Plot: Buenos Aires, Argentina. A luxurious van is parked on the sidewalk. A man enters with the purpose of stealing whatever he can find, but when he wants to leave, he cannot. The doors do not open, the control panel does not respond: the van has become an armored box and he is trapped like a mouse.

KBZ’s Take: You wouldn’t think a film about a man trapped inside a car would be suspenseful or even entertaining, but 4X4 somehow pulls it off. As Ciro (Peter Lanzani) frantically tries to escape, he soon realizes the entire car is remote controlled and that’s where his terrifying predicament becomes a fight for survival.

Though the film does lose a bit of steam in its third act when it shifts focus to socio-economic issues (primarily about wealth inequality in Argentina), it’s still an entertaining film fans of the subgenre should enjoy.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A pair of high-frequency traders go up against their old boss in an effort to make millions in a fiber-optic cable deal.

KBZ’s Take: A film about high-frequency trading wouldn’t be the first film we would think to watch when in the mood for a techno thriller. However, The Hummingbird Project offers a compelling, and often thrilling, narrative about the development of ultra-low latency direct market access.

If you’ve watched quite a few techno thrillers or tech biopics, the film might come off as predictable. But, what will keep you engaged are some atypical performances from its cast. Jesse Eisenberg plays against type as the ambitious stockbroker Vincent Zaleski, Alexander Skarsgård trades in his leading man and model typecasting as the nerdy, yet brilliant, Anton Zaleski and Selma Hayek also plays against type as the ruthless CEO Eva Torres.

This isn’t one of the best films of the subgenre, but it’s an interesting and entertaining look at a technology that is rarely covered in film.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: An FBI freelancer stashes a stolen Las Vegas crime tape in a high-tech car stolen by someone else.

KBZ’s Take: Black Moon Rising is a forgotten film of the 1980s that has become a cult classic of sorts over the years. The film was written by John Carpenter, starred Linda Hamilton fresh off her success in The Terminator (1984) and also starred Tommy Lee Jones before his breakout as one of the biggest stars of the 1990s in films such as The Fugitive (1993), The Client (1994) and Men in Black (1997).

The film is a bit dated (especially for an 80s film) from its futuristic car design to some of the technology central to the plot. However, there’s some great action and chase sequences in the film and it is one of the better techno thrillers of the era.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Former government agent Mace Sowell (Patrick Stewart) is convinced that his former supervisor, who is making a bid for the United States presidency, is out to kill him. But his recent diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease leads his daughter (Kimberly Williams) to dismiss his paranoia. To defend himself from the threats on his life, imagined or not, Mace holes up in his home and fills it with deadly security precautions – and his daughter hires a psychiatrist (Héctor Elizondo) to watch over him.

KBZ’s Take: Patrick Stewart is most famous for his roles as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor X in the X-Men series of films. But he has also had some phenomenal one-off performances from his role as Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1999 version of A Christmas Carol to his role in Safe House as the paranoid Mace Sowell.

This film is a techno thriller as its core as Mace’s home is the technological headquarters for a massive government conspiracy. However, it’s Stewart’s role as the former agent grappling with paranoid delusions and sanity that make the film well worth a watch for any fan of the subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: An undercover British journalist, Amy Whittaker, risks her life by trying to infiltrate militant extremist groups online. She adopts an online alias, struggles against a manipulative recruiter, and investigates techniques used to recruit jihadist wives.

KBZ’s Take: In the 2000s, there was a shift in the Found Footage format that transitioned to films shot entirely on a computer via a video chat or video conferencing format. Most of these films often involved horror-based narratives from the obscure The Collingswood Story (2002) to the more popular Unfriended (2015) and Host (2020).

But there were also non-horror films that focused on a thriller narrative including Searching (2018) and Missing (2023). Using the same format as those films, Profile is a thrilling look at a journalist who gets in too deep with an extremist group and its leader.

Some people might not be fans of a film that takes place entirely on a computer screen, but if you’re a fan of Searching and/or Missing, we would highly recommend checking Profile out as it’s a film that will have you questioning what information you should share in this new digital age.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: As part of an Internet reality show, five people sign up to spend six months in a mansion while cameras film constantly. If each person stays the entire length of the show, everyone walks away with $1 million – a premise that seems too good to be true. Strange things start happening, like the arrival of mysterious, disturbing packages, filled with items like guns and morbid letters. After an unexpected death, the participants start to question the true reality of this experiment.

