Tech noir is not a subgenre that many moviegoers know about, but it stems from a more significant subgenre that most people have heard of in some way - cyberpunk. At the same time, both of these are a part of the sci-fi genre and have been shaping it for decades now.
In fact, there have been quite a few influential tech noir movies released since the birth of cyberpunk in the 1980s. Some of these are known as classics while others remain underrated, but all of them are worthy movies that every sci-fi fan should check out.
Strange Days (1995)
Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days is not the most well-known movie from her filmography and is pretty much a hidden gem in the tech-noir and cyberpunk subgenres. With its gritty atmosphere and an equally dark story, it definitely deserves more attention from fans of the subgenre.
Set in a fictional 1999 Los Angeles, it follows a man selling recordings of people's memories on the black market who decides to investigate the strange murder of a sex worker.
The City Of Lost Children (1995)
Often considered to be a science fantasy movie, The City of Lost Children relies on its technological elements and its noir-ish atmosphere, both of which have led some viewers to refer to it as a tech-noir movie (while others classify it as a steampunk movie).
Set in a different society from our own, which features surrealist elements, it follows a scientist stealing dreams from the children he kidnaps and then using these dreams to try and slow down his aging.
Dark City (1998)
Referred to as a neo-noir sci-fi movie, Dark City is the perfect example of a tech-noir movie. In fact, it has often been stylistically compared to such movies as the aforementioned The City of Lost Children, as well as The Matrix, the German expressionist films like Metropolis, and the tech-noir movie, Brazil.
The story follows a man who doesn't remember what happened and is apparently suspected of murder. As he goes on the run pursued by the police and the "Strangers," he tries to find out who he is and prove that he is innocent.
Minority Report (2002)
Starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, Minority Report is the most recent tech-noir movie on this list. Unlike many other tech noir movies, Minority Report largely relies on action, so fans of faster pacing will definitely enjoy it.
Based on a 1956 short story, it takes place in 2054, where the special police department called PreCrime is successfully preventing murders by arresting soon-to-be killers after seeing visions of their crimes. Unexpectedly, a Captain at PreCrime receives a prediction that he will commit a murder and so he goes on the run to find out the truth.
Gattaca (1997)
A somewhat forgotten dystopian sci-fi movie, Gattaca has often been categorized as a biopunk movie, though it does have all the features of a tech-noir film.
Set in a society of the future, it depicts a world where eugenics is at the center of everything, with children being genetically selected by their parents. The protagonist, however, was born naturally and must now face discrimination from the society he lives in.
Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam' Brazil is one of the earliest examples of both tech-noir and cyberpunk movies. The film is particularly notable for exploring such topics as hyper-surveillance, corporatism, and bureaucracy, among others, all in a dystopian setting.
In a fictional 20th century in which society relies on machines, a low-ranking bureaucrat decides to search for the woman who keeps appearing in his dreams as he works at a job he doesn't enjoy.
Ghost In The Shell (1995)
A cyberpunk masterpiece, the anime Ghost in the Shell is just as much a tech-noir movie as anything else. Despite its initial box office failure, it went on to become an incredibly influential cult movie that inspired the Wachowskis and James Cameron, among others.
Based on the manga of the same name, it takes place in 2029 Japan and follows a female public-security agent who is a complete cyborg with human consciousness ("ghost"). The cyborg agent, assisted by her colleagues, is on the lookout for the hacker called the Puppet Master.
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, Twelve Monkeys is another one of Terry Gilliam's masterful creations. With its dark atmosphere and themes of technology, time, and memory, the movie has been categorized as a sci-fi film noir or even a tech-noir film.
A remake of a 1962 French short film, it is set in 2035 after a deadly virus in 1996 has killed almost all humans. A prisoner from 2035 is sent back in time to 1996 but happens to be in 1990, as he sets out to look for the cause of the virus outbreak and attempts to prevent the disaster from happening.
The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron's The Terminator is actually considered to be the movie that coined the term "tech-noir," with Cameron using it to name a nightclub where a critical scene takes place. Not the first work of such kind, The Terminator nevertheless defines what a tech-noir movie is with its elements of both futuristic sci-fi and film noir.
The story takes place in 1984, where a young woman named Sarah Connor is hunted down by a cyborg known as the Terminator sent from 2029 to kill her because she will allegedly be the mother of a boy who will become the leader of the rebels fighting against the machines.
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is both a cyberpunk masterpiece and a tech-noir classic - one of the first in both subgenres. Despite its underperformance at the box office and mixed critical reviews, it eventually developed into a cult film and was subsequently influential on the sci-fi genre, as a whole.
Loosely based on a 1968 novel, it is in a dystopian version of the 2019 Los Angeles in a world overtaken by corporations. The story follows the so-called "Blade Runner," who must track down humanoids called "Replicants" that have escaped and illegally returned to Earth and must now be permanently "retired."