Atomica

Atomica

Year: 2017

Runtime: 81 min

Language: English

Director: Dagen Merrill

Budget: $30M

Sci-FiThriller

Sent to a remote nuclear power plant to restore communication lines, safety inspector Abby Dixon finds herself in a disturbing situation. As the facility’s technology fails and the crew becomes increasingly isolated, she uncovers unsettling signs and witnesses bizarre behavior. Abby begins to question the crew’s mental state and wonders if they are losing touch with reality or concealing a deeper truth about themselves and the plant.

Atomica (2017) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

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In the stark, windswept expanse of a remote nuclear facility, Abby Dixon arrives on a routine assignment: to restore a broken line of communication that keeps the plant linked to the outside world. The isolated outpost, surrounded by unforgiving terrain, feels more like a sealed laboratory than a workplace, its concrete corridors humming with dormant power. From the moment she steps inside, the atmosphere shifts from procedural to uncanny, as the once‑reliable technology begins to falter in ways that defy simple explanation.

The crew she encounters—seasoned engineers, technicians, and a handful of support staff—have been cut off for weeks, their routines frayed by the growing uncertainty. Their interactions, once professional and predictable, become increasingly terse and fragmented, hinting at unseen pressures building beneath the surface. As Abby works to re‑establish contact, the plant’s systems flicker and fail, casting the facility into intermittent darkness and amplifying the sense of confinement.

Amid the failing infrastructure, strange details emerge: half‑heard conversations that seem out of place, equipment that behaves oddly, and moments where reality feels slightly out of sync. Abby’s keen eye picks up on these unsettling cues, prompting her to wonder whether the isolation is eroding the crew’s grasp on what is real. The film’s tone leans into a slow‑burning tension, balancing the cold, clinical world of nuclear safety with an undercurrent of psychological unease.

“Atomica” invites the audience to linger in the quiet dread of a place where every malfunction could be a symptom of something deeper. It explores how isolation can warp perception and how the quest for truth can become as hazardous as the very radiation that powers the plant. The story is a meditation on trust, reality, and the thin line between order and chaos, all set against the relentless, humming backdrop of a nuclear powerhouse on the brink of its own mysteries.

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 at 03:25

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Claustrophobic tech thrillers like Atomica

Isolation and paranoia in high-stakes technological environments.If you liked the tense isolation and technological paranoia of Atomica, explore other movies like it. This list features thrillers set in remote, high-tech facilities where failing systems and psychological pressure create a gripping, claustrophobic experience.

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Narrative Summary

Stories typically follow a protagonist sent to a remote, automated location—a base, a station, a lab—only to discover that the technology is dangerously unstable and the human inhabitants may be equally untrustworthy. The narrative unfolds as a tense investigation, where the line between mechanical failure and human malevolence blurs.

Why These Movies?

They share a core experience of high-tech isolation, where the paranoia is amplified by a confined setting and the constant threat of systemic collapse. The mood is consistently tense and suspenseful, driven by a mystery that questions reality itself.

Paranoid thrillers with unreliable reality like Atomica

Thrillers where perception is unreliable and the truth is shifting.For viewers who enjoyed the psychological mind games and shifting truths of Atomica, this collection features similar movies. These stories immerse you in a world of deception and moral ambiguity, where characters must uncover hidden agendas while questioning their own sanity.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative centers on a character unraveling a mystery in a hostile or confined environment, only to discover that the people they interact with are not what they seem. The plot is built on reveals that re-contextualize previous events, often culminating in an ending that leaves the protagonist's—and the viewer's—understanding fundamentally uncertain.

Why These Movies?

They are united by a core theme of deception and psychological manipulation, creating a pervasive sense of paranoia. The plots are complex with twists that challenge perceptions, and they carry a heavy emotional weight through their exploration of betrayal and moral grey areas.

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Atomica Summary

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Atomica

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