Movies like They Live (1988)
The best movies like They Live (1988) are Extinction (2018), Predator 2 (1990) and Riddick (2013). If They Live hooked you with its science fiction and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Terminator (1984)7.7/10 from 15,402 votes
- NewestGood Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)Released 2026
Extinction (2018)
A chief mechanic at a factory, haunted by apocalyptic nightmares, becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by a mysterious army bent on destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPredator 2 (1990)
A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiddick (2013)
Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien Nation (1988)
A few years from now, Earth will have the first contact with an alien civilization. These aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society after years of quarantine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad Max (1979)
In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPredator (1987)
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Terminator (1984)
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpectral (2016)
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBugonia (2025)
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOccupation: Rainfall (2020)
Two years into an intergalactic invasion of Earth, survivors in Sydney, Australia, fight back in a desperate ground war. As casualties mount by the day, the resistance and their unexpected allies, uncover a plot that could see the war come to a decisive end. With the Alien invaders hell-bent on making earth their new home, the race is on to save mankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLong Distance (2024)
After crash-landing on an alien planet, an asteroid miner must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings, while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfterburn (2025)
Set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIck (2025)
Science teacher Hank’s life changes when he reconnects with his first love and suspects that a new student may be his daughter—all while facing an alien threat in their town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAttack the Block (2011)
A South London teen gang must team up with the other residents of their housing estate to protect the neighbourhood from a terrifying alien invasion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Purge (2013)
Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemolition Man (1993)
In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 years later to wreak havoc on the future, Spartan is awakened to capture his nemesis the old-fashioned way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)
A 'Man from the Future' arrives at an LA diner where he must recruit the precise combination of disgruntled patrons to join him on a one-night quest to save the world from the terminal threat of a rogue artificial intelligence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCoherence (2014)
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this9 (2009)
When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFortress (1992)
In the future, the inmates of a private underground prison are computer-controlled with cameras, dream readers, and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife Karen are locked inside "The Fortress" but are determined to escape before the birth of their baby.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVanishing Point (1971)
Kowalski works for a car delivery service, and takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to drive from Colorado to San Francisco. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLifeforce (1985)
A race of space vampires arrives in London and infects the populace, commencing an apocalyptic descent into chaos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGodzilla vs. Gigan Rex (2022)
When army of Gigans tries to invade and destroy the Earth, the only one who can stop them is Godzilla.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Village of the Damned (1995)
An American village is visited by some unknown life form which leaves the women of the village pregnant. Nine months later, the babies are born, and they all look normal, but it doesn't take the "parents" long to realize that the kids are not human or humane.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHere On Earth (2018)
Every morning at school, when girls and boys stand in their lines, Sam, an alien boy, is confronted with his situation: he doesn't fit into this society where everything has to be classified. However, thanks to a teacher he will find his place in the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Wild Blade of Strangers (2024)
During the chaotic period towards the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Prince of Liang usurped power and secretly eliminated the heir to the throne. Tian Anye, a humble charcoal seller, unintentionally gets entangled in this conspiracy. In a series of intense battles where allies and enemies become blurred, the secrets hidden within Tian Anye and the truth behind the sacrifice of the people in Liang City are unveiled. In the end, Tian Anye fights against the imperial soldiers, saving a mother and child and escaping from the city of Chang'an.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Soft Side (2025)
Angry and brooding school drop-out, Hunter Hall, spends his nights driving and picking fights when an estranged family member suddenly causes him to question his lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The 'Burbs (1989)
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like They Live?
The closest matches to They Live are Extinction (2018), Predator 2 (1990) and Riddick (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after They Live?
Start with Extinction (2018), the closest match to They Live.
What is the highest-rated movie like They Live?
The Terminator (1984), rated 7.7/10 by 15,402 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like They Live?
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like They Live?
Yes: Extinction (2018), Predator 2 (1990) and Riddick (2013).
How are movies similar to They Live chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside They Live, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.