Movies like Super 8
If Super 8 hooked you with its thriller and science fiction, these are the films to watch next. Every pick says why it matches.
Signs (2002)
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnowing (2009)
A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Skies (2013)
From the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStarman (1984)
When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCocoon (1985)
When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDreamcatcher (2003)
Four childhood friends reunite for a hunting trip in the Maine woods, bound by a psychic force born from a childhood friend's dreamcatcher. They find themselves caught in a grotesque alien invasion that twists memory, sanity and reality into something far more sinister.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Am Number Four (2011)
A teenage fugitive with an incredible secret races to stay one step ahead of the mysterious forces seeking destroy him. With three dead and one on the run, the race to find the elusive Number Four begins. Outwardly normal teen John Smith never gets too comfortable in the same identity, and along with his guardian, Henri, he is constantly moving from town to town. With each passing day, John gains a stronger grasp on his extraordinary new powers, and his bond to the beings that share his fantastic fate grows stronger.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXeno (2025)
A teenage girl develops an otherworldly bond with an alien after it crash-lands in the desert. As government agents close in, she must protect her new friend, while uncovering a secret that could change the fate of both their worlds.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChronicle (2012)
Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisE.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: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt (2017)
In a small town in Maine, seven children known as The Losers Club come face to face with life problems, bullies and a monster that takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEarth to Echo (2014)
After a construction project begins digging in their neighbourhood, best friends Tuck, Munch and Alex inexplicably begin to receive strange, encoded messages on their cell phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they go to their parents and the authorities. The three embark on a secret adventure to crack the code and follow it to its source, and discover a mysterious being from another world who desperately needs their help. The journey that follows will change all their lives forever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Vast of Night (2019)
At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisArrival (2016)
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClose Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAttack the Block (2011)
A South London teen gang must team up with the other residents of their housing estate to protect the neighbourhood from a terrifying alien invasion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe New Mutants (2020)
Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both 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 thisIck (2025)
Science teacher Hank’s life changes when he reconnects with his first love and suspects that a new student may be his daughter—all while facing an alien threat in their town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonsters of California (2023)
Teenager Dallas Edwards and his derelict friends go on a quest for the meaning behind a series of mysterious, paranormal events in Southern California. The truths they uncover begin to unravel extraordinary secrets.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Midnight Special (2016)
A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe X-Files (1998)
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017)
In 1970s London, a teenage outsider named Enn falls in love with a rebellious alien girl named Zan, who has come to Earth for a party. Together, they navigate the complexities of intergalactic culture and the trials of first love.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Cloned Tyrone (2023)
A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy lurking directly beneath their neighborhood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & mystery
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: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Super 8 and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Super 8?
The closest matches to Super 8 are Signs, Knowing, Dark Skies.
How are movies similar to Super 8 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Super 8, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.
Are there English movies like Super 8?
Yes: Signs, Knowing, Dark Skies.