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The Thing from Another World poster

Movies that feel likeThe Thing from Another World (1951)

Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.

If you loved The Thing from Another World, the closest films we have are The Fly (1958), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). All three share The Thing from Another World's dread and unsettling feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Island of Lost Souls (1932).

🍅 87% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Christian Nybycontemplativedreadunsettlingcerebral
9 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If The Thing from Another World hit the spot, these will too

The Fly poster
The Fly
1958 · dir. Kurt Neumann
🍅 95%★ 7.1science fiction · horror · dramaPrime Video

Contemplative and dread-soaked in the same breath

Industrialist François Delambre is called late at night by his sister-in-law, Helene, who tells him that she has just killed her husband. Reluctant at first, she eventually explains to the police that he invented a matter transportation apparatus and, while experimenting on himself, a fly entered the chamber.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1931 · dir. Rouben Mamoulian
🍅 91%★ 7.6horror · science fiction · dramaMax

Common ground: black and white

The difference: 20 years apart, and the 1930s show

Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men: one that is good and one that is evil. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.

Son of Frankenstein poster
Son of Frankenstein
1939 · dir. Rowland V. Lee
🍅 95%★ 7.1horror · science fiction

Both keep coming back to the same thing: black and white

The difference: Less contemplative, more its own thing

One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and revives him, only to find out the monster is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.

Island of Lost Souls poster
Island of Lost Souls
1932 · dir. Erle C. Kenton
🍅 88%★ 7.3science fiction · horror

Both land unease and ideas at once

An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.

Plan 9 from Outer Space poster
Plan 9 from Outer Space
1957 · dir. Edward D. Wood Jr.
🍅 66%★ 3.9science fiction · horror

Both are built on the same subject: alien invasion

In California, an old man grieves the loss of his wife, and dies the day after she is buried. However, the space soldier Eros and his mate Tanna use an electric device to resurrect them both, alongside the strong Inspector Clay, who was murdered by the alien-controlled dead couple. When the populations of Hollywood and Washington D.C. see flying saucers on the sky, a colonel, a police lieutenant, a commercial pilot, his wife, and a policeman try to stop the aliens.

The Invisible Man poster
The Invisible Man
1933 · dir. James Whale
🍅 95%★ 7.6horror · science fictionPrime VideoPeacock

Horror with a pulse of dread, in both cases

After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.

Phase IV poster
Phase IV
1974 · dir. Saul Bass
🍅 50%★ 6.4horror · science fiction

Unsettling science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers poster
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1956 · dir. Don Siegel
🍅 97%★ 7.7science fiction · horror · thrillerParamount+

The same preoccupation in both: alien invasion

The difference: Leans further into thriller

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

Creature from the Black Lagoon poster
Creature from the Black Lagoon
1954 · dir. Jack Arnold
🍅 81%★ 6.9adventure · horror · science fictionPrime VideoPeacock

Drama built on ideas, twice over

The difference: Played as adventure first

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers poster
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1978 · dir. Philip Kaufman
🍅 93%★ 7.4science fiction · horror

Both lean on dread more than on horror

The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.

Phantasm poster
Phantasm
1979 · dir. Don Coscarelli
🍅 72%★ 6.6horror · science fictionPrime Video

Unsettling science fiction in both cases

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.

Godzilla poster
Godzilla
1954 · dir. Ishirō Honda
🍅 94%★ 7.6thriller · horror · science fictionMax

Cerebral drama in both cases

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Thing from Another World’s defining feeling.