Movies like The Purge: Election Year (2016)
The best movies like The Purge: Election Year (2016) are The First Purge (2018), The Hunt (2020) and The Forever Purge (2021). If The Purge: Election Year hooked you with its action and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMad Max 2 (1981)7.4/10 from 4,405 votes
- NewestThe Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026)Released 2026
The First Purge (2018)
To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the others, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hunt (2020)
Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are—or how they got there. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists gather at a remote location to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of the hunted turns the tables on her pursuers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Forever Purge (2021)
All the rules are broken as a sect of lawless marauders decides that the annual Purge does not stop at daybreak and instead should never end as they chase a group of immigrants who they want to punish because of their harsh historical past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunted (2021)
A woman flees two serial killers who are hot on her heels in a forest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod Is a Bullet (2023)
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Purge: Anarchy (2014)
One night per year, the government sanctions a 12-hour period in which citizens can commit any crime they wish -- including murder -- without fear of punishment or imprisonment. Leo, a sergeant who lost his son, plans a vigilante mission of revenge during the mayhem. However, instead of a death-dealing avenger, he becomes the unexpected protector of four innocent strangers who desperately need his help if they are to survive the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRampage: Capital Punishment (2014)
A man takes over a TV station and holds a number of hostages as a political platform to awaken humanity, instead of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this28 Years Later (2025)
Twenty-eight years after the Rage virus outbreak, a heavily-defended island survives connected to the mainland by a single causeway. When one of the group leaves the island into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
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 & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJigsaw (2017)
Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)
Tommy Jarvis, tormented by the fear that maybe Jason isn't really dead, unwittingly resurrects the mass murderer for another bloody rampage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaylight's End (2016)
Years after a mysterious plague has devastated the planet and turned most of humanity into blood-hungry creatures, a rogue drifter on a vengeful hunt stumbles across a band of survivors in an abandoned police station and reluctantly agrees to try to help them defend themselves and escape to the sanctuary they so desperately need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)
Retired military commander Colonel Dale Murphy hosts the simulated post-apocalyptic reality show where participants are challenged to survive a remote West Virginia wasteland. But the show turns into a nightmarish showdown when each realizes they are being hunted by an inbred family of cannibals determined to make them all dinner!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Eli (2010)
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)
After learning that one of their victims, Maya, is still alive, The Strangers return to finish the job. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya soon finds herself in a brutal fight for survival against psychopaths more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw V (2008)
Following Jigsaw's grisly demise, Detective Mark Hoffman is commended as a hero, but Agent Strahm is suspicious, and delves into Hoffman's past. Meanwhile, another group of people are put through a series of gruesome tests.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTake Cover (2024)
A burned-out professional sniper finds himself trapped in an all-glass penthouse by a lethal competitor and must find a way to survive and escape with little to no cover between him and the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026)
Tethered by a frightening conclusion, Maya and the Strangers are locked on an unavoidable, unforgiving collision course — a showdown that proves they’re far from strangers now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 6th Day (2000)
A world of the very near future in which cattle, fish, and even the family pet can be cloned. But cloning humans is illegal - that is until family man Adam Gibson comes home from work one day to find a clone has replaced him. Taken from his family and plunged into a sinister world he doesn't understand, Gibson must not only save himself from the assassins who must destroy him to protect their secret, but uncover who and what is behind the horrible things happening to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Skulls II (2002)
After joining the Skulls, Ryan Sommers (Robin Dunne) is warned not to betray any secrets about the organization or its high-powered members. However, when Ryan witnesses a murder within the Skulls' private chambers, he finds that the closer he gets to revealing the truth - the more dangerous life becomes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNirvana (1997)
Jimi, a computer game designer, finds that his latest product has been infected by a virus which has given consciousness to the main character of the game, Solo. Tormented by the memory of his fled girlfriend Lisa and begged by Solo to end its useless "life", Jimi begins a search for people who can help him both to discover what happened to Lisa and to delete his game before it is released.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
Three generations of the same family deal with the consequences of unleashing the forces of hell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMad Max 2 (1981)
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWarning 2 (2024)
Geja misses assassinating Pamma and ends up in the same jail, intent on finishing the job. A merciless cop's plan to transfer the dangerous prisoners to Rajasthan escalates the situation
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Hollow Man II (2006)
After the mysterious death of scientist Dr. Devin Villiers, Det. Frank Turner and his partner are assigned to protect Villiers' colleague, who revealed that a veteran soldier was subjected to an experiment with the objective of creating the ultimate national security weapon... an undetectable soldier. The experiment failed – with disastrous side effects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCode 8 (2019)
In Lincoln City, some inhabitants have extraordinary abilities. Most live below the poverty line, under the close surveillance of a heavily militarized police force. Connor, a construction worker with powers, involves with a criminal gang to help his ailing mother. (Based on the short film “Code 8,” 2016.)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperman II (1980)
Three Kryptonian criminals led by General Zod team up with Lex Luthor to conquer Earth, forcing a depowered Superman to regain his strength and stop them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Karate Kid Part II (1986)
Summoned by his dying father, Miyagi returns to his homeland of Okinawa, with Daniel, after a 40-year exile. There he must confront Yukie, the love of his youth, and Sato, his former best friend turned vengeful rival. Sato is bent on a fight to the death, even if it means the destruction of their village. Daniel finds his own love in Yukia's niece, Kumiko, and his own enemy in Sato's nephew, the vicious Chozen. Now, far away from the tournaments, cheering crowds and safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when the cost of honor is life itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Purge: Election Year?
The closest matches to The Purge: Election Year are The First Purge (2018), The Hunt (2020) and The Forever Purge (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Purge: Election Year?
Start with The First Purge (2018), the closest match to The Purge: Election Year.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Purge: Election Year?
Mad Max 2 (1981), rated 7.4/10 by 4,405 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Purge: Election Year?
The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Purge: Election Year?
Yes: The First Purge (2018), The Hunt (2020) and The Forever Purge (2021).
How are movies similar to The Purge: Election Year chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Purge: Election Year, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.