Movies like Below the Earth's Surface (2008)
The best movies like Below the Earth's Surface (2008) are Chief of Station (2024), North Face (2008) and Race with the Devil (1975). If Below the Earth's Surface hooked you with its action and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)7.9/10 from 1,852 votes
- NewestBlue Lock (2026)Released 2026
- In GermanNorth Face (2008)Also in German
Chief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorth Face (2008)
North Face tells the story of two German climbers Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser and their attempt to scale the deadly North Face of the Eiger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDefence of the Realm (1986)
A reporter named Mullen 'stumbles' onto a story linking a prominent Member of Parliament to a KGB agent and a near-nuclear disaster involving a teenage runaway and a U.S. Air Force base. Has there been a Government cover-up? Mullen teams up with Vernon Bayliss, an old hack, and Nina Beckam, the MP's assistant, to find out the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
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 action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpace/Time (2025)
After a fatal test shuts down their project, a disgraced team of scientists enters the criminal underworld to rebuild a forbidden space-bending engine that could rescue humanity or annihilate it entirely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBattle for Terra (2007)
A peaceful alien planet faces annihilation, as the homeless remainder of the human race sets its eyes on Terra. Mala, a rebellious Terrian teenager, will do everything she can to stop it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAirborne (1993)
Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this65 (2023)
65 million years ago, the only 2 survivors of a spaceship from Somaris that crash-landed on Earth, must fend off dinosaurs to reach the escape vessel in time before an imminent asteroid strike threatens to destroy the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisBabylon 5: In the Beginning (1998)
Londo Mollari, the Centauri Emperor, recounts the initial contact between the Humans and Minbari, which resulted in a major incident and subsequent war, for an eager pair of youngsters wanting a story about love and conflict.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJourney to the Center of the Earth (2008)
On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: The River of Souls (1998)
A group of Soul Hunters come to Babylon 5 demanding the return of something that was stolen from them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO DC Batman: Family Matters (2019)
Suspicion is on high after Batman, Batgirl, Robin and other DC superheroes receive mysterious invitations. However, family values must remain strong when Batman and his team encounter the villainous Red Hood, who is obsessed with destroying the Bat-family and all of Gotham City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cannonball Run (1981)
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellfighters (1968)
The adventures of oil well fire specialist Chance Buckman (based on real-life Red Adair), who extinguishes massive fires in oil fields around the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPyewacket (2017)
A frustrated, angry teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to invoke a witch to kill her mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisOutland (1981)
On the sunless moon Io, Marshall William T. O’Niel goes toe-to-toe with the corrupt manager of a mining colony and his gang of roughnecks while investigating a rash of worker suicides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMirage (2014)
Francis is an African soccer player whose life comes spiraling down after he fixes a match. Soon, he's on the run, taking shelter at a mountain ranch led by a deadly crime boss. Soon, Francis inspires revolt among the boss's workers, putting his life on the line for freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Shaolin Soccer (2001)
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGrimsby (2016)
Wrongfully accused and on the run, a top MI6 assassin joins forces with his long-lost, football hooligan brother to save the world from a sinister plot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAkira (1988)
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlue Lock (2026)
A secret training program is established by the Japan Football Union to scout the world’s greatest striker after several years of defeat for the national team. Three hundred high school players gather at a remote facility to compete in ruthless trials where only one will emerge as the world’s greatest and most egoistic striker. The price of failure is absolute: those eliminated are permanently banned from ever joining the National Team.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Not Forgotten (2009)
Set in a Tex-Mex border town, Not Forgotten is a classic psychological thriller about Jack and Amaya Bishop, a couple who must come to terms with their tortured pasts in order to save their kidnapped daughter. It is a tale taut with intrigue and steeped in Latino mysticism, where the line between what's real and what's imagined becomes hopelessly blurred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisShaolin Girl (2008)
A Shaolin-trainer young woman returns to Japan to resuscitate her grandfather's defunct martial arts school.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Mercato (2025)
Mercato takes us behind the scenes of today's soccer, a global industry with interests running into billions. Driss, a player agent, has seven days to save his skin before the end of the mercato...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisGhosts of Mars (2001)
In 2176, a Martian police unit is sent to pick up a highly dangerous criminal at a remote mining post. Upon arrival, the cops find the post deserted and something far more dangerous than any criminal — the original inhabitants of Mars, hellbent on getting their planet back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Below the Earth's Surface?
The closest matches to Below the Earth's Surface are Chief of Station (2024), North Face (2008) and Race with the Devil (1975). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Below the Earth's Surface?
Start with Chief of Station (2024), the closest match to Below the Earth's Surface.
What is the highest-rated movie like Below the Earth's Surface?
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), rated 7.9/10 by 1,852 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Below the Earth's Surface?
Blue Lock (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Below the Earth's Surface?
Yes: North Face (2008) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).
How are movies similar to Below the Earth's Surface chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Below the Earth's Surface, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.