Films like A Scanner Darkly.

A Scanner Darkly (2006) reads as Heavy, steady, measured animation / sci-fi, surreal in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

The Double (2013) (2013) poster
1. The Double2013

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

High-Rise (Wheatley) (2015) poster
2. High-Rise (Wheatley)2015

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Goltzius and the Pelican Company (2012) poster
3. Goltzius and the Pelican Company2012

Keeps the unmistakable directorial hand and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Synecdoche,New York —re-pass2008
4. Synecdoche, New York — re-pass2008

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Borgman (2013) poster
5. Borgman2013

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Sleepy Hollow (1999) (1999) poster
6. Sleepy Hollow1999

Keeps the unmistakable directorial hand and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

The Temptation of St. Tony (2009) poster
7. The Temptation of St. Tony2009

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2010) poster
8. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done2010

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Mad Detective (2007) poster
9. Mad Detective2007

Keeps the unmistakable directorial hand and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Nightwatching (2007) poster
10. Nightwatching2007

Keeps the unmistakable directorial hand and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Everything Will Be OK (2006) poster
11. Everything Will Be OK2006

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Gozu (2003) (2003) poster
12. Gozu2003

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

These are A Scanner Darkly’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

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