What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedHigh Life
Claire Denis · Film · 2018
If you loved High Life, start with Dark (Baran bo Odar, 2017) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to High Life across media.
What hooked you in High Life was the way it uses the vast, crushing silence of deep space to explore intimate human fragility.
Books on the same thread
Arrival
Ted Chiang · Book · 2016
Explores: Alien Contact, Linguistics, Time Perception.
Like High Life, this collection examines how the alien nature of the cosmos forces us to confront the profound, personal grief found in our most significant human relationships.
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir · Book · 2021
Explores: Amnesia, Planetary Survival, Xenobiology.
If the isolation of High Life left you unsettled, this story of a lone survivor in the void mirrors that same desperate, tactical struggle for life against impossible odds.
Chapterhouse, Dune
Frank Herbert · Book · 1985
Explores: Religious Orders, Ecological Adaptation, Genetic Engineering.
This narrative echoes the grim, societal breakdown seen in High Life, focusing on how humanity adapts and devolves when confined to the unforgiving environment of deep space travel.
Valis
Philip K. Dick · Book · 2011
Explores: Mental Illness, Reality Perception, Gnosticism.
Just as High Life questions the nature of our reality through a lens of cosmic dread, this work explores how external, extraterrestrial forces distort our perception of identity and sanity.
Series on the same thread
Dark
Baran bo Odar · Series · 2017
Explores: Time Paradox, Family Secrets, Existential Crisis.
The existential weight that defines High Life is mirrored here as characters navigate a labyrinth of time and trauma, trapped by the crushing inevitability of their own dark secrets.
Red Dwarf
Doug Naylor · Series · 1988
Explores: Existentialism, Slacker Humor, Male Bonding.
While tonally distinct, this series shares the fundamental premise of High Life: the profound, inescapable loneliness of being the last human presence in a vast, uncaring interstellar void.
The Expanse
Mark Fergus · Series · 2015
Explores: Interplanetary Conflict, Corporate Conspiracy, Social Stratification.
The political and moral decay depicted in High Life finds a larger stage here, showing how the pressures of space travel inevitably corrupt those who seek to control it.
Serial Experiments Lain
Series · 1998
Explores: Existentialism, Identity Crisis, Technological Singularity.
This series captures the same internal fragmentation seen in High Life, focusing on the psychological erosion of a character adrift in an environment that defies traditional human logic.
Podcasts on the same thread
This American Life
This American Life · Podcast · 2026
Explores: The human condition, Personal narrative, Social observation.
These personal narratives tap into the same raw, human-centric exploration found in High Life, proving that even amidst grand themes, the most compelling stories are those of individual existence.
The Orphans
The Light and Tragic Company · Podcast · 2025
This audio drama mirrors the bleak, survival-focused atmosphere of High Life, emphasizing how love and loss persist even when humanity is stranded in the most hostile reaches of space.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is High Life a story about survival?
Yes, High Life follows a father and his daughter as they struggle to survive while living in deep space. Their journey is defined by the challenges of maintaining their existence in total isolation.
What is the primary setting of High Life?
The primary setting of High Life is deep space. The film focuses on the isolated environment where the father and daughter live and their efforts to endure the conditions of their surroundings.
Does High Life feature a large group of characters?
No, High Life centers on a father and his daughter. The narrative emphasizes their experience of isolation as they navigate the difficulties of living together in deep space.
How would you describe the living situation in High Life?
High Life depicts a father and daughter living in deep space. Their existence is characterized by extreme isolation, which serves as the central conflict they must face throughout the film.