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Escape from New York poster

Movies that feel likeEscape from New York (1981)

In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.

If you loved Escape from New York, the closest films we have are They Live (1988), Mad Max 2 (1981) and District B13 (2004). All three share Escape from New York's kinetic and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is eXistenZ (1999).

πŸ… 70% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. John Carpenterkinetictensecerebralbleak
10 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video Β· Paramount Plus Essential Β· MGM Plus

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If Escape from New York hit the spot, these will too

They Live poster
They Live
1988 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.2science fiction Β· action Β· thrillerPrime Video

The same hand behind both of them: 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.

Mad Max 2 poster
Mad Max 2
1981 Β· dir. George Miller
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.6action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Both keep coming back to the same thing: dystopia

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 of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.

District B13 poster
District B13
2004 Β· dir. Pierre Morel
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.1action Β· thriller Β· science fictionPrime Video

Both are working the same pair: martial arts, street gang

The difference: 23 years apart, and the 2000s show

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

Equilibrium poster
Equilibrium
2002 Β· dir. Kurt Wimmer
πŸ… 40%β˜… 7.3action Β· science fiction Β· thrillerParamount+

One thread runs through both: anti hero

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

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 overthrow the system.

RoboCop poster
RoboCop
1987 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.6action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

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 company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 Β· dir. David Cronenberg
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.8action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

The same mix in both: momentum, then tension

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

The Running Man poster
The Running Man
1987 Β· dir. Paul Michael Glaser
πŸ… 59%β˜… 6.6action Β· thriller Β· science fictionParamount+Starz

Cerebral where it counts, bleak underneath

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 game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where β€œrunners” attempt to evade β€œstalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

The 6th Day poster
The 6th Day
2000 Β· dir. Roger Spottiswoode
πŸ… 40%β˜… 6action Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Kinetic action in both cases

A world of the very near future in which cattle, fish, and even the family pet can be cloned. But cloning humans is illegal - that is until family man Adam Gibson comes home from work one day to find a clone has replaced him. Taken from his family and plunged into a sinister world he doesn't understand, Gibson must not only save himself from the assassins who must destroy him to protect their secret, but uncover who and what is behind the horrible things happening to him.

The Omega Man poster
The Omega Man
1971 Β· dir. Boris Sagal
πŸ… 65%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· action Β· drama

Thriller built on tension, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Escape from New York does

Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain; sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.

Death Race poster
Death Race
2008 Β· dir. Paul W. S. Anderson
πŸ… 41%β˜… 6.4action Β· thriller Β· science fictionStarz

Common ground: martial arts

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 an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.

Surrogates poster
Surrogates
2009 Β· dir. Jonathan Mostow
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· thrillerPrime Video

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

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 others' surrogates.

Logan's Run poster
Logan's Run
1976 Β· dir. Michael Anderson
πŸ… 58%β˜… 6.8action Β· science fiction

Action with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

The difference: Trades the tension of Escape from New York for an angle of its own

In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures β€” but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.

In the mood for more kinetic?

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The best-reviewed films that share Escape from New York’s defining feeling.