Film

Time After Time

Name: Time After Time
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Comedy, Science Fiction, Thriller
Released: 1979
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen, Charles Cioffi, Kent Williams

Time-travel sci-fi

A fizzy time-travel thriller where H.G. Wells chases Jack the Ripper from Victorian London to 1979 San Francisco. Malcolm McDowell's Wells is charming and bewildered; David Warner's Ripper is genuinely menacing. It's a clever puzzle-box of a film that treats its premise with both wit and genuine stakes, balancing adventure, romance, and the dissonance of ancient evil in the modern world.

TMDb rating

3.4

If you liked this

The Terminator1984

A relentless chase film with a time-travel hook and a killer who cannot be reasoned with. Like Time After Time, it uses sci-fi mechanics to create escalating dread, but trades charm for raw survival horror.

But Grittier and more violent than Time After Time's playful tone. If you want the intellectual puzzle without the blood, this may be too much.

Back to the Future1985

The definitive time-travel adventure: funny, romantic, and full of clever cause-and-effect plotting. Shares Time After Time's delight in period detail and the fish-out-of-water comedy of displacement.

But Much lighter and more family-friendly. If you want moral complexity or genuine menace, this is pure escapism.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows2011

A period detective thriller with a charismatic lead, real danger, and the intellectual pleasure of a mystery that unfolds logically. Same cat-and-mouse energy between Holmes and Moriarty as Wells and the Ripper.

But Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes is more action hero than cerebral. Some find the modern sensibility imposed on Victorian London jarring.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Time After Time

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time2006

Both are love stories disguised as time-travel puzzles. Both explore the question: if you could change the past, should you?

A Japanese animated film about a girl who discovers she can jump backwards through her own timeline. It shares Time After Time's fascination with time as a tool to fix regret, and treats the mechanics seriously despite the fantastic premise.

But Anime, so if you're resistant to the form, the visual style may be an immediate wall. Also quieter and more introspective than Time After Time's thriller framework.

Twelve Monkeys1995

Time travel as tragedy rather than triumph. Like Time After Time, it uses the mechanism to examine history and inevitability, but darker and more philosophically complex.

But Deliberately confusing, bleak, and repetitive in structure. If you watch Time After Time for fun, this will exhaust you.

The Invisible Man1933

A classic thriller about a brilliant outsider who uses science to become unstoppable. Same era of invention, same tension between intellect and violence, same claustrophobic cat-and-mouse game.

But Primitive special effects and dated pacing. Black-and-white and 95 minutes may feel slight if you're looking for spectacle.

Murder by Decree1979

Christopher Plummer's Sherlock Holmes investigates the Ripper mythology in the same year Time After Time was made. Atmospheric, serious-minded, with real historical ambition.

But Genuinely dour. No charm, no romance, no levity. If you want the Ripper story without any fun, here it is.

Midnight in Paris2011

A romantic fantasy about time displacement and falling in love with the past. Same wistfulness about history, same idea that different eras contain different truths.

But Whimsical to the point of airlessness. If you want stakes and danger, this is pure wish-fulfillment.

From Russia with Love1963

A spy thriller with real suspense, period authenticity, and a lead who is as vulnerable as he is clever. The template for intelligent adventure that Time After Time clearly admires.

But Long and procedural in places. The pacing is unhurried; modern audiences often find early Bond sluggish.

The Philadelphia Experiment1984

A time-displacement thriller with romance and period confusion at its core. Low-budget but genuinely inventive, with the same earnest B-movie charm as Time After Time.

But Clearly made on a shoestring. Technical limitations and uneven acting may read as amateur rather than endearing.

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog1927

Same historical figure, completely different approach. Where Time After Time is playful, The Lodger is purely dread. A chance to see what the Ripper mythology becomes in a different register.

F.W. Murnau's silent film about a man suspected of being Jack the Ripper, prowling a London townhouse. Visually stunning and genuinely uncanny. Treats the Ripper mythology as psychological horror rather than spectacle.

But Silent film with intertitles. If you need dialogue and modern pacing, this will feel remote and slow.

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog poster

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel2009

Both films treat time travel as a logical problem to solve rather than a magic wish-granting machine. Both find comedy in the collision between scientific precision and human chaos.

Three ordinary men in a pub discover time travel is possible, and the film spirals into a witty, paradox-laden puzzle about causality and friendship. British, funny, and smart in exactly the way Time After Time is smart.

But Low-budget indie comedy with a very specific audience. If you need plot momentum and high stakes, the aimlessness will frustrate you.