Movies like The Phoenix Tapes '97 (2016)
The best movies like The Phoenix Tapes '97 (2016) are Alien Abduction (2014), The Bay (2012) and V/H/S/Beyond (2024). If The Phoenix Tapes '97 hooked you with its horror and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAlien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)7.5/10 from 216 votes
- NewestRage of Stars (2026)Released 2026
Alien Abduction (2014)
A vacationing family encounters an alien threat in this pulse-pounding thriller based on the real-life Brown Mountain Lights phenomenon in North Carolina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Bay (2012)
Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisV/H/S/Beyond (2024)
The infinite playground of forbidden worlds and dangerous lifeforms offered by the sci-fi horror genre will lead to the biggest, maddest, bloodiest V/H/S ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonolith (2023)
A desperate young journalist turns to podcasting to salvage her career, but her rush to make headlines leads her to an alien conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTau (2018)
Held captive in a futuristic smart house, a woman hopes to escape by befriending the A.I. program that controls the house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhoenix Forgotten (2017)
Twenty years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)
After a mysterious blackout, a son goes out to investigate and captures footage of actual aliens. When the aliens follow he and his brothers back to their home all hell breaks lose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fourth Kind (2009)
Since the 1960s, a disproportionate number of the population in and around Nome, Alaska, have gone missing. Despite FBI investigations, the disappearances remain a mystery. Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist, may be on the verge of blowing the unsolved cases wide open when, during the course of treating her patients, she finds evidence of alien abductions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProject Almanac (2015)
A group of teens discover secret plans of a time machine, and construct one. However, things start to get out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: Insurrection (1998)
When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOsiris (2025)
Special Forces commandos on a mission are abducted mid-operation by a mysterious spacecraft. Upon waking aboard, they find themselves prey to a relentless alien race in a fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
After years of war, the Federation and the Klingon empire find themselves on the brink of a peace summit when a Klingon ship is nearly destroyed by an apparent attack from the Enterprise. Both worlds brace for what may be their deadliest encounter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSavageland (2015)
When a small town near the Arizona-Mexico border is wiped out overnight, suspicion falls on the lone survivor. But a roll of photos the survivor took that night tells a different story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDisclosure Day (2026)
A cybersecurity expert becomes a whistleblower after uncovering secrets about aliens, putting him on the run from a corporation. Meanwhile, a meteorologist experiencing strange phenomena joins forces with him to prove there's life beyond our understanding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Conspiracy (2012)
A documentary about conspiracy theories takes a horrific turn after the filmmakers uncover an ancient and dangerous secret society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisRe-Kill (2015)
Five years after a zombie outbreak, the men and women of R-Division hunt down and destroy the undead. When they see signs of a second outbreak, they fear humanity may not survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisRage of Stars (2026)
A story about a woman from the International Special Forces Unit, who has a premonition about the impending end of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZygote (2017)
The two remaining crew members of a mining operation in the Arctic Circle fight to survive against an alien creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpecter (2014)
The town of Midground is threatened by a tsunami caused by a massive earthquake in the North Pacific Ocean. After other unexplainable events transpire, Chase Lombardi and friends are forced to discover whether they are experiencing a natural phenomenon or something else all together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Erasmus (2016)
Montse just wanted to make a documentary about partying at the Barcelona night clubs. But what begins as a fun evening out turns into hours of unending terror as Montse's video cameras capture a mysterious fiend killing off her friends one by one.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Spree (2020)
Desperate for an online following, a rideshare driver has figured out a deadly plan to go viral and he will stop at nothing to get his five minutes of fame.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHead Cases: Serial Killers in the Delaware Valley (2013)
Serial killer Wayne Montgomery committed 41 murders between 1979 and 2007, leaving behind an extensive video library of his life's work. Now, a new generation is carrying on Wayne's brutal legacy in a terrifying world where rules do not apply. Press play and take a trip through the mind of one of history's most prolific serial killers - and his devoted followers who are out for blood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
What We Found Out There (2021)
Two friends find more than they bargained for while hiking out in the treacherous wilderness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Big Man Japan (2007)
Daisato, a second-rate, third-generation superhero, annoys his neighbors with the noise and destruction he causes on the job. But a heroic public image is the least of his concerns. Besides defending Japan from bizarre monsters, he must deal with an agent seeking to brand him with ads, a superhero grandfather with Alzheimer's and a family embarrassed by his incompetence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsychic Darkness Video 27 (2018)
The 27th installment and collection of horror videos that carefully select and introduce psychic images that are being born from darkness and are about to be buried in the darkness!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Last Five Days: 10 Years Later (2021)
10 long years have gone by since the mysterious passing of college students Greg Sanders and Brian Mills. Greg's older brother decides to take matters into his own hands and find out what really happened on the now internet famous video. However, it seems that history may end up repeating itself and remain unexplained forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Psychic Darkness Video 71 (2022)
The 71st installment of the popular horror documentary series!! A contributor who visited with his lover when he heard that the school building of the junior high school he used to go to will be demolished. There is an inexplicable existence in the image of the smartphone when I'm looking around with permission to go inside...! The contributor remembers a bizarre incident that happened while he was in school...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Hazzard Files Part One (2024)
Three professional paranormal investigators stumble upon a lost cemetery in the woods of the PNW and what they discover after spending some time investigating will shock you to the core. A fake phony doctor by the name of Linda Hazzard murdered victims of her starvation cure by starving them to death. Their souls have come alive in this documentary film to bridge the living with the dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Phoenix Tapes '97?
The closest matches to The Phoenix Tapes '97 are Alien Abduction (2014), The Bay (2012) and V/H/S/Beyond (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Phoenix Tapes '97?
Start with Alien Abduction (2014), the closest match to The Phoenix Tapes '97.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Phoenix Tapes '97?
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998), rated 7.5/10 by 216 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Phoenix Tapes '97?
Rage of Stars (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Phoenix Tapes '97?
Yes: Alien Abduction (2014), The Bay (2012) and V/H/S/Beyond (2024).
How are movies similar to The Phoenix Tapes '97 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Phoenix Tapes '97, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.