The Discovery

The Discovery

2017 · 102 min · ★ 6.3 (1K) · Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

In the near future, due to a breakthrough scientific discovery by Dr. Thomas Harbor, there is now definitive proof of an afterlife. While countless people have chosen suicide to reset their existence, others try to decide what it all means. Among them is Dr. Harbor's son Will, who has arrived at his father's isolated compound with a mysterious young woman named Isla. There, they discover the strange acolytes who help Dr. Harbor with his experiments.

Directed by Charlie McDowell · Written by Justin Lader

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Netflix

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 13m together

The Discovery

The One I Love

Both from Charlie McDowell.

More from Charlie McDowellSee all →

InsiderInsider · 2025
Insider
★ 10.02025
SeriesDocumentaryReality
Silicon ValleySilicon Valley · 2014
Silicon Valley
★ 8.12014
SeriesComedy
In the high-tech gold rush of modern Silicon Valley, the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success. Partially inspired by Mike Judge’s own experiences as a Silicon Valley engineer in the late ‘80s, Silicon Valley is an American sitcom that centers around six programmers who are living together and trying to make it big in the Silicon Valley.
LegionLegion · 2017
Legion
★ 7.52017
SeriesAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy
David Haller, AKA Legion, is a troubled young man who may be more than human. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.
The Summer BookThe Summer Book · 2025
The Summer Book
★ 7.32025
MovieDrama
The story of the relationship between Sophia, an eight-year-old girl who is growing up fast, and her grandmother, who is nearing the end of her life. They are spending time together with Sophia’s father, at the family summer house on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. All three are coming to terms with the recent death of Sophia’s mother in very different ways.
Tales from the LoopTales from the Loop · 2020
Tales from the Loop
★ 7.02020
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyMystery
The story of the town and people who live above “The Loop,” a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe – making things possible that were previously relegated only to science fiction.
MemoryMemory · 2023
Memory
★ 7.02023
MovieDrama
Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life: her daughter, her job, her AA meetings. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past.
The One I LoveThe One I Love · 2014
The One I Love
★ 6.92014
MovieRomanceComedy
Ethan and Sophie are a married couple on the brink of separation when, at the urging of their therapist, they decide to salvage their relationship by escaping to a beautiful vacation house for the weekend.
On Becoming a God in Central FloridaOn Becoming a God in Central Florida · 2019
On Becoming a God in Central Florida
★ 6.62019
SeriesComedy
In the early 1990s, a recently widowed, impoverished Orlando water park employee schemes and cons her way up the ranks of the multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme which ruined her financially in the first place.
LurkerLurker · 2025
Lurker
★ 6.42025
MovieDramaThriller
When a twenty-something retail clerk encounters a rising pop star, he takes the opportunity to edge his way into the in-crowd. But as the line between friend and fan blurs beyond recognition, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.
Dear White PeopleDear White People · 2017
Dear White People
★ 6.02017
SeriesComedyDrama
Students of color navigate the daily slights and slippery politics of life at an Ivy League college that's not nearly as "post-racial" as it thinks.
WindfallWindfall · 2022
Windfall
★ 5.52022
MovieThrillerCrime
In an opulent vacation home, a mysterious intruder is forced to kidnap the property owners -- a wealthy CEO and his wife -- when they arrive unexpectedly.
2103: The Deadly Wake2103: The Deadly Wake · 1997
2103: The Deadly Wake
★ 5.01997
MovieScience Fiction
Proxate Corporation recruits a boozy former ship captain and offers him a new identity: Sean Murdoch. His job: to take charge of large ship on one voyage. Once aboard, Murdoch realizes that the ship is a prison ship, and the cargo are criminally insane inmates. Murdoch's other problem: someone has planted bombs aboard the vessel. Murdoch's acrimonious relationship with the prison warden lends extra drama to the story.
Bye Bye BenjaminBye Bye Benjamin · 2006
Bye Bye Benjamin
★ 2.02006
MovieComedy
Benjamin Osgood, a savvy ten-year-old business executive, meets a coworker's daughter, and must decide how grown up he wants to be.
Untitled Breakfast at Tiffany's Making of FilmUntitled Breakfast at Tiffany's Making of Film
Untitled Breakfast at Tiffany's Making of Film
MovieDrama
Follows the making of the seminal romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany's, tracking the film through pre-production, on-set issues and its release that became a watershed moment in film, fashion and culture.
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals: Live at the Hollywood BowlBen Harper and the Innocent Criminals: Live at the Hollywood Bowl · 2003
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals: Live at the Hollywood Bowl
2003
MovieMusic
Ben Harper playing with the Innocent Criminals at the Hollywood Bowl in 2003