KBZ’s Take: My Little Eye is basically what you would get if MTV’s The Real World decided to kill off its houseguests one by one. Though the film straddles the line between thriller and horror, it does have its moments and is a film we are confident subgenre fans will enjoy.

One additional note: the film also has a brief appearance by Bradley Cooper as a mysterious stranger who comes upon the house. This was one of his first film roles before hitting it big in Wedding Crashers (2005) and The Hangover (2009).

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Paranoid computer programmer Simon wakes up to find a package in his room one day. Despite attempts at securing his apartment, the packages keep arriving. While cameras watch Simon’s every move, he struggles to find the answers to the mysterious forces taking over his life.

KBZ’s Take: Also known as Paranoia 1.0, this is a film typically left off Cyberpunk Film lists. It’s also a film that makes more sense (and is appreciated more) upon repeated viewings.

You will need patience to watch this film as it’s slow in revealing Simon’s world. You could think of it as a Twilight Zone episode on the surveillance state and government conspiracies directed by David Lynch. There’s a lot to digest in this film and you likely won’t understand it all on your first viewing.

If we sound like we’re being vague on the details of the film, we are. It’s best to go into One Point O knowing as little as possible so you can enjoy the mystery and eventual reveal that much more.

Additional Lists: Top Cyberpunk Films You Haven’t Seen #3

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Disconnect interweaves multiple storylines about people searching for human connection in today’s wired world. Through poignant turns that are both harrowing and touching, the stories intersect with surprising twists that expose a shocking reality into our daily use of technology that mediates and defines our relationships and ultimately our lives.

KBZ’s Take: We mentioned earlier in this article that there were quite a few films that appeared in the 2000s that addressed everything from cyber predators to cyberbullying. Disconnect is one of the better films utilizing these cyber themes as it addresses the role of technology in the lives of families and a community.

The film is more drama-based than most films on our list but does have some thrilling sequences that we don’t want to spoil here. It’s well worth your time to check this film out if you haven’t seen it yet.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Plastic surgeon Larry Roberts performs a series of minor alterations on a group of models who are seeking perfection. The operations are a resounding success. But when someone starts killing his beautiful patients, Dr. Roberts becomes suspicious and starts investigating. What he uncovers are the mysterious – and perhaps murderous – activities of a high-tech computer company called Digital Matrix.

KBZ’s Take: We typically prefer to feature reality-based vs. sci-fi tech in our techno thriller articles and Looker is one of those films that though firmly falls within sci-fi, with heavy doses of Future Noir themes, has a realistic view of technology.

The film features two main technologies used in the film. The first technology does seem more sci-fi vs. reality as it puts people ‘in a trance’ and details of the tech are slowly revealed throughout the first two acts of the film. As a result, we don’t want to talk about this tech too much here for spoiler reasons.

The other technology used in the film and was an accurate prediction is 3D modeling of humans. A female model in the film has a 3D model of herself created that can later be used in a commercial. This early tech shown in the film is already on the minds of the acting community and studio execs as current AI is near the ability to replace actors and actresses with a digital likeness.

Additional Lists: Top Future Noir Films You Haven’t Seen #8

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Two metro police helicopter pilots test a new heavily armed experimental chopper called Blue Thunder.

KBZ’s Take: Blue Thunder is likely known by older readers of our lists as it was a modest hit in the early 1980s. However, for younger fans of the subgenre, it’s a film (like Looker) that was prescient in the futuristic technology shown in the film.

While the film does strain credibility at times, it’s the action sequences in this film that are some of the most amazing aerial sequences of the subgenre. The film also has a great cast with Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Daniel Stern and Warren Oates…but the real star of the film is the Blue Thunder chopper.

This is one of our personal ‘older’ favorite films and one we hope younger viewers take the time to check out as it’s an unheralded classic of both this subgenre and of Sci-Fi Military Films.

Additional Lists: Top Sci-Fi Military Films You Haven’t Seen #2

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon