Movies like The Pump (1988)
The best movies like The Pump (1988) are The Car (1977), Gerry (2002) and Yellow Sky (1948). If The Pump hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedParis, Texas (1984)8.1/10 from 2,368 votes
- NewestWasteland (2021)Released 2021
The Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGerry (2002)
Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYellow Sky (1948)
In 1867, a gang robs a bank and flees into the desert. Out of water, the outlaws encounter a ghost town called Yellow Sky and its only residents, a hostile young woman and her grandfather.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDuel (1971)
Traveling businessman David Mann angers the driver of a rusty tanker while crossing the California desert. A simple trip turns deadly, as Mann struggles to stay on the road while the tanker plays cat and mouse with his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Monolith Monsters (1957)
Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlight of the Phoenix (2004)
When an oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, an aircraft crew are sent to shut the operation down and fly them out. On the flight out over the desert on the way to Beijing, Capt. Frank Towns and co-pilot A.J. are unable to keep their cargo plane, a C-119 Flying Boxcar, in the air when a violent sandstorm strikes. Crash-landing in a remote uncharted part of the desert, the two pilots and their passengers -- a crew of oil workers and a drifter -- must work together to survive by rebuilding the aircraft. Soon, low supplies and a band of merciless smugglers add even greater urgency to their task.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAce in the Hole (1951)
An arrogant reporter exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to revitalize his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Reporter John Klein is plunged into a world of impossible terror when fate draws him to the sleepy West Virginia town of Point Pleasant, whose residents are being visited by a great winged shape that sows hideous nightmares and fevered visions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTremors (1990)
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Dan Evans, a small time farmer, is hired to escort Ben Wade, a dangerous outlaw, to Yuma. As Evans and Wade wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, Wade's gang is racing to free him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hitcher (1986)
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRango (2011)
When Rango, a lost family pet, accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging Western town of Dirt, the theater-loving lizard suddenly finds himself the newly appointed sheriff. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt and uncover the truth behind a looming water crisis—before his act catches up with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fog (1980)
Strange things begin to occur as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone stumbles upon a dark secret about the town's founding; radio announcer Stevie witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
Double-crossed and left without water in the desert, Cable Hogue is saved when he finds a spring. It is in just the right spot for a much needed rest stop on the local stagecoach line, and Hogue uses this to his advantage. He builds a house and makes money off the stagecoach passengers. Hildy, a prostitute from the nearest town, moves in with him. Hogue has everything going his way until the advent of the automobile ends the era of the stagecoach.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown (2017)
When the Scooby gang visits a dude ranch, they discover that it and the nearby town have been haunted by a ghostly cowboy, Dapper Jack, who fires real fire from his fire irons. The mystery only deepens when it’s discovered that the ghost is also the long lost relative of Shaggy Rogers!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Day at Black Rock (1955)
One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParis, Texas (1984)
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMeek's Cutoff (2011)
A group of settlers traveling through the Oregon High Desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wraith (1986)
Packard Walsh and his motorized gang control and terrorize an Arizona desert town where they force drivers to drag-race so they can 'win' their vehicles. After Walsh beats the decent teenager Jamie Hankins to death after finding him with his girlfriend, a mysterious power creates Jake Kesey, an extremely cool motor-biker who has a car which is invincible. Jake befriends Jamie's girlfriend Keri Johnson, takes Jamie's sweet brother Bill under his wing and manages what Sheriff Loomis couldn't; eliminate Packard's criminal gang the hard way...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Taking an ill-advised detour en-route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, they find themselves at the mercy of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVanishing Point (1971)
Kowalski works for a car delivery service, and takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to drive from Colorado to San Francisco. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSmokey and the Bandit II (1980)
The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisWasteland (2021)
Follows the quiet day of a lonely young girl who tries to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Cell (2000)
A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
A Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane raises havoc among a normally peaceful tribe of African bushmen who believe it to be a utensil of the gods.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hitcher (2007)
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
When brash Texas border officer Mike Norton wrongfully kills and buries the friend and ranch hand of Pete Perkins, the latter is reminded of a promise he made to bury his friend, Melquiades Estrada, in his Mexican home town. He kidnaps Norton and exhumes Estrada's corpse, and the odd caravan sets out on horseback for Mexico.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDon't Come Back from the Moon (2017)
The men of a small town on the edge of nowhere mysteriously disappear, one by one, leaving women and children behind to fend for themselves in a desolate and dreamlike world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Everything Beautiful Is Far Away (2017)
On an isolated desert planet, a man who is looking for parts to repair his robotic companion teams up with a young woman searching for an imaginary lake.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like The Pump and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Pump?
The closest matches to The Pump are The Car (1977), Gerry (2002) and Yellow Sky (1948). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Pump?
Start with The Car (1977), the closest match to The Pump.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Pump?
Paris, Texas (1984), rated 8.1/10 by 2,368 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Pump?
Wasteland (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Pump?
Yes: The Car (1977), Gerry (2002) and Yellow Sky (1948).
How are movies similar to The Pump chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Pump, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.