Movies like The Scientist (2020)
The best movies like The Scientist (2020) are Eradication (2022), Winged Creatures (2009) and Extraordinary Measures (2010). If The Scientist hooked you with its horror and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAwakenings (1990)7.8/10 from 3,011 votes
- NewestGood Boy (2025)Released 2025
Eradication (2022)
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisExtraordinary Measures (2010)
Working-class father John Crowley is finally on the fast track to corporate success when his two young children are diagnosed with Pompe disease—a condition that prevents the body from breaking down sugar. With the support of his wife, John ditches his career and teams with unconventional specialist, Dr. Robert Stonehill to found a bio-tech company and develop a cure in time to save the lives of his children. As Dr. Stonehill works tirelessly to prove the theories that made him the black sheep of the medical community, a powerful bond is forged between the two unlikely allies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Sunchaser (1996)
A young half-Navajo convict dying of cancer forces a yuppie doctor to drive him to a magic healing lake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLight of My Life (2019)
Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadsight (2018)
A man with partial blindness and a young pregnant police officer must work together to escape a deadly virus that has spread across Grey County.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReplicas (2018)
A scientist becomes obsessed with returning his family to normalcy after a terrible accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCircle (2015)
In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes, one of them must die…executed by a strange device in the center of the room.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmni Loop (2024)
Diagnosed with a black hole growing inside her chest and stuck in a loop reliving the last five days of her life, a 55-year-old wife and mother from Miami, Florida decides to solve time travel in order to go back and be the person she always intended to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood of the Vampire (1958)
A man and wife are terrorized by Mad Scientist Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant. Along with his crippled assistant Carl, the 'anemic' Mad Scientist, believed to be a vampire, conducts blood deficiency research on the inmates of a prison hospital for the criminally insane to sustain his return to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisContagion (2011)
As an epidemic of a lethal airborne virus - that kills within days - rapidly grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Asphyx (1972)
Hugo is a brilliant turn-of-the-century scientist, loved and respected by his family and friends, admired by his colleagues. But he is a man quickly becoming obsessed with a curious and frightening question...What is the mysterious apparition found in the photographs of his dying subjects?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAwakenings (1990)
Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood Boy (2025)
A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner Todd, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fly (1958)
Industrialist François Delambre is called late at night by his sister-in-law, Helene, who tells him that she has just killed her husband. Reluctant at first, she eventually explains to the police that he invented a matter transportation apparatus and, while experimenting on himself, a fly entered the chamber.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRapture (1980)
José Sirgado is a low-budget filmmaker whose heroin addiction distorts his perspective of the real world. Although he is a depressed and unstable individual, his mood improves when he receives the mysterious films of Pedro, with whom he shares his passion for cinema.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thing from the Shed (2016)
Carly has a new house guest, from her shed!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Addams Family Reunion (1998)
The Addams Family goes on a search for their relatives. Gomez and Morticia are horrified to discover that Grandpa and Grandma Addams have a disease that is slowly turning them "normal". The only chance they have of a cure is to find a family member hoping that they know a home remedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisLittle Man Tate (1991)
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Resurrection Game (2001)
In a world where the dead walk and get in the way, a private detective teams up with a scientist and a pair of colorful zombie exterminators to uncover a global conspiracy so dark and far-reaching that zombies are the least of the problems. Stars Amy Lynn Best and Ray Yeo, with special appearances by Jasi Cotton Lanier and Debbie Rochon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The 11th Hour (2007)
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThings to Come (1936)
The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaybe… (2025)
An inventor who creates a time machine to correct his past mistakes encounters an unusual situation. One day, souls wanting to return to life begin to flock to his house...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Alistair1918 (2015)
A social work grad student’s film project on L.A. homelessness becomes something quite other when she and her friends encounter a man claiming to be from another time and place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Scientist?
The closest matches to The Scientist are Eradication (2022), Winged Creatures (2009) and Extraordinary Measures (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Scientist?
Start with Eradication (2022), the closest match to The Scientist.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Scientist?
Awakenings (1990), rated 7.8/10 by 3,011 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Scientist?
Good Boy (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Scientist?
Yes: Eradication (2022), Winged Creatures (2009) and Extraordinary Measures (2010).
How are movies similar to The Scientist chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Scientist, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.