Movies like Shift (1974)
The best movies like Shift (1974) are Scarecrow (1973), Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026) and They Live (1988). If Shift hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedParis, Texas (1984)8.1/10 from 2,369 votes
- NewestNirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026)Released 2026
Scarecrow (1973)
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026)
When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Live (1988)
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAqua Teen Forever: Plantasm (2022)
Everyone’s favorite rascals, the Aqua Teens, and everyone’s favorite perverted neighbor, Carl, split up then get back together to fight everyone’s favorite corporate overlord, Amazin, led by everyone’s favorite tech mogul, Neil, and his trusty scientist sidekick, Elmer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMike's New Car (2002)
Mike discovers that being the top-ranking laugh collector at Monsters, Inc. has its benefits – in particular, earning enough money to buy a six-wheel-drive car that's loaded with gadgets. That new-car smell doesn't last long enough, however, as Sulley jump-starts an ill-fated road test that teaches Mike the true meaning of buyer's remorse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHead Full of Honey (2018)
A young girl tries to help her grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, navigate his increasing forgetfulness, and ends up going on a remarkable adventure with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrimer (2004)
A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKodachrome (2017)
Matt Ryder is convinced to drive his estranged and dying father Benjamin Ryder cross country to deliver four old rolls of Kodachrome film to the last lab in the world that can develop them before it shuts down for good. Along with Ben's nurse Zooey, the three navigate a world changing from analogue to digital while trying to put the past behind them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNimic (2020)
A professional cellist has an encounter with a stranger on the subway which has unexpected and far-reaching ramifications on his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Matrix Revisited (2001)
The film goes behind the scenes of the 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlade Runner (1982)
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisAlien: Night Shift (2019)
When a missing space trucker is discovered hungover and disoriented, his co-worker suggests a nightcap as a remedy. Near closing time, they are reluctantly allowed inside the colony supply depot where the trucker’s condition worsens, leaving a young supply worker alone to take matters into her own hands. Alien: Night Shift is one of six short films produced to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 1979's Alien.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBananas (1971)
When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaximum Overdrive (1986)
When a comet passes close to the earth, machines all over the world come alive and go on homicidal rampages. A group of people at a desolate truck stop are held hostage by a gang of murderous 18-wheelers. The frightened people set out to defeat the killer machines…Or be killed by them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two reunite. On the way he discovers France, bicycling and true love, among other things.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Valley of Gwangi (1969)
A turn of the century wild west show struggling to make a living in Mexico comes into the possession of a tiny prehistoric horse. This leads to an expedition to the Forbidden Valley where they discover living dinosaurs. They capture one and take it back to be put on display, leading to inevitable mayhem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChristine (1983)
Nerdy high schooler Arnie Cunningham falls for Christine, a rusty 1958 Plymouth Fury, and becomes obsessed with restoring the classic automobile to her former glory. As the car changes, so does Arnie, whose newfound confidence turns to arrogance behind the wheel of his exotic beauty. Arnie's girlfriend Leigh and best friend Dennis reach out to him, only to be met by a Fury like no other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTransformers (2007)
Young teenager Sam Witwicky becomes involved in the ancient struggle between two extraterrestrial factions of transforming robots – the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Sam holds the clue to unimaginable power and the Decepticons will stop at nothing to retrieve it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shift?
The closest matches to Shift are Scarecrow (1973), Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026) and They Live (1988). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shift?
Start with Scarecrow (1973), the closest match to Shift.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shift?
Paris, Texas (1984), rated 8.1/10 by 2,369 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shift?
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shift?
Yes: Scarecrow (1973), Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026) and They Live (1988).
How are movies similar to Shift chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shift, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.