50 Movies Like The Thing (2011) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View The Thing details →If you loved The Thing (2011) by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., here are 50 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Malignant, Vivarium, The Fly. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Movies Similar to The Thing
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with The Thing in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Malignant
2021 · James Wan
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.
In common: Horror · Mystery
Vivarium
2019 · Lorcan Finnegan
A young woman and her fiancé are in search of the perfect starter home. After following a mysterious real estate agent to a new housing development, the couple finds themselves trapped in a maze of id
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
The Fly
1986 · David Cronenberg
When Seth Brundle makes a huge scientific and technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Eraserhead
1977 · David Lynch
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
The Thing
1982 · John Carpenter
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
Life
2017 · Daniel Espinosa
The six-member crew of the International Space Station is tasked with studying a sample from Mars that may be the first proof of extra-terrestrial life, which proves more intelligent than ever expecte
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
Immaculate
2024 · Michael Mohan
An American nun embarks on a new journey when she joins a remote convent in the Italian countryside. However, her warm welcome quickly turns into a living nightmare when she discovers her new home har
In common: Horror · Mystery
Annihilation
2018 · Alex Garland
A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Event Horizon
1997 · Paul W. S. Anderson
In 2047, a group of astronauts are sent to investigate and salvage the starship Event Horizon which disappeared mysteriously seven years before on its maiden voyage. However, it soon becomes evident t
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
Old
2021 · M. Night Shyamalan
A group of families on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are staying is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Faculty
1998 · Robert Rodriguez
When some very creepy things start happening around school, the kids at Herrington High make the chilling discovery that confirms their worst suspicions: their teachers really are from another planet!
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Lee Cronin's The Mummy
2026 · Lee Cronin
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace—eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns int
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Substance
2024 · Coralie Fargeat
A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Smile
2022 · Parker Finn
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.
In common: Horror · Mystery
Splice
2010 · Vincenzo Natali
Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious 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 "
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
1408
2007 · Mikael Håfström
A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
In common: Horror · Mystery
Oddity
2024 · Damian McCarthy
After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.
In common: Horror · Mystery
Jigsaw
2017 · Michael Spierig
Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Ritual
2017 · David Bruckner
A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.
In common: Horror · Mystery
Dawn of the Dead
1978 · George A. Romero
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shop
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
2021 · Darren Lynn Bousman
Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran, brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his rookie partner take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the c
In common: Horror · Mystery
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
2019 · André Øvredal
Mill Valley, Pennsylvania, Halloween night, 1968. After playing a joke on a school bully, Stella and her friends decide to sneak into a supposedly haunted house that once belonged to the powerful Bell
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
2009 · Tom Six
During a stopover in Germany in the middle of a carefree road trip through Europe, two American girls find themselves alone at night when their car breaks down in the woods. Searching for help at a ne
In common: Horror
Alien: Romulus
2024 · Fede Álvarez
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
2016 · André Øvredal
Father and son coroners receive a mysterious unidentified corpse with no apparent cause of death. As they attempt to examine the "Jane Doe," they discover increasingly bizarre clues that hold the key
In common: Horror · Mystery
Dawn of the Dead
2004 · Zack Snyder
A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, flesh-eating zombies.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Barbarian
2022 · Zach Cregger
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better jud
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Ring
2002 · Gore Verbinski
Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a strange videotape that may be behind the untimely deaths of four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watch
In common: Horror · Mystery
It Follows
2015 · David Robert Mitchell
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
In common: Horror · Mystery
Brightburn
2019 · David Yarovesky
What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister?
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Saw X
2023 · Kevin Greutert
Between the events of 'Saw' and 'Saw II', a sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer, only to discover
In common: Horror · Mystery
Last Shift
2014 · Anthony DiBlasi
Rookie police officer Jessica Loren has been assigned the last shift at a closing police station and must wait for a hazmat crew to collect biomedical evidence. Ordered not to leave the station under
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Cloverfield Paradox
2018 · Julius Onah
Orbiting above a planet on the brink of war, scientists test a device to solve an energy crisis and end up face-to-face with a dark alternate reality.
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
The Invasion
2007 · Oliver Hirschbiegel
Washington, D.C. psychologist Carol Bennell and her colleague Dr. Ben Driscoll are the only two people on Earth who are aware of an epidemic running rampant through the city. They discover an alien vi
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
Slither
2006 · James Gunn
A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Lifeforce
1985 · Tobe Hooper
A race of space vampires arrives in London and infects the populace, commencing an apocalyptic descent into chaos.
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Return of the Living Dead
1985 · Dan O'Bannon
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Don't Worry Darling
2022 · Olivia Wilde
Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. But when crac
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
Until Dawn
2025 · David F. Sandberg
One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find
In common: Horror · Mystery
Prometheus
2012 · Ridley Scott
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future
In common: Horror · Mystery · Science Fiction
Pandorum
2009 · Christian Alvart
Two crew members wake up on an abandoned spacecraft with no idea who they are, how long they've been asleep, or what their mission is. The two soon discover they're actually not alone – and the realit
In common: Horror · Mystery
Smile 2
2024 · Parker Finn
About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fam
In common: Horror · Mystery
Jacob's Ladder
1990 · Adrian Lyne
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around hi
In common: Horror · Mystery
Session 9
2001 · Brad Anderson
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
In common: Horror · Mystery
Suspiria
2018 · Luca Guadagnino
A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the night
In common: Horror · Mystery
A Quiet Place
2018 · John Krasinski
A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Midsommar
2019 · Ari Aster
Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where t
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Host
2006 · Bong Joon Ho
A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
The Innocents
1961 · Jack Clayton
In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.
In common: Horror · Mystery
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
2021 · Michael Chaves
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren encounter what would become one of the most sensational cases from their files. The fight for the soul of a young boy takes them beyond anything they'd
In common: Horror · Mystery
Popular series
Breaking Bad
2008 · Michelle MacLaren
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023 · Kazutaka Yamanaka
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity’s m
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005 · Michael Dante DiMartino
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
