Plot: In the near future, a politician fresh off an electoral loss, escapes to his family’s summer lake house. His vacation is disrupted by the appearance of his first love, who has just returned from a 20-year space voyage and hasn’t aged a day.

KBZ’s Take: The Time Capsule is a lower budget film with barely any special effects so don’t go into this film expecting a thrilling time travel extravaganza. What the film does offer is a unique story and some quality acting for a time travel theme that doesn’t get covered enough in the subgenre.

This is a film that didn’t quite make our list of the Top 20 Best Time Travel Romance Films, but it is a worthwhile effort to check out with a surprising ending.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A group of friends, looking for the missing brother of one of their own, is catapulted by means of a mysterious machine to 1939 Rome on the brink of World War II.

KBZ’s Take: The Voyagers doesn’t break new ground within the subgenre and has a limited number of special effects (which are very well done when used). However, we wanted to recommend it to fans of the subgenre as it covers a unique topic – time travel back to 1930’s Italy when Fascism had taken hold shortly before World War II.

The film is also targeted more towards a younger demographic with a modern soundtrack juxtaposed against the era shown in the film which might turn off older viewers. We would only recommend the film for subgenre completists as despite its premise, isn’t all that memorable.

Where to Stream / Buy: Apple TV+

Plot: An enchanted weekend courtship leads to unexpected revelations between a young man and a woman who harbors deep secrets.

KBZ’s Take: This is another low budget Time Travel Romance film on our list that doesn’t offer an intriguing plot but is carried by the great chemistry between Bart (Finn Wittrock) and Vienna (Zoë Chao). Their budding romance in the film is believable and has one of the better twist endings of the subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A 1983 high school teacher and a 2015 detective join forces through their dreams to save a woman they both love.

KBZ’s Take: Time Renegades uses a similar plot device as other subgenre films such as Mirage (2018) and Last Night in Soho (2021) where people are connected and communicating across time. While technically not ‘time travel’, these films often use similar themes often found in almost every other Time Travel Film.

Time Renegades is most closely aligned with Last Night in Soho as it’s mostly a Mystery Thriller with themes of Fate & Destiny as the teacher and the detective are able to leave clues for each other in the past and present. It’s a great hidden gem that will likely be enjoyed by fans of the subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: During the Ming dynasty, Yuen Biao is a royal guard charged to capture a dangerous criminal. The battle which opposes them will make them fall into ice. Three centuries later the archaeologists find the men and unfreeze them. Only a black jade Buddha and a temporal wheel would be able to make them return in their time.

KBZ’s Take: If you’re looking for non-stop Time Travel Martial Arts Action, then look no further than the Iceman Cometh. You will have to suspend disbelief while watching this film as it does have numerous plot holes, but those are minor compared to some of the exciting action and fight sequences.

Though you might be tempted to check out the more recent Donnie Yen remake, Iceman (2014), the original film is much better and well worth seeing by fans of the subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: Internet Archive

Plot: In a devastated future, an apocalypse threatens Earth and the last hope lies with a man who is capable of time travel. He must return to the past to change the course of events, but a police force hunts him down in every era.

KBZ’s Take: This French film is one of the funnier Time Travel Comedies on our list but isn’t that well known (outside of France). The film is based on the popular French TV series that ran from 2009 – 2014 and follows a time traveler who attempts to stop present disasters to save the future.

This film has it all from a Post-Apocalyptic future filled with Zombies to very funny themes of the Multiverse. The comedy in the film is very French (and reminiscent of other Luc Besson films such as The Fifth Element (1997)) so if you enjoy that specific brand of Euro-centric Quirky Comedy, this is one of the best most recent subgenre films you shouldn’t miss.

Note: The Visitor from The Future isn’t yet available on U.S. streaming services (or to purchase on DVD), but we will update the link below when it’s available.

Where to Stream / Buy: N/A

Plot: Otto Bloom is an extraordinary man whose experience of time runs in reverse. The chronicle of his life and his great love sees him passing backwards through time and remembering the future.

KBZ’s Take: We want to be upfront with our readers that there will be a good segment of Time Travel Film fans that won’t like this film, while others will love it. It’s shown in a Docudrama format that’s more of an documentary-type view of a man named Otto Bloom.

However, it’s also one of the most intriguing films on our list as covers a topic rarely featured in the subgenre – time running in reverse in our present view of time. This is a film that will make you think quite a bit and often veers into Hard Sci-Fi Film territory. But at its core it’s also a Time Travel Romance about a man who already knows when he will die and how relationships in his worldview are ending when they’re just beginning in (our) present.

Where to Stream / Buy: Google Play

Plot: Ancient Taoists travel through time and space in an effort to obtain a divine sword.

KBZ’s Take: The first Alienoid film was #1 on our list of Top Time Travel Films You Haven’t Seen 2017 – 2022 and its sequel does not disappoint. In fact, the second film features even more over-the-top action sequences with some Time Travel Fish Out of Water Comedy thrown in.

The film does spend most of its first half in 1300’s Korea, but when it eventually jumps to the future, all bets are off with some of the best sci-fi action of recent years. It also provides a fitting ending to its predecessor and both films make up one of the best Time Travel sagas of the subgenre.

Note: Alienoid: Return to the Future is not yet available on U.S. streaming services but we will update the link below once it is available.

Where to Stream / Buy: N/A

Plot: A café owner discovers that the TV in his café suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes into the future.

KBZ’s Take: We like to think of Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes as a comedic version of Primer (2004). Like Primer, this Japanese film was made on a ridiculously low budget, but it’s ideas and execution rival those of Hollywood subgenre offerings.

This is a film with a simple concept about time yet gets increasingly creative with how the people in the film try to manipulate time over a two-minute period. It’s a film that shows that there can continue to be innovation within the subgenre despite all the overused Time Travel Film tropes.

We put off seeing this film for a while, and we wish we hadn’t. It is one of the hidden gems of the subgenre and one any fan of Time Travel should watch as soon as possible.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: During a trip to a mountain, several kids disappear, and only one is rescued. A few days later, one of the missing kids reappears, but he has become an adult over the course of the last few days.

KBZ’s Take: Like the previous film on our list, we had put off seeing this South Korean film as its premise didn’t sound that intriguing (from a Time Travel perspective). And again, we wish we would have watched it sooner as this is an amazing film that upends conventional Time Travel Romances.

First, we have to start with the performances in the film as Shin Eun-soo (as Soo-rin) is incredible in this film and won many deserved film awards for her role. In addition, all the child actors are great in this film as the first act is very reminiscent of The Goonies (1985) where the children face coming-of-age issues and adventure.

This is where the second great performance in the film comes in from Gang Dong-won (as older Sung-min) who plays Soo-rin’s friend who disappears but shows up a few days later as an adult. Gang Dong-won was excellent in the film Haunters (2010), and somehow he tops that performance in this film as a boy who has aged physically 20 years but is, in essence, still a child.

The themes of time travel in this film are unique and some of the best we’ve seen over the last decade. It’s also a film that pulls heavily on the heart strings so have plenty of tissue nearby. And once you get a chance to watch this great film, we’re very confident that you’ll agree with us that this film is easily one of the best Time Travel Romances you’ll ever see.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon