Movies like The Smoke Menace (1937)
The best movies like The Smoke Menace (1937) are Threads (1984), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) and Monstrous (2022). If The Smoke Menace hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDavid Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020)8.4/10 from 478 votes
- NewestUrchin (2025)Released 2025
Threads (1984)
Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run effects of nuclear war on civilization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
British reporters suspect an international cover-up of a global disaster in progress... and they're right. Hysterical panic has engulfed the world after the United States and the Soviet Union simultaneously detonate nuclear devices and have caused the orbit of the Earth to alter, sending it hurtling towards the sun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonstrous (2022)
Laura, traumatized by an abusive relationship, runs away from her former husband with her seven-year-old son Cody. But in their new, idyllic and remote sanctuary, they find they have another, bigger and more terrifying monster to deal with…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
In the future, a strange fungus has changed nearly everyone into thoughtless, flesh-eating monsters. When a scientist and a teacher find a girl who seems to be immune to the fungus, they all begin a journey to save humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Lace (1960)
Kit Preston begins to unravel when she receives threatening telephone calls informing her she's soon to be murdered.
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 thisLiving (2022)
London, 1953. Mr. Williams, a veteran civil servant, is an important cog within the city's bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of World War II. Buried under paperwork at the office and lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a devastating medical diagnosis forces him to take stock, and to try and grasp some fulfilment before it passes permanently beyond reach.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUrchin (2025)
Mike, a rough sleeper in London, is trapped in a cycle of self-destruction as he attempts to turn his life around. Along the way, he encounters unexpected chances for a fresh start.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Waters (2019)
A tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything — his future, his family, and his own life — to expose the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020)
The story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Addressing the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, the film offers a powerful message of hope for future generations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Skulls (2000)
A senior at an Ivy League college, who depends on scholarships and working on the side, gets accepted into the secret society The Skulls. He hopes it betters chances at Harvard but The Skulls is not what he thought and comes at a price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCarriers (2009)
A deadly virus has spread across the globe. Contagion is everywhere, no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. Four friends race through the back roads of the American West on their way to a secluded utopian beach in the Gulf of Mexico where they could peacefully wait out the pandemic. Their plans take a grim turn when their car breaks down on an isolated road starting a chain of events that will seal their fates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSplit Second (1992)
In a flooded future London, Detective Harley Stone hunts a serial killer who murdered his partner and has haunted him ever since — but he soon discovers what he is hunting might not be human.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA-X-L (2018)
The life of a teenage boy is forever altered by a chance encounter with cutting edge military technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Limehouse Golem (2016)
A series of murders has shaken the community to the point where people believe that only a legendary creature from dark times – the mythical Golem – must be responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFranklyn (2008)
Set between the parallel worlds of contemporary London and the futuristic faith dominated metropolis of Meanwhile City, Franklyn weaves a tale of four souls, whose lives are intertwined by fate, romance and tragedy. As these worlds collide, a single bullet determines the destiny of these four characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Jones (2019)
In 1933, Welsh journalist Gareth Jones travels to Ukraine, where he experiences the horrors of a famine. Everywhere he goes he meets henchmen of the Soviet secret service who are determined to prevent news about the catastrophe from getting out. Stalin’s forced collectivisation of agriculture has resulted in misery and ruin—the policy is tantamount to mass murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)
A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrozen (2010)
When three skiers find themselves stranded on a chair lift at a New England ski resort that has closed for the next week, they are forced to make life or death choices that prove to be more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Smoke Menace?
The closest matches to The Smoke Menace are Threads (1984), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) and Monstrous (2022). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Smoke Menace?
Start with Threads (1984), the closest match to The Smoke Menace.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Smoke Menace?
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020), rated 8.4/10 by 478 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Smoke Menace?
Urchin (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Smoke Menace?
Yes: Threads (1984), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) and Monstrous (2022).
How are movies similar to The Smoke Menace chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Smoke Menace, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.