Movies like Ascendant (2021)
The best movies like Ascendant (2021) are The Maze Runner (2014), Super 8 (2011) and The Medusa Touch (1978). If Ascendant hooked you with its mystery and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Maze Runner (2014)7.2/10 from 18,644 votes
- NewestThe End of Oak Street (2026)Released 2026
The Maze Runner (2014)
A teenager with no memory of his past finds himself among a group of boys living in a walled enclosure surrounded by a massive, ever-changing maze. As he struggles to adapt to their rules and society, he begins to uncover clues that may lead to escape and the truth behind their confinement.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuper 8 (2011)
In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train derailment. Soon after, their quiet town is gripped by unexplained disappearances, strange phenomena, and a growing sense of fear, as they uncover that something terrifying has been set loose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Medusa Touch (1978)
A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Lapse (2014)
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
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 & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLady in a Cage (1964)
A woman trapped in a home elevator is terrorized by a group of vicious hoodlums.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadise Hills (2019)
A young woman is sent to Paradise Hills to be reformed, only to learn that the high-class facility's beautiful facade hides a sinister secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSpace/Time (2025)
After a fatal test shuts down their project, a disgraced team of scientists enters the criminal underworld to rebuild a forbidden space-bending engine that could rescue humanity or annihilate it entirely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Train to Lisbon (2013)
Raimund Gregorius, having saved a beautiful Portuguese woman from leaping to her death, stumbles upon a mesmerizing book by a Portuguese author, which compels him to suddenly abandon the boring life he has led for years and to embark on an enthralling adventure. In search of the author, Gregorius acts as detective, pulling together pieces of a puzzle that involves political and emotional intrigue and the highest possible stakes. His voyage is one that transcends time and space, delving into the realms of history, medicine and love, all in search of true meaning to his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStowaway (2021)
A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisGemini Man (2019)
Henry Brogan is an elite 51-year-old assassin who's ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. His plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Brogan soon learns that the man who's trying to kill him is a younger, faster, cloned version of himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
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 thisGravity (2013)
Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Time Shifters (1999)
Tom Merrick gets caught up in a time-traveling conspiracy and must set the timeline right before it is irrevocably altered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCase 39 (2009)
In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoboCop: The Future of Law Enforcement (1994)
While tracking a ruthless killer, RoboCop and Madigan uncover a conspiracy between insane genius Dr. Cray Mallardo and ruthless OCP executive Chip Chayken, to develop a computer system linked to a human brain. Neuro-brain is created, a system capable of running the public services of the entire city. There's just one glitch: a ghost named Diana inhabits the machine. As RoboCop gets too close to this kindred spirit, Chayken enlists the aid of a homicidal psychopath Pudface Morgan to kill him off.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Assumption (2017)
Starring Cortney Palm, Brian Patrick Butler and directed by Anthony Leone. A man wakes from a concussion to find himself trapped in a cargo elevator, and as his time in isolation grows, so too does his paranoia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
The End? (2017)
A businessman gets stuck in his office elevator, but this nuisance soon turns into a nightmare, for in the outside world a zombie apocalypse has taken place...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpeed (1994)
Tensions run high when a crazed bomber rigs a Los Angeles bus with a device that will kill everyone on board if the vehicle's speed dips below fifty miles per hour.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRevenge (TBA)
A detective agency run by women helps others accusing their partners of betrayal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisSecrets of a Soul (2012)
Secrets of a Soul: Margarethe, Creator of bizarre sculptures! Night club dancer? Mad woman? Victim of an occult conspiracy?! Dark menaces steal her soul and organs. Though dead they keep her alive...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Hannibal Rising (2007)
The story of the early, murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer, Hannibal Lecter – from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the repulsive lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his sojourn in France, where as a medical student he hones his appetite for the kill and learnt sword skills from his Japanese girlfriend, who happened to have similar fate
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollywoodland (2006)
When Hollywood superstar George Reeves dies in his home, private detective Louis Simo is hired to investigate his death and gets caught in a web of lies involving a big studio executive's wife. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ascendant?
The closest matches to Ascendant are The Maze Runner (2014), Super 8 (2011) and The Medusa Touch (1978). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ascendant?
Start with The Maze Runner (2014), the closest match to Ascendant.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ascendant?
The Maze Runner (2014), rated 7.2/10 by 18,644 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ascendant?
The End of Oak Street (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ascendant?
Yes: The Maze Runner (2014), Super 8 (2011) and The Medusa Touch (1978).
How are movies similar to Ascendant chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ascendant, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.