More Like This

Frankenstein UnboundFrankenstein Unbound · 1990
Frankenstein Unbound
★ 5.91990
MovieHorrorScience Fiction
The ultimate weapon, claimed to be safe for mankind, produces global side-effects including time slides and disappearances. The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817 in Switzerland where he meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and others.
His Girl FridayHis Girl Friday · 1940
His Girl Friday
★ 7.41940
MovieComedyRomance
Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.
The Number 23The Number 23 · 2007
The Number 23
★ 6.42007
MovieThrillerMystery
Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.
Battle RoyaleBattle Royale · 2000
Battle Royale
★ 7.32000
MovieDramaThriller
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Frankenstein Created WomanFrankenstein Created Woman · 1967
Frankenstein Created Woman
★ 6.41967
MovieHorrorScience Fiction
A deformed tormented girl drowns herself after her lover is framed for murder and guillotined. Baron Frankenstein, experimenting with the transfer of souls, places the boy's soul into her body, bringing Christina back to life. Driven by revenge, she carries out a violent retribution on those responsible for both deaths.
Frankenstein and the Monster from HellFrankenstein and the Monster from Hell · 1974
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
★ 6.11974
MovieHorrorScience Fiction
Dr Simon Helder, sentenced to an insane asylum for crimes against humanity, recognises its director as the brilliant Baron Frankenstein, the man whose work he had been trying to emulate before his imprisonment. Frankenstein utilises Helder's medical knowledge for a project he has been working on for some time. He is assembling a man from vital organs extracted from various inmates in the asylum. And the Baron will resort to murder to acquire the perfect specimens for his most ambitious project ever.
Black Mountain SideBlack Mountain Side · 2016
Black Mountain Side
★ 5.22016
MovieThrillerHorror
A group of archaeologists working in Northern Canada uncover a strange structure dating over ten thousand years before the present. The team soon finds themselves isolated when their communication systems fail and they begin to feel the effects of solitude.
Girl, InterruptedGirl, Interrupted · 1999
Girl, Interrupted
★ 7.61999
MovieDrama
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
I'll Sleep When I'm DeadI'll Sleep When I'm Dead · 2003
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
★ 5.52003
MovieDramaAction
Will Graham is a former London crime boss who has left his former life to live as a recluse in the forest. Haunted by the blood of those he has murdered, Will wishes never to return. But when his brother commits suicide following a sexual assault at the hands of a volatile car dealer, Will returns to London to discover the cause of his brother's death and administer justice to those responsible.
Scream 2Scream 2 · 1997
Scream 2
★ 6.51997
MovieHorrorMystery
Two years after the Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott acclimates to college life while someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
NightlightNightlight · 2015
Nightlight
★ 4.92015
MovieHorrorThriller
Five friends play a game in a "mysterious" forest with a long history as a beacon for troubled young people contemplating suicide.
Veer-ZaaraVeer-Zaara · 2004
Veer-Zaara
★ 7.52004
MovieDramaRomance
Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh, a pilot in the Indian Air Force, rescues the stranded Zaara, a woman from Pakistan, following a bus accident, and their lives are forever bound.
The InnocentThe Innocent · 1976
The Innocent
★ 6.91976
MovieDramaRomance
Tullio Hermil is a chauvinist aristocrat who flaunts his mistress to his wife, but when he believes she has been unfaithful he becomes enamored of her again.
Inherit the ViperInherit the Viper · 2019
Inherit the Viper
★ 5.32019
MovieCrimeThriller
Since the death of their father, the Riley siblings have kept their heads above water by illegally dealing in painkillers. Josie is managing the business with an iron fist, when her brother, War veteran Kip, is concerned that the risky business is increasingly turning them into outsiders in their small community. While Kip wants to keep his younger brother out of their illegal endeavors, his younger brother is already making plans of his own.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind · 2004
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
★ 8.12004
MovieScience FictionDrama
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.

