Movies like THX 1138 (1971)
The best movies like THX 1138 (1971) are Brave New World (1980), Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and 1984 (1956). If THX 1138 hooked you with its science fiction and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Clockwork Orange (1971)8.2/10 from 14,300 votes
- NewestPlan 75 (2022)Released 2022
Brave New World (1980)
A man who grew up in a primitive society educating himself by reading Shakespeare is allowed to join the futuristic society where his parents are from. However, he cannot adapt to their repressive ways.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this1984 (1956)
In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Handmaid's Tale (1990)
In a dystopian, polluted right-wing religious tyranny, a young woman is put in sexual slavery on account of her now rare fertility.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMetropolis (1927)
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCode 46 (2003)
In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator William Gold arrives in Shanghai to investigate a forgery ring for "papelles", futuristic passports that record people's identities and genetics. Gold falls for Maria Gonzalez, the woman in charge of the forgeries. After a passionate affair, Gold returns home, having named a coworker as the culprit. But when one of Gonzalez's customers is found dead, Gold is sent back to Shanghai to complete the investigation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLX 2048 (2020)
In the near future, the sun has become so toxic people can no longer leave their houses in daytime, and normal life is conducted mostly inside the virtual realm. Against this dystopian backdrop, a dying man seeks to ensure the future well-being of his family, while coping with what it means to be human in this new reality.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRollerball (1975)
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlphaville (1965)
Lemmy Caution is on a mission to eliminate Professor Von Braun, the creator of a malevolent computer that rules the city of Alphaville. Befriended by the scientist’s daughter Natasha, Lemmy must unravel the mysteries of the strictly logical Alpha 60 and teach Natasha the meaning of the word “love.”
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGattaca (1997)
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
Winston Smith is a government employee whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light. His trysts with Julia provide his only measure of enjoyment, but lawmakers frown on the relationship -- and in this closely monitored society, there is no escape from Big Brother.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave New World (1998)
In a futuristic totalitarian utopian society, babies are created through genetic engineering, everyone has a predestined place in society and their minds are conditioned to follow the rules. A tragic outsider jeopardizes the status quo.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisZardoz (1974)
In the far future, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisMoon (2009)
With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off a series of unsettling events that shake his isolation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Aerial (2007)
An entire city has lost its voice. Mr. TV, the owner of the city's only television channel, is carrying out a sinister plan to control all of the city's inhabitants.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Clockwork Orange (1971)
In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLogan's Run (1976)
In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures — but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlade Runner 2049 (2017)
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath Watch (1980)
In a future world where the disease has been finally defeated and everything can be sold, even the crude spectacle of death, the rare case of a dying woman becomes the morbid theme of a revolutionary reality show, broadcast through the curious eyes of a peculiar camera.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Giver (2014)
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKamikaze '89 (1982)
In a futuristic, totalitarian society wherein the government controls all facets of the media, a homicide detective investigates a string of bombings and uncovers more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Plan 75 (2022)
In a Japan of the near future, the government program Plan 75 encourages senior citizens to be voluntarily euthanized to remedy a super-aged society. An elderly woman whose means of survival are vanishing, a pragmatic Plan 75 salesman, and a young Filipino laborer face choices of life and death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFahrenheit 451 (2018)
In an oppressive future, a 'fireman' whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisElysium (2013)
In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoylent Green (1973)
In the year 2022, overcrowding, pollution, and resource depletion have reduced society’s leaders to finding food for the teeming masses. The answer is Soylent Green.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNineteen Eighty-Four (1954)
A man who works for 'The Party' (an all powerful empire led by a man known only as 'Big Brother') begins to have thoughts of rebellion and love for a fellow member. Together they look to help bring down the party.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Zero Theorem (2013)
A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Face of Another (1966)
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStalker (1979)
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like THX 1138?
The closest matches to THX 1138 are Brave New World (1980), Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and 1984 (1956). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after THX 1138?
People who watched THX 1138 most often go on to Brave New World (1980), Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and 1984 (1956).
What is the highest-rated movie like THX 1138?
A Clockwork Orange (1971), rated 8.2/10 by 14,300 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like THX 1138?
Plan 75 (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like THX 1138?
Yes: Brave New World (1980), Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and 1984 (1956).
How are movies similar to THX 1138 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside THX 1138, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.