Movies like A Town Has Turned to Dust (1998)
The best movies like A Town Has Turned to Dust (1998) are 2073 (2024), Automata (2014) and Looper (2012). If A Town Has Turned to Dust hooked you with its thriller and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlade Runner (1982)7.9/10 from 15,632 votes
- NewestBorder Hunters (2025)Released 2025
2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAutomata (2014)
Jacq Vaucan, an insurance agent of ROC robotics corporation, routinely investigates the case of manipulating a robot. What he discovers will have profound consequences for the future of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisLooper (2012)
In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Terminator (1984)
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Return (1980)
Two young children and an adult in a small town have an encounter with an alien spaceship. 25 years later the children are reunited as adults in the same town which is now beset by strange cattle mutilations. Matters become worse when the cattle mutilations are joined by human murders and mutilations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSurrogates (2009)
Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerminator Salvation (2009)
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGunslingers (2025)
When the most wanted man in America surfaces in a small Kentucky town, his violent history -- and a blood-thirsty mob seeking vengeance and a king’s ransom -- soon follow. As brothers face off against one another and bullets tear the town to shreds, this lightning-fast gunslinger makes his enemies pay the ultimate price for their greed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Mad Max becomes a pawn in a decadent oasis of a technological society, and when exiled, becomes the deliverer of a colony of children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Name on the Bullet (1959)
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Warrior's Way (2010)
A warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Stand (2013)
Ray Owens is sheriff of the quiet US border town of Sommerton Junction after leaving the LAPD following a bungled operation. Following his escape from the FBI, a notorious drug baron, his gang, and a hostage are heading toward Sommerton Junction where the police are preparing to make a last stand to intercept them before they cross the border. Owens is reluctant to become involved but ultimately joins in with the law enforcement efforts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hitcher (2007)
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Dark Tower (2017)
A boy haunted by visions of a parallel world aids its disillusioned guardian in preventing the destruction of the nexus of universes known as the Dark Tower.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Blood of Heroes (1989)
Set in a futuristic world where the only sport that has survived in a wasted society is the brutal game known as jugging. Sallow, the leader of a rag-tag team, has played in the main Leagues before, but was cast out because of indiscretions with a lady. Now joined by a talented newcomer, Kidda, an ambitious young peasant girl, he and his team find they have one last chance for glory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisAfterburn (2025)
Set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorder Hunters (2025)
After his police officer brother is killed by a drug dealer who flees to the protection of his cartel-connected uncle in Mexico, an American man with a diverse law enforcement/military background goes south of the border to get revenge
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in the Shadow (1957)
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChaos Walking (2021)
Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and heard by everyone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapricorn One (1977)
In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of NASA administrators turn the first Mars mission into a phony Mars landing. Under threat of harm to their families the astronauts play their part in the deception on a staged set in a deserted military base. But once the real ship returns to Earth and burns up on re-entry, the astronauts become liabilities. Now, with the help of a crusading reporter, they must battle a sinister conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlade Runner (1982)
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Boy and His Dog (1975)
Set in the year 2024 in post-apocalyptic America, 18-year old Vic and his telepathic dog, Blood, are scavengers in the desolate wilderness ravaged by World War IV, where survivors must battle for food and shelter in the desert-like wasteland. Vic and Blood eke out a meager existence, foraging for food and fighting gangs of cutthroats.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Ground (2025)
When a mysterious prisoner lands in jail, a border town sheriff faces the wrath of a brutal cartel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999)
A bank-robbing gang of misfits heads to Mexico with the blueprints for the perfect million-dollar heist, but when one of the crooks wanders into the wrong bar, the thieving cohorts develop a thirst for blood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrailty (2002)
A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to kill people who were in fact "demons."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrame Up (1991)
In the small American town of Orton Creek, David Farmer is accidentally killed by Don Curran, son of town tyrant Will Curran, during a fraternity initiation. The frat boys frame electronic parts salesman Frank Govers for hit-and-run but determined newcomer Sheriff Ralph Baker and his love interest Jo Westlake seek the truth. Govers and girlfriend Lee Ann Hadley hide in a hunting cabin and are captured by prison escapees Mick August and Merlin Wells (who is tricked by Govers into electrocuting himself). August tries to claim the bounty on Govers from Will Curran but Sheriff Baker is only one step behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Dust Devil (1992)
A woman on the run from her abusive husband encounters a mysterious hitch-hiker.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEverything Beautiful Is Far Away (2017)
On an isolated desert planet, a man who is looking for parts to repair his robotic companion teams up with a young woman searching for an imaginary lake.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
King of the Ants (2004)
A young drifter, struggling to makes ends meet, accepts a job to kill a prominent accountant. When he isn't paid for the hit, revenge is now his path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Town Has Turned to Dust?
The closest matches to A Town Has Turned to Dust are 2073 (2024), Automata (2014) and Looper (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Town Has Turned to Dust?
Start with 2073 (2024), the closest match to A Town Has Turned to Dust.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Town Has Turned to Dust?
Blade Runner (1982), rated 7.9/10 by 15,632 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Town Has Turned to Dust?
Border Hunters (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Town Has Turned to Dust?
Yes: 2073 (2024), Automata (2014) and Looper (2012).
How are movies similar to A Town Has Turned to Dust chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Town Has Turned to Dust, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.