Movies like The First Wave (2014)
The best movies like The First Wave (2014) are Terrifier (2011), Silent Zone (2025) and Curve (2016). If The First Wave hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The First Wave
Quick picks
- Highest rated28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)7.1/10 from 1,923 votes
- Newest28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)Released 2026
Terrifier (2011)
After witnessing a brutal murder on Halloween night, a young woman becomes the next target of a maniacal entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilent Zone (2025)
In a zombie-ravaged world, a resourceful teen and her protector fight for survival, facing relentless dangers and testing the limits of hope and loyalty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurve (2016)
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Animated Dead (2021)
An animated retelling of ‘Night of the Living Dead’, in which a group of people in a rural farmhouse struggle to survive the threat of bloodthirsty zombies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeadsight (2018)
A man with partial blindness and a young pregnant police officer must work together to escape a deadly virus that has spread across Grey County.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtinction (2015)
And suddenly, overnight, the world came to a halt. Two men, two survivors, one kid, and hatred that separates them. A place forgotten by everyone, including the creatures that inhabit the Earth... until now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Driver (2019)
After a plague of the undead decimates human life on Earth, a former hit man (Mark Dacascos), his wife, and daughter live quietly in a survivalist compound. But when their base is attacked, a massive explosion summons a swarm of the undead. They escape and must seek out the Haven, a rumored sanctuary up north, while the father teaches his daughter to shoot, drive, and survive before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRe-Kill (2015)
Five years after a zombie outbreak, the men and women of R-Division hunt down and destroy the undead. When they see signs of a second outbreak, they fear humanity may not survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSaw (2003)
David, an orderly at a hospital, tells his horrific story of being kidnapped and forced to play a vile game of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonster (2005)
A mother battles with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the closet, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLand of the Dead (2005)
The living dead have taken over the world, and the remaining humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they cope with the situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrindhouse (2007)
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDie Alone (2024)
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOther Side of the Box (2018)
A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Living Dead (1990)
A ragtag group barricade themselves in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls ravaging the Northeast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYear 10 (2024)
After the fall of civilization, the few survivors have been driven to cannibalism. A young man must confront a violent tribe that has murdered his father and stolen the medicine that keeps his girlfriend alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bay (2012)
Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisEradication (2022)
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Playhouse (2005)
The Playhouse follows the story of a young orphan who is picked on by a group of girls at her new school. She then decides to go adventuring off on her own in an abandoned house, but who or what will she find lurking in the shadows of The Playhouse...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Severed (2005)
A multi-national forestry company engages in genetic experimentation to increase logging yield in a remote section of forest...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dark Room (2022)
Experimental film, shot entirely using a pinhole lens. This is actually a piece of conceptual art, where the movie itself plays small role, but the main emphasis is on the Poster. The film was submitted to numerous film festivals (both virtual and with physical screenings) and the idea was to fill the film poster with laurels from official selections and awards.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Toxic Lullaby (2010)
TOXIC LULLABY tells the story of Eloise, who wakes up in a destroyed, life threatening world after a bad drug trip. She joins a group of people, who like her, are motivated by the longing to flee this nightmare, but it's hard to tell who'll carry the day, the survivors or the zombies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Lucifer, My Love (2022)
A man's life becomes threatened after he goes on a date with a woman who's in love with the Devil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The ErlKing (2003)
This animated short is a visual representation of Goethe's poem, The ErlKing that uses sand-on-glass animation set to the music of Franz Schubert. The moving images, resembling woodcuts, capture the haunting, nightmarish quality of the tale of the ErlKing who steals and kills a little boy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The End of the Crisis (2010)
Susanne is called to her boss's office. There she drinks from a cup containing a paralyzing liquid. When Susanne regains consciousness, she has already become a will-less, controllable puppet of the system.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Die and Let Live (2006)
Benny throws a party to help woo his crush Stephanie. But when bloodthirsty zombies crash the party, Benny and his friends find themselves fighting for their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
NO LITTERING (2013)
While enjoying a date in a park, a man carelessly tosses an empty bottle onto the ground. His selfish littering promptly summons an imposing figure wearing a white hockey mask. The gruesome events that follow tell an admonishing tale about the importance of preserving the outdoors and defending the environment from the ugly menace of litter. The short was made for the tve YouTube Relay project, but wasn't included because it's too violent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Red Zone: Dead City (2027)
Two weeks after a devastating zombie outbreak destroys their home, a resilient young woman and her band of refugees flee to a neighboring safe zone, only to be hunted by paranoid locals convinced the outsiders are harboring the lethal virus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The First Wave?
The closest matches to The First Wave are Terrifier (2011), Silent Zone (2025) and Curve (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The First Wave?
Start with Terrifier (2011), the closest match to The First Wave.
What is the highest-rated movie like The First Wave?
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026), rated 7.1/10 by 1,923 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The First Wave?
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The First Wave?
Yes: Terrifier (2011), Silent Zone (2025) and Curve (2016).
How are movies similar to The First Wave chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The First Wave, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.