Movies like Heavy Metal (1981)
The best movies like Heavy Metal (1981) are Mad God (2021), The Primevals (2023) and I Married a Strange Person! (1998). If Heavy Metal hooked you with its animation and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)8.1/10 from 1,545 votes
- NewestPredator: Killer of Killers (2025)Released 2025
Mad God (2021)
A silent figure known as The Assassin travels through a nightmare underworld of tortured souls, ruined cities and wretched monstrosities forged from the primordial horrors of the unconscious mind of Phil Tippett, the world's preeminent stop-motion animator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Primevals (2023)
Deep in the Himalayas, a group of sherpas kills a gigantic humanoid creature. Convinced that it is the legendary Yeti, Dr. Claire Collier organizes an expedition with her former student Matt Connor and hunter Rondo Montana, among others, to search for more specimens. But what awaits them is something that none of them could have imagined. A colorful fusion of real image and stop-motion that is reminiscent of fantastic films from the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Married a Strange Person! (1998)
On their wedding night, Grant begins experiencing strange, supernatural powers and his bride Keri can't cope. Whenever Grant thinks of something, it becomes reality, yet he doesn't know where this magic came from. Things become more complicated when a megalomaniac CEO sends the military to capture Grant in order to weaponize his abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrawberry Mansion (2021)
In the not-too-distant future, an all-seeing surveillance state conducts “dream audits” to collect taxes on the unconscious lives of the populace. Mild-mannered government agent James Preble travels to a remote farmhouse to audit the dreams of Arabella “Bella” Isadora, an eccentric, aging artist. Entering Bella’s vast VHS archive, which contains a lifetime of dreams, Preble stumbles upon a secret that offers him a chance at love—and hope for escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)
The vicious, power-mad Kano is determined to take over Earthrealm, one soul at a time. Assisted by a trio of cold Black Dragon mercenaries, he embarks on a brutal assault from town to defenseless town. The choice is simple: kneel or be annihilated. Kenshi, a rebel warrior, calls on Kuai Liang, the only one powerful enough to challenge the malevolent Kano. But Kuai Liang has given up the ways of the warrior, and Kenshi is too undisciplined to defeat Kano himself. If Kuai Liang cannot break through the glacier of doubt that holds him back, Earthrealm will fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021)
Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
When Shao Kahn's Outworld barbarians terrorize Earthrealm, Lord Raiden is determined to put an end to the carnage once and for all. This leaves one option: a final Mortal Kombat tournament for the future of Earthrealm – win it or lose everything. Raiden's elite fighters Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and a few new faces kick the action into overdrive as they go head-to-head with Outworld's most bloodthirsty warriors. But deep in the Netherrealm, an unspeakable scheme by the malevolent Shinnok unfolds, threatening to obliterate existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)
After the vicious slaughter of his family by stone-cold mercenary Sub-Zero, Hanzo Hasashi is exiled to the torturous Netherrealm. There, in exchange for his servitude to the sinister Quan Chi, he’s given a chance to avenge his family – and is resurrected as Scorpion, a lost soul bent on revenge. Back on Earthrealm, Lord Raiden gathers a team of elite warriors – Shaolin monk Liu Kang, Special Forces officer Sonya Blade, and action star Johnny Cage – an unlikely band of heroes with one chance to save humanity. To do this, they must defeat Shang Tsung's horde of Outworld gladiators and reign over the Mortal Kombat tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisO Lucky Man! (1973)
An ambitious coffee salesman has a series of improbable and ironic adventures seemingly designed to challenge his naive idealism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Space: Downfall (2008)
On a deep space mining mission to a remote planet, an ancient religious relic - thought to be proof of the existence of God - is unearthed and brought aboard. When the unholy artifact unleashes a long-dormant alien race, its glimpse of Heaven transforms the ship into a living Hell. A prequel to the events of the 2008 video game Dead Space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSouthbound (2015)
On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers — two men on the run from their past, a band on their way to the next gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation — are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales of terror and remorse on the open road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisPredator: Killer of Killers (2025)
While three of the fiercest warriors in human history—a Viking raider, a ninja in feudal Japan, and a WWII pilot—are killers in their own right, they are merely prey for their new opponent: the ultimate killer of killers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpace Is the Place (1974)
Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisAirwolf: The Movie (1984)
Airwolf is capable of supersonic speeds, invisible to radar and armed with ultra state-of-the-art hardware. Airwolf is the most awesome aerial weapon ever developed. When the helicopter is stolen by Libyan mercenaries, Michael Archangel, Project director for the CIA, enlists the help of Vietnam veteran Stringfellow Hawke and his closest friend Dominic Santini, to attempt to recover the Airwolf. The mission throws them into the midst of Middle Eastern violence and destruction, where they come face to face with danger, romance and intrigue in their battle to re-possess the deadliest aerial weapon ever used.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisHardcore Henry (2015)
Henry, a newly resurrected cyborg who must save his wife/creator from the clutches of a psychotic tyrant with telekinetic powers, AKAN, and his army of mercenaries. Fighting alongside Henry is Jimmy, who is Henry's only hope to make it through the day. Hardcore Henry takes place over the course of one day, in Moscow, Russia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPredator (1987)
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf I Can't Have Love, I Want Power (2021)
Featuring music from her fourth studio album produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, this evocative film experience stars Halsey as the young and pregnant Queen Lila, who wrestles with the manipulative chokehold of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeet the Robinsons (2007)
Lewis, a brilliant young inventor, is keen on creating a time machine to find his mother, who abandoned him in an orphanage. Things take a turn when he meets Wilbur Robinson and his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
The four turtles travel back in time to the days of the legendary and deadly samurai in ancient Japan, where they train to perfect the art of becoming one. The turtles also assist a small village in an uprising.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDelicatessen (1991)
In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low supply. A young man new in town falls in love with the butcher's daughter, which causes conflicts in her family, who need the young man for other business-related purposes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTMNT (2007)
After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Splinter, becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperman Returns (2006)
Superman returns to discover his 5-year absence has allowed Lex Luthor to walk free, and that those he was closest to felt abandoned and have moved on. Luthor plots his ultimate revenge that could see millions killed and change the face of the planet forever, as well as ridding himself of the Man of Steel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
The Turtles and the Shredder battle once again, this time for the last cannister of the ooze that created the Turtles, which Shredder wants to create an army of new mutants. Meanwhile Splinter is coming... to a decision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
A quartet of humanoid turtles, trained by their mentor in Ninjutsu, must learn to work together to face the menace of Shredder and the Foot Clan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFantomas Unleashed (1965)
In the second episode of the trilogy Fantômas kidnaps distinguished scientist professor Marchand with the aim to develop a super weapon that will enable him to menace the world. Fantômas is also planning to abduct a second scientist, professor Lefebvre.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
A teenage Peter Parker grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter-ego Spider-Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDawn of the Dead (1978)
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVideodrome (1983)
As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEraserhead (1977)
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Heavy Metal?
The closest matches to Heavy Metal are Mad God (2021), The Primevals (2023) and I Married a Strange Person! (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Heavy Metal?
Start with Mad God (2021), the closest match to Heavy Metal.
What is the highest-rated movie like Heavy Metal?
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020), rated 8.1/10 by 1,545 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Heavy Metal?
Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Heavy Metal?
Yes: Mad God (2021), The Primevals (2023) and I Married a Strange Person! (1998).
How are movies similar to Heavy Metal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Heavy Metal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.