Movies like Spectral (2016)
The best movies like Spectral (2016) are The Predator (2018), Cloverfield (2008) and Extinction (2018). If Spectral hooked you with its science fiction and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAliens (1986)8.0/10 from 11,362 votes
- NewestBlack Box (2026)Released 2026
The Predator (2018)
When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled scientist can prevent the end of the human race.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisCloverfield (2008)
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtinction (2018)
A chief mechanic at a factory, haunted by apocalyptic nightmares, becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by a mysterious army bent on destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Box (2026)
Vero Airlines Flight 298 from New Orleans to Seattle becomes the center of a chilling supernatural mystery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Tomorrow War (2021)
The world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future, mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester. Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist and his estranged father in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkylines (2020)
When a virus threatens to turn the now earth-dwelling friendly alien hybrids against humans, Captain Rose Corley must lead a team of elite mercenaries on a mission to the alien world in order to save what's left of humanity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisCaptive State (2019)
Nearly a decade after occupation by an extraterrestrial force, the lives of a Chicago neighborhood on both sides of the conflict are explored. In a working-class Chicago neighborhood occupied by an alien force for nine years, increased surveillance and the restriction of civil rights have given rise to an authoritarian system -- and dissent among the populace.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRevolt (2017)
The story of humankind's last stand against a cataclysmic alien invasion. Set in the war-ravaged African countryside, a U.S. soldier and a French foreign aid worker team up to survive the alien onslaught. Their bond will be tested as they search for refuge across a crumbling world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisSkyline (2010)
When strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, people are drawn outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth. Now the band of survivors must fight for their lives as the world unravels around them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisStarship Troopers (1997)
Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKill Command (2016)
Set in a near future, technology-reliant society that pits man against killing machines. Against this backdrop an elite army unit is helicoptered to a remote, off-the-grid island training facility. What starts out as a simple training exercise for Captain Bukes and his tight-knit unit, descends into a terrifying battle to the death, as the marines discover the island is overrun by an enemy that transcends the human concept of evil.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisGhosts of War (2020)
A group of World War II American soldiers encounter a supernatural enemy as they occupy a French castle previously under Nazi control.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Darkest Hour (2011)
In Moscow, five young people lead the charge against an alien race which has attacked Earth via our power supply.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBattle: Los Angeles (2011)
When once distant UFOs become a terrifying threat and an alien invasion force begins attacking Earths major costal and riverside cities, a U.S Marine staff sergeant and his team are sent into battle only to find they must take it upon themselves to defeat an unknown enemy and protect what remains of Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Blackout (2019)
Contact between most towns on Earth has been severed. A small ring-like area in Eastern Europe still has electricity, and maybe even life is being reported from space. What military forces find outside the ring is shocking.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonsters (2010)
Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an infected zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures," while a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEdge of Tomorrow (2014)
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWar Machine (2026)
On one last grueling mission during Army Ranger training, a combat engineer must lead his unit in a fight against a giant otherworldly killing machine.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOutside the Wire (2021)
In the near future, a drone pilot is sent into a deadly militarized zone and must work with an android officer to locate a doomsday device.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien Outpost (2014)
A documentary crew follows an elite unit of soldiers in the wake of an alien invasion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDominion (2015)
Earth's position in the universe has become of vital strategic importance to those who have, until now, only studied us from the far reaches of space. Knowing our weaknesses, they have planned their attack, and now, in just 5 days, life on Earth will change forever. Robert Casey, a retired US Intelligence agent turned UFO investigator, races to discover the truth about the Dominion and what it has in store for the human race. Time is running out...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Agent Revelation (2021)
An ancient dust that controls humans is unleashed, but mysteriously affects Jim Yung who gains superpowers. Jim is taken to an underground base where he's trained to be an operative to take on an imminent alien threat and learn why aliens have returned to Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Occupation (2018)
Town residents must band together after a devastating alien invasion. As they struggle to survive, they realize they must stay one step ahead of their attackers and work together for a chance to strike back.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisRed Dawn (2012)
A city in Washington state awakens to the surreal sight of foreign paratroopers dropping from the sky—shockingly, the U.S. has been invaded and their hometown is the initial target. Quickly and without warning, the citizens find themselves prisoners and their town under enemy occupation. Determined to fight back, a group of young patriots seek refuge in the surrounding woods, training and reorganizing themselves into a guerrilla group of fighters.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPredators (2010)
A group of cold-blooded killers find themselves trapped on an alien planet to be hunted by extraterrestrial Predators.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElevation (2024)
Post-apocalyptic survivors find refuge in the Rocky Mountains to hide from giant, insect-like creatures that can't live above 8,000 feet. However, when one of them needs life-saving supplies, they risk it all to venture into the danger zone.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAliens (1986)
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRiddick (2013)
Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPitch Black (2000)
When their ship crash-lands on a remote planet, the marooned passengers soon learn that escaped convict Riddick isn't the only thing they have to fear. Deadly creatures lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack in the dark, and the planet is rapidly plunging into the utter blackness of a total eclipse. With the body count rising, the doomed survivors are forced to turn to Riddick with his eerie eyes to guide them through the darkness to safety. With time running out, there's only one rule: Stay in the light.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChildren of Men (2006)
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Spectral?
The closest matches to Spectral are The Predator (2018), Cloverfield (2008) and Extinction (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Spectral?
People who watched Spectral most often go on to The Predator (2018), Cloverfield (2008) and Extinction (2018).
What is the highest-rated movie like Spectral?
Aliens (1986), rated 8.0/10 by 11,362 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Spectral?
Black Box (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Spectral?
Yes: The Predator (2018), Cloverfield (2008) and Extinction (2018).
How are movies similar to Spectral chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Spectral, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.