Movies like 51 (2011)
The best movies like 51 (2011) are The Phoenix Incident (2015), Beyond the Sky (2018) and Hangar 18 (1980). If 51 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 ratedAlien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)7.4/10 from 215 votes
- NewestOsiris (2025)Released 2025
The Phoenix Incident (2015)
A number of 'missing person' cases are reported in Phoenix, Arizona when an unexplained light appears in the sky one night in 1997.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeyond the Sky (2018)
A documentary filmmaker travels to a UFO convention in New Mexico where he meets a local artist with a dark secret. As they follow a trail of clues they discover disturbing sightings and question all they believe when they become immersed in the enigmatic culture of the Pueblo Indians.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHangar 18 (1980)
During a Space Shuttle mission a satellite rams a unidentified flying object. The UFO afterwards performs an emergency landing in the deserts of Arizona. However the White House denies its existence because of the near presidential elections. The UFO is brought to the secret Hangar 18 and the accident is blamed on the incompetence of the astronauts Bancroff and Price. But the two fight against this and try to hunt down the UFO.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe UFO Incident (1975)
In the early 1960s, an interracial couple undergo hypnosis, which unlocks memories of a forgotten event on a lonely road. Soon they believe they were abducted by extraterrestrials.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
Skinwalker Ranch (2013)
In 2010 “Skinwalker Ranch” gained media attention after experiencing a wide range of unexplained phenomena. Reports ranged from UFO sightings to livestock mutilation, but maybe most notable was the disappearance of ranch owner Hoyt Miller’s eight-year-old son Cody on November 11, 2010. Close to a year later, Modern Defense Enterprises has sent a team of experts to document and investigate the mysterious occurrences, which only escalate upon their arrival. Tensions rise as the team must decide how far they will go to unlock the mysteries of “Skinwalker Ranch.” The group debates whether the answers are worth risking their lives for, or if they should just call off the investigation and leave the ranch—that is, if leaving is actually an option…
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies 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: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtraterrestrial (2014)
Five friends set out to a cabin in the woods for a fun weekend getaway that is, until extraterrestrial visitors turn it into a fight for their lives. The group is pulled from their reverie when a flickering object crashes deep in the woods. As they investigate, the friends stumble across an alien spacecraft, and its inhabitants have not arrived in peace.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlien 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: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies 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: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both science fiction
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 & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProgeny (1998)
An unsuspecting woman is impregnated by aliens who are experimenting on the human population.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Wicksboro Incident (2003)
In 1953 the entire population of Wicksboro, Texas vanishes. Forty five years later a witness comes out of hiding to tell the story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
The Arrival (1996)
Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCommunion (1989)
A novelist's wife and son see him changed by an apparent encounter with aliens in the mountains.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight Skies (2007)
On March 13th, 1997 one of the largest UFO sightings ever recorded took place across the southwestern United States...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAltered (2006)
Fifteen years ago, five men were abducted by aliens. Only four returned. Now, these same four men have managed to capture one of the creatures who killed their friend and ruined their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisHoneymoon (2014)
On her honeymoon, a young bride sleepwalks into the woods surrounding a secluded cabin. When she returns, she looks the same—but something about her is terrifyingly different.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisApollo 18 (2011)
Officially, Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later in 1973, three American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it's the real reason we've never gone back to the moon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisFire in the Sky (1993)
After clearing brush for the government, a group of men return to town claiming their friend was abducted. Despite no apparent motive or evidence of foul play, no-one believes their story and his disappearance is treated as murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan Vs. (2015)
As host of his own hit TV series, 'MAN VS', Doug Woods is forced to fend for himself for five days in remote locations with no crew, food, or water, only the cameras he carries on his back to film his experiences. Doug's in the remote woods for a routine episode, until he's awoken by an earth-shaking crash. Things get weirder as it becomes clear Doug isn't alone. Someone or something is watching him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBanshee Chapter (2013)
On the trail of a missing friend who had been experimenting with mind-altering drugs, a young journalist - aided by a rogue counter-culture writer, finds herself drawn into the dangerous world of top-secret government chemical research and the mystery of a disturbing radio signal of unknown origin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisDie Alone (2024)
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.
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 thisBlood and Snow (2023)
When researchers rescue a fellow scientist who survived a meteorite strike in the Arctic, they discover she may not be who they think she is. Is she some-how changed?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Light (2019)
A woman returns to her family home and discovers it to be inhabited by monsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBooks of Blood (2020)
A journey into uncharted and forbidden territory through three tales tangled in space and time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 51?
The closest matches to 51 are The Phoenix Incident (2015), Beyond the Sky (2018) and Hangar 18 (1980). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 51?
People who watched 51 most often go on to The Phoenix Incident (2015), Beyond the Sky (2018) and Hangar 18 (1980).
What is the highest-rated movie like 51?
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998), rated 7.4/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 51?
Osiris (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like 51?
Yes: The Phoenix Incident (2015), Beyond the Sky (2018) and Hangar 18 (1980).
How are movies similar to 51 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 51, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.