Movies like Scanners (1981)
The best movies like Scanners (1981) are The Fly (1986), Altered States (1980) and Videodrome (1983). If Scanners 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 ratedThe Fly (1986)7.4/10 from 5,251 votes
- NewestPossessor (2020)Released 2020
The Fly (1986)
When brilliant, eccentric scientist Seth Brundle makes a huge technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAltered States (1980)
A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of human consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from Native American shamans, he explores these altered states of cognizance and finds that memory, time, and reality itself are states of mind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVideodrome (1983)
As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Brood (1979)
A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalised wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fly II (1989)
Martin Brundle, born of the human/fly, is adopted by his father's place of employment (Bartok Inc.) while the employees simply wait for his mutant chromosomes to come out of their dormant state.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisPossessor (2020)
Tasya Vos, an elite corporate assassin, uses brain-implant technology to take control of other people’s bodies to terminate high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Brain (1988)
Dr. Blake runs a TV show called "Independent Thinkers", which is sort of a Scientology-like self-help/religion program. But he's not making his audience think any more independently – with the help of an alien organism he calls The Brain, he's using brainwashing and mind control. The only thing that stands between them and world domination is a brilliant but troubled high school student with a penchant for pranks...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisTetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
A "metal fetishist", driven mad by the maggots wriggling in the wound he's made to embed metal into his flesh, runs out into the night and is accidentally run down by a Japanese businessman and his girlfriend. The pair dispose of the corpse in hopes of quietly moving on with their lives. However, the businessman soon finds that he is now plagued by a vicious curse that transforms his flesh into iron.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Power (1968)
One by one members of a special project team are being killed by telekinesis - the ability to move things with the power of the mind alone. The race is on to determine which of the remaining team members is the murderer and to stop them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
A simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMurder by Phone (1982)
A disgruntled phone company employee develops a device whereby those answering a phone can be murdered, and it's up to Nat Bridger to stop the killer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
From Beyond (1986)
The Resonator, a powerful machine that can control the sixth sense, has killed its creator and sent his associate into an insane asylum. When a psychiatrist becomes determined to continue the experiment, she unwittingly opens the door to a hostile parallel universe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRejuvenatrix (1988)
A rich actress who has gotten too old for leading roles employs a scientist who is working on a formula for eternal youth. The formula involves withdrawing certain fluids from the human brain. She takes the serum, but its unforeseen side effects turn her into a murderous monster.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Rabid (1977)
A young woman develops a taste for human blood after experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into bloodthirsty zombies, leading into a city-wide epidemic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crazies (1973)
The military attempts to contain a manmade virus causing death and permanent insanity in those infected, as it overtakes a small Pennsylvania town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwamp Thing (1982)
Mutated by his own secret formula, Dr. Alec Holland becomes Swamp Thing, a half-human, half-plant superhero who will stop at nothing to rescue government agent Alice Cable and defeat his evil arch nemesis...even if it costs him his life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSaturn 3 (1980)
In the future, Earth is overcrowded and the population relies on distant bases to be fed. In the Saturn 3 station, Major Adam and the scientist Alex, who is also his lover and has never been on Earth, have been researching hydroponics for three years in the base alone with their dog Sally. Captain Benson arrives Saturn 3 with Hector, incapable to controlling his emotions he transfers his homicidal tendency and insanity to Hector. Now Major Adam and Alex are trapped in the station with a dangerous psychopath robot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrainWaves (1983)
After a traffic accident Kaylie is in coma for months and her doctors want to try a new procedure on her. To regain her consciousness, they stimulate her brain with the neural patterns of a woman who has just died. It works and Kaylie fully recovers. However, she begins to relive the dying moments of her donor and realizes that she was murdered! Along with her husband and mother, she tries to find out what happened.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Shivers (1975)
The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirestarter (1984)
Charlene "Charlie" McGee has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from the threatening government agency which wants to destroy her?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemon Seed (1977)
A scientist creates Proteus, an organic supercomputer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Sender (1982)
A disturbed telepathic man is able to transmit his dreams and visions into the minds of the people around him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisPulse (1988)
An intelligent pulse of electricity moves from house to house, terrorizing occupants through their own appliances. Having already destroyed one household in a quiet neighborhood, the pulse finds itself in the home of a boy and his divorced father.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Visitor (1979)
An ancient intergalactic warrior arrives on Earth to put a stop to a demonic child's plot to reproduce Satan's next generation of evil.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSplice (2010)
Elsa and Clive, two rebellious young scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named "Dren", the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators — only to have that bond turn deadly.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisRabid (2019)
The quiet Rose works in women's fashion clothing, hoping to be a designer. A traffic accident damages her face. She gets experimental stem cell treatment, leaving her stronger and prettier than ever - but there's a side effect.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Fury (1978)
When a devious plot separates CIA agent Peter Sandza from his son, Robin, the distraught father manages to see through the ruse. Taken because of his psychic abilities, Robin is being held by Ben Childress, who is studying people with supernatural powers in hopes of developing their talents as weapons. Soon Peter pairs up with Gillian, a teen who has telekinesis, to find and rescue Robin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadly Friend (1986)
When tragedy strikes his remarkable robot and the beautiful girl next door, lonely teenage genius Paul tries to save them by pushing technology beyond its known limits into a terrifying new realm.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantasm (1979)
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEraserhead (1977)
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Scanners?
The closest matches to Scanners are The Fly (1986), Altered States (1980) and Videodrome (1983). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Scanners?
People who watched Scanners most often go on to The Fly (1986), Altered States (1980) and Videodrome (1983).
What is the highest-rated movie like Scanners?
The Fly (1986), rated 7.4/10 by 5,251 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Scanners?
Possessor (2020) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Scanners?
Yes: The Fly (1986), Altered States (1980) and Videodrome (1983).
How are movies similar to Scanners chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Scanners, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.