50 Movies Like World War Z (2013) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View World War Z details →Marc Forster's 2013 outbreak thriller trades slow-burn dread for globe-trotting scale, following former UN investigator Gerry Lane as a mysterious infection turns whole populations into rampaging hordes. It plays less like traditional horror than a relentless action puzzle, chasing the source of the plague across continents while civilization buckles. The mindless-zombie menace here favors overwhelming numbers and momentum over gore, so squeamish viewers may find it more tense than gruesome. If you want a fast, high-stakes disaster story with a grounded lead and a race-against-collapse structure, it delivers. Fans wanting character depth or a quiet apocalypse should look elsewhere; this one keeps moving.
If you loved World War Z (2013) by Marc Forster, 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 The Bad Batch, Pandorum, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. 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 World War Z
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with World War Z 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.
The Bad Batch
2017 · Ana Lily Amirpour
After being exiled to a fenced-off wasteland, Arlen is kidnapped by a group of cannibals and goes on a journey to reunite a missing girl with her father.
In common: Action · Horror
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: Action · Horror
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
2021 · Johannes Roberts
Once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland…with great evil brewing below the surfac
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
The Purge
2013 · James DeMonaco
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 th
In common: Horror · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Purge: Election Year
2016 · James DeMonaco
Two years after choosing not to kill the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Leo Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlene Roan, the front runner in the next Presidential elec
In common: Action · Horror · Thriller
Resident Evil
2002 · Paul W. S. Anderson
When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military tas
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
Land of the Dead
2005 · George A. Romero
The living dead have taken over the world, and the remaining humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they cope with the situation.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction · Thriller
The First Purge
2018 · Gerard McMurray
To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But whe
In common: Action · Horror · Thriller
Mercy
2026 · Timur Bekmambetov
In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has ninety minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced AI Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
In Time
2011 · Andrew Niccol
In the not-too-distant future, the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live foreve
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Insurgent
2015 · Robert Schwentke
Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Terminator Salvation
2009 · McG
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses th
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Island
2005 · Michael Bay
In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The I
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Mad Max
1979 · George Miller
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 st
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Total Recall
2012 · Len Wiseman
Factory worker Doug Quaid takes a virtual mind-trip vacation with the Rekall company, opting for implanted memories of being a spy. When the procedure goes wrong, Quaid becomes a wanted man by the pol
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Mad Max 2
1981 · George Miller
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Running Man
1987 · Paul Michael Glaser
By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of gam
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Colony
2013 · Jeff Renfroe
Forced underground by the next ice age, a struggling outpost of survivors must fight to preserve humanity against a threat even more savage than nature.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Gamer
2009 · Brian Taylor
Mind-control technology has taken society by a storm, a multiplayer on-line game called "Slayers" allows players to control human prisoners in mass-scale. Simon controls Kable, the online champion of
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Death Race 2
2010 · Roel Reiné
In the world's most dangerous prison, a new game is born: Death Race. The rules of this adrenaline-fueled blood sport are simple, drive or die. When repentant convict Carl Lucas discovers there's a pr
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Arcadian
2024 · Benjamin Brewer
In the near future, on a decimated Earth, Paul and his twin sons face terror at night when ferocious creatures awaken. When Paul is nearly killed, the boys come up with a plan for survival, using ever
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
Doomsday
2008 · Neil Marshall
The lethal Reaper virus spreads throughout Britain—infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. Authorities brutally and successfully quarantine the country but, three decades later, the viru
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Peninsula
2020 · Yeon Sang-ho
A soldier and his team battle hordes of post-apocalyptic zombies in the wastelands of the Korean Peninsula.
In common: Action · Horror
Alien Resurrection
1997 · Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
2004 · Alexander Witt
As the city is locked down under quarantine, Alice finds out that the people that died from the previous incident at the Umbrella Corporation have turned into zombies. She then joins a small band of e
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
Surrogates
2009 · Jonathan Mostow
Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of oth
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Maze Runner
2014 · Wes Ball
A teenager with no memory of his past finds himself among a group of boys living in a walled enclosure surrounded by a massive, ever-changing maze. As he struggles to adapt to their rules and society,
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2014 · Matt Reeves
A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
2015 · Wes Ball
Thomas and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate la
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011 · Rupert Wyatt
A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Hunger Games
2012 · Gary Ross
In a dystopian society where the Capitol forces each district to send two young tributes to fight to the death in a televised spectacle, a girl volunteers to take her sister’s place, setting the stage
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Starship Troopers
1997 · Paul Verhoeven
Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally t
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem
2007 · Colin Strause
After a horrifying PredAlien crash-lands near a small Colorado town, killing everyone it encounters and producing countless Alien offspring, a lone Predator arrives to "clean up" the infestation.
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
Death Race
2008 · Paul W. S. Anderson
Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
What Happened to Monday
2017 · Tommy Wirkola
In a world where families are limited to one child due to overpopulation, a set of identical septuplets must avoid being put to a long sleep by the government and dangerous infighting while investigat
In common: Action · Science Fiction
They Live
1988 · John Carpenter
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Elysium
2013 · Neill Blomkamp
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
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Equilibrium
2002 · Kurt Wimmer
In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overth
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Carriers
2009 · Àlex Pastor
A deadly virus has spread across the globe. Contagion is everywhere, no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. Four friends race through the back roads of the American West on their way to a secluded
In common: Action · Horror
V for Vendetta
2006 · James McTeigue
In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman fr
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
2003 · Jonathan Mostow
It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Book of Eli
2010 · Albert Hughes
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
RoboCop
1987 · Paul Verhoeven
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the com
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Riddick
2013 · David Twohy
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
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Terminator
1984 · James Cameron
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 insurgen
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Minority Report
2002 · Steven Spielberg
John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Children of Men
2006 · Alfonso Cuarón
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help sc
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Purge: Anarchy
2014 · James DeMonaco
One night per year, the government sanctions a 12-hour period in which citizens can commit any crime they wish -- including murder -- without fear of punishment or imprisonment. Leo, a sergeant who lo
In common: Horror · Thriller
Meg 2: The Trench
2023 · Ben Wheatley
An exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean of a daring research team spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes batt
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
The Meg
2018 · Jon Turteltaub
A deep sea submersible pilot revisits his past fears in the Mariana Trench, and accidentally unleashes the seventy foot ancestor of the Great White Shark believed to be extinct.
In common: Action · Horror · Science Fiction
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.
