and refine our list. First, the film must show some form of precognition ability. We’re also going to include a film that is technically about psychometry (ability to see past or future events based on touch) as it’s the foundation of arguably the best film about premonitions.
Second, though there is crossover between precognition and clairvoyant psychic abilities, we’re going to specifically focus on films where a premonition of the future is at the heart of the narrative.
Third, films about premonitions that also deal with themes of Fate & Destiny will rank higher on our list. After watching almost every film involving premonitions, the films that focus on an inevitable fate (as part of a premonition) tend to have the strongest narratives and are the most interesting.
And fourth, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating. We’re also only considering films released after 1970 unless they’re considered one of a few classic subgenre films made prior to that date.
Our complete list of Films About Psychic Powers features over 257+ films from 1960 – 2023 and though we don’t yet break down films by their psychic ability in our collection, you can refer to our Complete List of Films by Psychic Power Ability if you have a favorite psychic ability and the films they’re used in. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to get updated as we release future articles on each psychic ability and add the latest and greatest subgenre films to our collection.
We have embedded a compilation video of the Best Films About Premonitions & Precognition and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Best Films About Precognition & Premonitions
Honorable Mentions: Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), The Premonition (1976), Super Fuzz (1980), The Nesting (1981), The Face of Fear (1990), Psychic (1992), Dream Man (1995), Saint Clara (1996), Specimen (1996), Final Destination 2 (2003), Imagining Argentina (2003), First Snow (2006), The Return (2006), Final Destination 3 (2006), The Final Destination (2009), Donovan’s Echo (2011), Final Destination 5 (2011), The Wolverine (2013), Visions (2015), Tell Me How I Die (2016), Gretel & Hansel (2020) and Sleep (2020).
#10
Terror Tract
Plot: Home-buying becomes a nightmare for young newlyweds when a real estate agent relates the gory history of three houses.
KBZ’s Take: Terror Tract is a horror anthology with the last (and best) segment focused on a man having premonitions of the “The Granny Killer’s” murders. It’s basically a Slasher short film with an interesting integration of ‘visions’ that makes the entire anthology worth checking out.
Where to Stream / Buy: Vimeo
#9
Take Shelter
Plot: Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
KBZ’s Take: More of a psychological thriller film, the audience is always left guessing if Curtis (Michael Shannon) is delusional or his premonitions are real.
The film has a Twilight Zone vibe as the mystery of Curtis’ visions unfold and the townspeople slowly turn against Curtis and his family (Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart). It’s one of the better films of the subgenre that focuses on the psychological effects of premonitions.
Additional Lists: Top Apocalypse Films You Haven’t Seen #10
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#8
Knowing
Plot: A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son’s elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions – some that have already occurred and others that are about to – that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
KBZ’s Take: Nicolas Cage starred in two films in the 2000’s which both featured premonitions of apocalyptic events. Knowing is much more of an Apocalypse Film where premonitions from the past take a back seat to the predicted disasters that start occurring in the present.
Though the film had mixed reviews upon its release, it is one of the better films of the subgenre with a very unique third act.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#7
Doctor Sleep
Plot: Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the shine. Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers.
KBZ’s Take: The “Shine” psychic ability is a mixture of telepathy, ESP and precognition and as a result, both Doctor Sleep and The Shining (1980) are listed on our other lists of the best films about individual psychic powers. While Doctor Sleep focuses much more on telepathy, it does have elements of Danny Torrance’s (Ewan McGregor) visions in the film.
We wouldn’t call Doctor Sleep one of the best films about precognition and premonitions, but its entire focus is on various psychic abilities which makes the film one of the best of the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Best Films About Telepathy #1
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#6
Next
Plot: Blessed, or cursed, with the ability to see events minutes before they occur, Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) earns a living as a magician in Las Vegas and keeps a low profile under an alias. When terrorists threaten to detonate a nuclear weapon in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) goes on the hunt for Cris and hopes to convince him to help her stop the coming apocalypse.
KBZ’s Take: This is our second Nicolas Cage film on our list and one of two films of the list that is loosely based on a Philip K. Dick short story. Where Knowing (2009) was much more focused on apocalyptic themes, Next is grounded in themes of precognition ability with time travel and time loop elements.
We won’t get into which is the better film (despite their rankings) as they both offer different variations of precognition themes. However, both films make a great double feature if you’re in the mood for action-based subgenre films.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#5
Premonition
Plot: A newspaper predicts the deaths of a man’s (Hiroshi Mikami) family members and friends.
KBZ’s Take: This Japanese film (also known as Yogen) will engage you from its intense opening sequence. While it’s labeled a Horror film (and is also on our Films About J-Horror list), it plays out as more of a thriller and mystery film with “Butterfly Effect” type elements and heartbreaking premonitions.
If you enjoyed the Final Destination films, you will also likely enjoy this. Recommended film of the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Top Films About Psychic Powers You Haven’t Seen #5
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#4
The Shining
Plot: Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren’t prepared for the madness that lurks within.
KBZ’s Take: We have The Shining ranked higher than Doctor Sleep here because it delves much more into the premonitions of Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd). And while Danny’s premonitions aren’t of the grand apocalyptic scale of some other films, there’s not denying the impact of the Danny’s REDRUM premonition on the film and subgenre.
Additional Lists: Best Films About Telepathy #3
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: After a teenager has a terrifying vision of him and his friends dying in a plane crash, he prevents the accident only to have Death hunt them down, one by one.
KBZ’s Take: The Final Destination franchise of films is at its best when it couples themes of horror-filled prophetic visions with an inevitable and grisly fate. And while subsequent films in the franchise are of varying quality (and increasingly ridiculous kills), the first film is still the best of the franchise and the one to see.
Even if horror isn’t your cup of tea, Final Destination has one of the best sequences of a premonition in the subgenre and makes it required viewing for any fan of films about premonitions and fate.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: John Anderton is a top Precrime cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they’re committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.
KBZ’s Take: Minority Report is most famous for its (then) realistic displays of futuristic Mixed Reality technology. It’s often considered the gold standard when it comes to examples of natural user interface and user experience displays.
What it’s less known for is its great adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novella of the same name. Like the novella, the film is based on precognition and themes of free will. It’s one of the best films of the subgenre that explores philosophical questions behind premonitions.
Additional Lists: Best AR & VR Films #6, Best Future Noir Films #15
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancée’s home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.
KBZ’s Take: The Dead Zone is the most famous and best film about premonitions. While the psychic power in the film is technically psychometry (ability to see past or future events based on touch), the entire film revolves around Johnny Smith’s (Christopher Walken) increasingly dire premonitions.
It’s one of the rare Stephen King film adaptations that’s as good as its source material and features one of the most infamous premonitions of the subgenre. It’s also one of the few films of the subgenre that puts the viewer in the mind of a person both blessed and cursed with the ability to see someone’s future and how far you would go to stop a prophetic vision from happening.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
