Movies like The Search (2009)
The best movies like The Search (2009) are E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Signs (2002) and Prospect (2018). If The Search hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Search
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAvatar: The Way of Water (2022)7.6/10 from 14,872 votes
- NewestCaddo Lake (2024)Released 2024
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSigns (2002)
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProspect (2018)
A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote alien moon, aiming to strike it rich. They've secured a contract to harvest a large deposit of the elusive gems hidden in the depths of the moon's toxic forest. But there are others roving the wilderness and the job quickly devolves into a fight to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenry Poole Is Here (2008)
Henry Poole abandons his fiancée and family business to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone. The discovery of a 'miracle' by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCollateral Beauty (2016)
Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAsteroid City (2023)
In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Quiet Place Part II (2021)
Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaddo Lake (2024)
When an 8-year-old girl mysteriously vanishes on Caddo Lake, a series of past deaths and disappearances begin to link together, forever altering a broken family’s history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaddy's Head (2024)
A boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after an eerie creature resembling the boy's recently deceased father visits them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMoonlight Mile (2002)
As he copes with the death of his fiancee along with her parents, a young man must figure out what he wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Look Now (1973)
While grieving a terrible loss, a married couple meet two mysterious sisters, one of whom gives them a message sent from the afterlife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo One Will Save You (2023)
A lonely woman battles extraterrestrials who threaten her future while forcing her to face her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHide and Seek (2005)
David Callaway tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide and has been left to raise his nine-year-old daughter, Emily on his own. David is at first amused to discover that Emily has created an imaginary friend named 'Charlie', but it isn't long before 'Charlie' develops a sinister and violent side, and as David struggles with his daughter's growing emotional problems, he comes to the frightening realisation that 'Charlie' isn't just a figment of Emily's imagination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStealing Home (1988)
Billy Wyatt, a former high school and minor-league baseball player, receives a telephone call from his mother revealing that his former child-sitter, and later in his teens, his first love, Katie Chandler, has died. Wyatt returns home to deal with this tragedy, reminiscing over his childhood growing up with his father, Katie, and best friend Alan Appleby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadsight (2018)
A man with partial blindness and a young pregnant police officer must work together to escape a deadly virus that has spread across Grey County.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Resurrected (1991)
Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist, uses an ancient diary and human remains to begin a terrifying and bloody pursuit for immortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJules (2023)
A flying saucer lands in the backyard of an elderly suburbanite with memory problems, who forms a bond with the scared alien inside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Search?
The closest matches to The Search are E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Signs (2002) and Prospect (2018). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Search?
Start with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the closest match to The Search.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Search?
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), rated 7.6/10 by 14,872 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Search?
Caddo Lake (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Search?
Yes: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Signs (2002) and Prospect (2018).
How are movies similar to The Search chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Search, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.