Movies like External Shudders (2019)
The best movies like External Shudders (2019) are Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), A Bug's Life (1998) and Waking Sleeping Beauty (2010). If External Shudders hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)8.8/10 from 312 votes
- NewestThe Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)Released 2026
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all he's known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Bug's Life (1998)
On behalf of "oppressed bugs everywhere," an inventive ant named Flik hires a troupe of warrior bugs to defend his bustling colony from a horde of freeloading grasshoppers led by the evil-minded Hopper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWaking Sleeping Beauty (2010)
By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBabylon 5: The River of Souls (1998)
A group of Soul Hunters come to Babylon 5 demanding the return of something that was stolen from them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJames and the Giant Peach (1996)
When the young orphan boy James spills a magic bag of crocodile tongues, he finds himself in possession of a giant peach that flies him away to strange lands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bay (2012)
Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlade Runner (1982)
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSnow White (2001)
Snow White's mother dies during childbirth, leaving baby Snow and father John for dead on an icy field, who then receives a visit from one of Satan's representatives, granting him three wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)
With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the Digital Circus and its history. Will they come to terms with what they uncover, or will they make... the other choice? Also, presumably at some point someone says something funny, because this ending can’t be THAT depressing, can it? A theatrical screening of episode 8 and the all new, hour-long episode 9.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAntiviral (2012)
Syd March is employed at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDistrict 9 (2009)
Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens' welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. When a company field agent contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place he can hide: District 9.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)
Dr. Kelson finds himself in a shocking new relationship - with consequences that could change the world as they know it - and Spike's encounter with Jimmy Crystal becomes a nightmare he can't escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnter the Void (2010)
This psychedelic tour of life after death is seen entirely from the point of view of Oscar, a young American drug dealer and addict living in Tokyo with his prostitute sister, Linda. When Oscar is killed by police during a bust gone bad, his spirit journeys from the past -- where he sees his parents before their deaths -- to the present -- where he witnesses his own autopsy -- and then to the future, where he looks out for his sister from beyond the grave.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
When a sprite named Crysta shrinks a human boy, Zak, down to her size, he vows to help the magical fairy folk stop a greedy logging company from destroying their home: the pristine rainforest known as FernGully. Zak and his new friends fight to defend FernGully from lumberjacks — and the vengeful spirit they accidentally unleash after chopping down a magic tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBegotten (1991)
Begotten is the creation myth brought to life, the story of no less than the violent death of God and the (re)birth of nature on a barren earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Valley of Gwangi (1969)
A turn of the century wild west show struggling to make a living in Mexico comes into the possession of a tiny prehistoric horse. This leads to an expedition to the Forbidden Valley where they discover living dinosaurs. They capture one and take it back to be put on display, leading to inevitable mayhem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGodzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost Elephants (2026)
In Angola's mist-shrouded highlands, three KhoiSan master trackers embark on a spiritual quest to rediscover the legendary "ghost elephants" of Lisima, creatures presumed lost but remembered in ancestral trance, ritual, and memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWerewolf by Night (2022)
On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like External Shudders?
The closest matches to External Shudders are Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), A Bug's Life (1998) and Waking Sleeping Beauty (2010). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after External Shudders?
Start with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), the closest match to External Shudders.
What is the highest-rated movie like External Shudders?
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026), rated 8.8/10 by 312 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like External Shudders?
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like External Shudders?
Yes: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), A Bug's Life (1998) and Waking Sleeping Beauty (2010).
How are movies similar to External Shudders chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside External Shudders, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.