Movies like The Hesitant Earth (2023)
The best movies like The Hesitant Earth (2023) are Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), The Caller (1987) and Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009). If The Hesitant Earth hooked you with its mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Prestige (2006)8.2/10 from 18,448 votes
- NewestA Story of Derry (2026)Released 2026
Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)
A cosmic case of flying saucers, intergalactic intrigue and out-of-this-world romance launches Scooby-Doo! and the Mystery Inc., Gang into their most unearthly adventure ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Caller (1987)
One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisDoctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)
A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worse for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Waters of Mars (2009)
In a Mars base, the inhabitants are being infected by a mysterious water creature which takes over its victims. The Doctor is thrust into the middle of this catastrophe, knowing a larger one is waiting around the corner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEd, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show (2009)
When a scam goes horribly wrong and leaves the neighborhood kids furious, the Eds embark on a journey to find Eddy's brother in the "Ed, Edd, n Eddy" series finale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ring (2002)
Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a strange videotape that may be behind the untimely deaths of four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring in order to save herself and her son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPast Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery (2018)
Archaeologist Emma Fielding is hired to consult on the acquisition of a castle-like estate that local legend states is cursed. But she finds herself in the middle of a murder case after discovering the body of the archaeologist she was hired to shadow in a secret chamber in the bowels of the huge building. Assisted by her friend, FBI special agent Jim Conner, Fielding must sift through clues and a long list of suspects, each of whom has their own reason for wanting the man dead, to determine who is the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
The Yowie Yahoo starts kidnapping musicians at a concert attended by Scooby and the gang in Vampire Rock, Australia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMārama (2026)
1859. When a young Māori woman is summoned from New Zealand to North Yorkshire, she uncovers her horrific colonial heritage and is compelled to confront and destroy the titled Englishman who devastated her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmelia’s Children (2024)
When Edward’s search for his biological family leads him and his girlfriend Ryley to a magnificent villa high in the mountains of Northern Portugal, he is full of excitement at meeting his long-lost mother and twin brother. Finally, he will discover who he is and where he comes from. But nothing is as it seems, and Edward will soon learn that he is linked to them by a monstrous secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of My Voice (2011)
A journalist and his girlfriend get pulled in while they investigate a cult whose leader claims to be from the future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers (1987)
After the death of Shaggy's Uncle Beaureguard, he, Scooby and Scrappy arrive at the late uncle's Southern plantation to collect the inheritance. But as soon as they arrive, they find it is haunted by the ghost of a Confederate soldier. With this spook on their tails while they solve riddles in search of the inheritance, they seek help from the Boo Brothers, a trio of ghost-exterminators to help catch this nasty ghoul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and uncovers a horrible secret beneath the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scooby-Doo Project (1999)
In the Fall of 1999, four teenage sleuths and their Great Dane got lost in the woods while in search of a mystery. This is their story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCome Play (2020)
Oliver, a lonely autistic boy, seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy's devices against him, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnock at the Cabin (2023)
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her two fathers are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Lung (2026)
In a post-apocalyptic future where an event known as "The Quiet Rapture" caused all known stars and habitable planets in the universe to disappear, a convict is sent to search an ocean of blood discovered on a desolate moon, using a small submarine nicknamed the "Iron Lung".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby-Doo, Where Are You Now! (2021)
After 52 years of solving mysteries, the Scooby gang reunite at Warner Bros. Studios to reminisce about their favorite cases and how they were filmed. But it turns out that the back lot may have its OWN monster problem. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo investigate this mystery while celebrating the legacy of the franchise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Story of Derry (2026)
Hundreds of years before Pennywise, three youngsters venture into the Western Wood...where they encounter a terrifying ancient spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Toll (TBA)
Set in the 1930s, two siblings use their imaginations as a coping mechanism to come to terms with their mother's mysterious disappearance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Memories of a Boobs Flasher (2014)
A boobs flasher tells us, a boobs flasher lets us see.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
CCF's Solstice Stories (2022)
When the close but competitive Cruz sisters, Chesa and Marisol go on a camping trip with their friends Armin and Lucia, they discover a mysterious chest with five gifts, five stories, and one warning - don't sleep.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Fisheye (1980)
A fishing village falls prey to a nightmare revenge from the sea. Award-winning Yugoslavian animated short film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Music of Erich Zann (1980)
Charles Dexter Ward, a young student of metaphysics, befriends Erich Zann, an elderly violinist who lives on the floor above him. Ward is fascinated by Zann's sinister yet wonderful music, which he hears late at night drifting down from above. But he discovers more then he bargains for when he peers at what beckons beyond that strange curtained window in Zann's room...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Bon Appetit (2018)
A family dinner with a mentally unstable mom whose actions are completely unpredictable. Her husband, son and daughter must try their best to get through this dinner as though their lives depend on it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Midsummer (2003)
It is the last day of school for Christian and his younger sister Sophie. They are heading to a party at his friend Trina. High school graduation is just around the corner and after the freedom and future. But behind the idyllic facade lurks tragedy and secrets. That evening Sophie commits suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Cosmetic Criminals (2024)
A short mockumentary detailing the rise of intergenerational cosmetic theft through the eyes of an affected family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Prestige (2006)
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hesitant Earth?
The closest matches to The Hesitant Earth are Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), The Caller (1987) and Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hesitant Earth?
Start with Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), the closest match to The Hesitant Earth.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hesitant Earth?
The Prestige (2006), rated 8.2/10 by 18,448 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hesitant Earth?
A Story of Derry (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Bengali movies like The Hesitant Earth?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to The Hesitant Earth chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hesitant Earth, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.