Movies like Vile Cargo (1989)
The best movies like Vile Cargo (1989) are Volcano (1997), The Last Survivors (2014) and Testament (1983). If Vile Cargo hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Vile Cargo
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)7.5/10 from 15,494 votes
- Newest28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)Released 2026
Volcano (1997)
An earthquake shatters a peaceful Los Angeles morning and opens a fissure deep into the earth, causing lava to start bubbling up. As a volcano begins forming in the La Brea Tar Pits, the director of the city's emergency management service, working with a geologist, must then use every resource in the city to try and stop the volcano from consuming LA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Survivors (2014)
In the near future, society collapses and water becomes scarce. When a greedy water baron starts violently clearing out survivors, Kendal, a 17-year-old teenager, fights the baron's henchman to keep a well open.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTestament (1983)
It's just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks — many suffer radiation poisoning — the Wetherly family tries to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 5th Wave (2016)
16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)
Dr. Kelson finds himself in a shocking new relationship - with consequences that could change the world as they know it - and Spike's encounter with Jimmy Crystal becomes a nightmare he can't escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman wakes up in a survivalist's underground bunker, where he claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight of the Comet (1984)
After a comet wipes out most of life on Earth, two Valley Girls find themselves fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfinite (2021)
Evan McCauley has skills he never learned and memories of places he has never visited. Self-medicated and on the brink of a mental breakdown, a secret group that call themselves “Infinites” come to his rescue, revealing that his memories are real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRight at Your Door (2006)
A dirty bomb goes off in Los Angeles, jamming freeways and spreading a toxic cloud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 33 (2015)
Based on the true story of the collapse of a mine in San Jose, Chile—that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Live (1988)
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn Autumn Romance (2021)
When librarian Taylor Harris suddenly loses her job, she decides to visit her brother in a small town in Montana. There, she gets involved in the fight to help save her brother's hotel from tycoon Joel Sheenan, who wants to renovate it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpectral (2016)
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2012 (2009)
Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth's core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world's population, the entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world's leaders race to build "arks" to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisEarthquake (1974)
Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrips and Bloods: Made in America (2009)
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloverfield (2008)
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Vile Cargo?
The closest matches to Vile Cargo are Volcano (1997), The Last Survivors (2014) and Testament (1983). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Vile Cargo?
Start with Volcano (1997), the closest match to Vile Cargo.
What is the highest-rated movie like Vile Cargo?
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), rated 7.5/10 by 15,494 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Vile Cargo?
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Vile Cargo?
Yes: Volcano (1997), The Last Survivors (2014) and Testament (1983).
How are movies similar to Vile Cargo chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Vile Cargo, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.