Movies like The Swarm (1978)
The best movies like The Swarm (1978) are Phase IV (1974), The Blob (1988) and Them! (1954). If The Swarm hooked you with its science fiction and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Thing (1982)8.1/10 from 8,435 votes
- NewestThe End of Oak Street (2026)Released 2026
Phase 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 · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blob (1988)
In Arborville, California, three high school students try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThem! (1954)
As a result of nuclear testing, gigantic, ferocious mutant ants appear in the American desert southwest, and a father-daughter team of entomologists join forces with the state police officer who first discovers their existence, an FBI agent and, eventually, the US Army to eradicate the menace, before it spreads across the continent — and the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last House (2026)
A family suddenly sealed inside their home must work together to survive against dwindling resources and the ominous threat keeping them trapped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnderwater (2020)
After an earthquake destroys their underwater station, six researchers must navigate two miles along the dangerous, unknown depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety in a race against time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Meg (2018)
A deep sea submersible pilot revisits his past fears in the Mariana Trench, and accidentally unleashes the seventy foot ancestor of the Great White Shark believed to be extinct.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blob (1958)
A drive-in favorite, this sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steve and his best girl, Jane, as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The first to discover the substance and live to tell about it, Steve and Jane witness the blob destroying an elderly man, then it growing to a terrifying size. But no one else has seen the goo, and policeman Dave refuses to believe the kids without proof.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeg 2: The Trench (2023)
An exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean of a daring research team spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwice-Told Tales (1963)
3 horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the 1st story titled "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger attempts to restore the youth of three elderly friends. In "Rappaccini's Daughter", a demented father is inoculating his daughter with poison so she may never leave her garden of poisonous plants. In the final story "The House of the Seven Gables", The Pyncheon family suffers from a hundred year old curse and while in the midst of arguing over inheritance, a stranger arrives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvaders from Mars (1953)
A boy tries to stop aliens that have taken over his town and are brainwashing its inhabitants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisX: The Unknown (1956)
Army radiation experiments awaken a subterranean monster from a fissure that feeds on energy and proceeds to terrorise a remote Scottish village. An American research scientist at a nearby nuclear plant joins with a British investigator to discover why the victims were radioactively burned and why, shortly thereafter, a series of radiation-related incidents are occurring in an ever-growing straight line away from the fissure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this4 Horsemen: Apocalypse (2022)
A small team of scientists must race against time to stop what seems to be a cascade of global disasters signaling the possible apocalypse and end of days.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWillard (1971)
A social misfit, Willard is made fun of by his co-workers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, Ben and Socrates. However, when one of them is killed at work, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack those who have been tormenting him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Host (2013)
A parasitic alien soul is injected into the body of Melanie Stryder. Instead of carrying out her race's mission of taking over the Earth, "Wanda" (as she comes to be called) forms a bond with her host and sets out to aid other free humans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGodzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species, thought to be mere myths, rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Core (2003)
Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes discovers that an unknown force has caused the earth's inner core to stop rotating. With the planet's magnetic field rapidly deteriorating, our atmosphere literally starts to come apart at the seams with catastrophic consequences. To resolve the crisis, Keyes, along with a team of the world's most gifted scientists, travel into the earth's core. Their mission: detonate a device that will reactivate the core.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 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 · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe End of Oak Street (2026)
After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood to someplace unknown, the Platt family soon discovers that their very survival depends on them sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable surroundings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEraserhead (1977)
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thing (1982)
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Recall (2017)
When five friends vacation at a remote lake house, they expect nothing less then a good time, unaware that Earth is under attack by an alien invasion and mass-abductions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSMALL PRINT (2024)
While working late at night on experimental deepfake technology in a highly secure research facility, Daniel is pursued by something that looks almost identical to him…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & science fiction
The Little Stranger (2018)
In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house is now in decline. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDawn of the Dead (2004)
A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, flesh-eating zombies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Phantom of the Opera (1925)
The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thirteenth Floor (1999)
In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMeet the Robinsons (2007)
Lewis, a brilliant young inventor, is keen on creating a time machine to find his mother, who abandoned him in an orphanage. Things take a turn when he meets Wilbur Robinson and his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Swarm?
The closest matches to The Swarm are Phase IV (1974), The Blob (1988) and Them! (1954). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Swarm?
Start with Phase IV (1974), the closest match to The Swarm.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Swarm?
The Thing (1982), rated 8.1/10 by 8,435 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Swarm?
The End of Oak Street (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Swarm?
Yes: Phase IV (1974), The Blob (1988) and Them! (1954).
How are movies similar to The Swarm chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Swarm, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.