Cypher
A restless corporate drone becomes trapped in a cyberpunk espionage maze where every assignment threatens to rewrite who he is.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- paranoid
- claustrophobic
- cerebral
- late night thriller viewing
- science fiction double feature
What critics said
Critics generally found the film intriguing, atmospheric, and well acted, while divided over whether its complicated conspiracy became muddled and emotionally thin.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Morgan Sullivan discovers that his corporate espionage assignments and personal history are entangled with brainwashing and memory loss.
Digicorp and its rival corporate networks use Sullivan as an instrument inside a covert industrial conflict.
Sullivan’s convention recordings, undercover roles, and encounters with Rita progressively reveal a deliberately obscured conspiracy.
The film places its paranoid espionage plot within a technologically mediated corporate environment marked by surveillance and claustrophobia.
Films like Cypher, and why
The Matrix
shared cyberpunk paranoia, corporate conspiracy, identity instability, and puzzle-box science fiction
Dark City
shared dystopian atmosphere, manipulated identity, noir-inflected investigation, and reality uncertainty
The Manchurian Candidate
shared brainwashing conspiracy, espionage thriller structure, and paranoid psychological tension
Total Recall
shared Philip K. Dick-influenced corporate paranoia, memory disruption, and science-fiction identity crisis
Movie Details
- Director
- Vincenzo Natali
- Release Date
- 2002-10-01
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (662)
Cast
- Jeremy Northam
- Kristina Nicoll
- Nigel Bennett
- Kari Matchett
- Lucy Liu
- Timothy Webber
- David Hewlett
- Joseph Scoren
- Stephen Brown
- Arnold Pinnock
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cypher about?
- A restless corporate drone becomes trapped in a cyberpunk espionage maze where every assignment threatens to rewrite who he is.
- What is Cypher like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cypher as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Cypher violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Cypher as mild.
- What did critics think of Cypher?
- Critics generally found the film intriguing, atmospheric, and well acted, while divided over whether its complicated conspiracy became muddled and emotionally thin.
- Which films are like Cypher?
- Films with a similar feel include The Matrix, Dark City, The Manchurian Candidate, and Total Recall.
- How long is Cypher?
- Cypher runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cypher?
- In United States, Cypher is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
