Movies like Things Unknown
The best movies like Things Unknown (2013) are Phoenix Forgotten (2017), Alien Abduction (2014) and Phase IV (1974). If Things Unknown hooked you with its science fiction and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAlien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)7.4/10 from 215 votes
- NewestMarshmallow (2025)Released 2025
Phoenix Forgotten (2017)
Twenty years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien Abduction (2014)
A vacationing family encounters an alien threat in this pulse-pounding thriller based on the real-life Brown Mountain Lights phenomenon in North Carolina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisPhase IV (1974)
Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNope (2022)
Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarshmallow (2025)
At a secluded summer camp, timid and introverted 12-year-old Morgan is thrust into a waking nightmare when a once-fabled campfire tale becomes real. As a mysterious figure descends upon the camp, Morgan and his newfound friends must embark on a treacherous journey and uncover a sinister reality buried beneath the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
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 & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSignificant Other (2022)
Ruth and Harry decide to take a romantic backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest, but amongst the beautiful scenery, Ruth makes an unexpected discovery that sets her off on a strange, frightening new path. The couple aren't alone in the woods, and they might not be the same when they come out...if they come out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV/H/S/Beyond (2024)
The infinite playground of forbidden worlds and dangerous lifeforms offered by the sci-fi horror genre will lead to the biggest, maddest, bloodiest V/H/S ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Purge (2013)
Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & 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 & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)
After a mysterious blackout, a son goes out to investigate and captures footage of actual aliens. When the aliens follow he and his brothers back to their home all hell breaks lose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
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 & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Burning (1981)
A caretaker at a summer camp is burned when a prank goes tragically wrong. After several years of intensive treatment at hospital, he is released back into society, albeit missing some social skills. What follows is a bloody killing spree with the caretaker making his way back to his old stomping ground to confront one of the youths that accidentally burned him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blair Witch Project (1999)
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWestworld (1973)
Delos is a futuristic amusement park that features themed worlds populated by human-like androids. After two patrons have a run-in with a menacing gunslinger in West World, the androids at Delos all begin to malfunction, causing havoc throughout the park.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlanet Terror (2007)
Two doctors find their graveyard shift inundated with townspeople ravaged by sores. Among the wounded is Cherry Darling, a dancer whose leg was ripped from her body. As the invalids quickly become enraged aggressors, Cherry and her ex-boyfriend El Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuper 8 (2011)
In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train derailment. Soon after, their quiet town is gripped by unexplained disappearances, strange phenomena, and a growing sense of fear, as they uncover that something terrifying has been set loose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavageland (2015)
When a small town near the Arizona-Mexico border is wiped out overnight, suspicion falls on the lone survivor. But a roll of photos the survivor took that night tells a different story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Before Dawn (1981)
In the Oregon mountains, a pair of hunters encounter a machete-wielding killer in an abandoned church. Meanwhile, five campers arrive to examine some property one of them has inherited but are warned by the forest ranger not to venture forth. Soon after they set up camp, they begin hearing strange noises, encounter a mysterious singing girl and start disappearing one by one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrave Encounters (2011)
A crew from a paranormal reality television show lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital. They search for evidence of paranormal activity as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvil Aliens (2006)
The sensationalist reporter Michelle Fox presents the TV show Weird World, with phony matters about UFOS and aliens. When she hears about Cat, a young woman that claims that have been abducted with her boyfriend and become pregnant by aliens, she convinces her chief to travel with a team to the remote Welsh island of Scalled to interview Cat. She invites the cameraman Ricky Anderson with his sound technician partner; the nerd expert in "ufology" and "ley lines" Gavin Gorman; the actress Candy Vixen and an obscure gay actor to prepare the matter. They get a van and wait for the low tide to reach the island, and when they find evidences that aliens are really landed in the location, the ambitious Michelle decides to film her way to fame and wealth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisHoax (2022)
Don't get carried away 🛸 Four YouTubers enter Dorset's New Forest to camp overnight in order to study alien phenomena.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & science fiction
The Ones Who Watch (2024)
Recently released from the psych ward, Allen struggles to cope with his depression which leads him to strange occurrences that quickly spiral into a dire situation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & horror
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. When barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides humankind shall be exterminated so the planet can survive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisVacancy (2007)
A young married couple becomes stranded at an isolated motel and find hidden video cameras in their room. They realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWithout Trace at Dawn (2014)
Seven young people mysteriously disappear after a night of camping in the golden forest, located in the city of Huancayo. They are intensely searched for without obtaining any results, until a year later a video camera is found hidden inside a cemetery, where the camera reveals everything that happened to them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
My Favorite Martian (1999)
Ambitious television reporter Tim O'Hara stumbles upon a martian whose spaceship has accidentally crashed on Earth. Thinking this is his ticket to a Pulitzer Prize, Tim makes plans to expose the martian, who, posing as Tim's Uncle Martin, takes human form and has plans of his own. In fact, all of Tim's efforts to divulge the truth are systematically thwarted by the resourceful alien, who ultimately recruits Tim to help him repair his ship for a return to Mars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisExplorers (1985)
Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blackwell Ghost 7 (2022)
A filmmaker attempts to continue his paranormal adventure but finds himself stalked and tormented by a dangerous person who follows his every move. This is the 7th installment of "The Blackwell Ghost" series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Deer Camp '86 (2024)
In the fall of 1986, six knuckleheads from Detroit travel north to partake in the annual tradition of deer hunting. But something horrific has been awakened and the hunters become the hunted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Things Unknown?
The closest matches to Things Unknown are Phoenix Forgotten (2017), Alien Abduction (2014) and Phase IV (1974). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Things Unknown?
Start with Phoenix Forgotten (2017), the closest match to Things Unknown.
What is the highest-rated movie like Things Unknown?
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998), rated 7.4/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Things Unknown?
Marshmallow (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Things Unknown?
Yes: Phoenix Forgotten (2017), Alien Abduction (2014) and Phase IV (1974).
How are movies similar to Things Unknown chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Things Unknown, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.