More on NetflixSee all →

Animals
NEW
Animals · 2026
Animals
★ 7.02026
MovieThrillerDrama
When the son of an L.A. mayoral candidate is kidnapped, he and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. With most of their money spent on his political campaign, they have to get their hands dirty and expose a side of their lives they never intended to see the light of day.
Reporting Live
NEW
Reporting Live · 2026
Reporting Live
★ 7.42026
MovieCrimeThriller
A young reporter and her reluctant cameraman chase a story, only to get entangled in an illegal sand-mining racket run by a ruthless syndicate.
The Wild RobotThe Wild Robot · 2024
The Wild Robot
★ 8.32024
MovieFamilyAnimation
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.
Spider-Man: No Way HomeSpider-Man: No Way Home · 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home
★ 7.92021
MovieActionAdventure
Peter Parker is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a super-hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
Spirited AwaySpirited Away · 2001
Spirited Away
★ 8.52001
MovieAnimationFamily
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity CastleDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle · 2025
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
★ 8.82025
MovieAnimationAction
The Demon Slayer Corps are drawn into the Infinity Castle, where Tanjiro, Nezuko, and the Hashira face terrifying Upper Rank demons in a desperate fight as the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji begins.
Once Upon a Time... in HollywoodOnce Upon a Time... in Hollywood · 2019
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
★ 7.42019
MovieComedyDrama
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…
The GodfatherThe Godfather · 1972
The Godfather
★ 8.71972
MovieDramaCrime
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
The Storm
NEW
The Storm · 2026
The Storm
★ 6.42026
MovieComedyDrama
When a storm traps old university pals at a luxury lodge, their civilized birthday bash spirals into a cyclone of betrayals, grudges and unfiltered chaos.
Howl's Moving CastleHowl's Moving Castle · 2004
Howl's Moving Castle
★ 8.42004
MovieFantasyAnimation
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
War MachineWar Machine · 2026
War Machine
★ 7.52026
MovieActionScience Fiction
On one last grueling mission during Army Ranger training, a combat engineer must lead his unit in a fight against a giant otherworldly killing machine.
Shrek Forever AfterShrek Forever After · 2010
Shrek Forever After
★ 6.42010
MovieComedyAdventure
A midlife-crisis burdened Shrek, longing for the days of when he felt like a real ogre, makes a pact with magic deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin. But when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far Far Away—where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona have never met—he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love.
Facing El ChapoFacing El Chapo · 2026
Facing El Chapo
★ 8.82026
MovieCrimeAction
Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.
SwappedSwapped · 2026
Swapped
★ 8.92026
MovieAdventureAnimation
A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.
Transformers OneTransformers One · 2024
Transformers One
★ 8.02024
MovieAnimationScience Fiction
The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
Evil Dead BurnEvil Dead Burn · 2026
Evil Dead Burn
★ 7.62026
MovieHorror
After her husband's abrupt death, Alice seeks solace with his remaining family — descendants of a leading researcher on demonic possession. As her in-laws transform one by one into creatures that feed on fear, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life survive even in death.
Shrek the ThirdShrek the Third · 2007
Shrek the Third
★ 6.32007
MovieFantasyAdventure
After the King of Far Far Away dies, Shrek and Fiona are to succede. However, Shrek wants to return to his cozy swamp and live in peace and quiet, so when he finds out there is another heir to the throne, he and Donkey set off to bring him back to rule the kingdom.
White ChicksWhite Chicks · 2004
White Chicks
★ 7.02004
MovieComedyCrime
Two FBI agent brothers, Marcus and Kevin Copeland, accidentally foil a drug bust. To avoid being fired they accept a mission escorting a pair of socialites to the Hamptons--but when the girls are disfigured in a car accident, they refuse to go. Left without options, Marcus and Kevin decide to pose as the sisters, transforming themselves from black men into rich white women.
Ice Age: Dawn of the DinosaursIce Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs · 2009
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
★ 6.82009
MovieAnimationComedy
Times are changing for Manny the moody mammoth, Sid the motor mouthed sloth and Diego the crafty saber-toothed tiger. Life heats up for our heroes when they meet some new and none-too-friendly neighbors – the mighty dinosaurs.
Ice Age: Continental DriftIce Age: Continental Drift · 2012
Ice Age: Continental Drift
★ 6.42012
MovieAnimationComedy
Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter