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They Live poster

Movies that feel likeThey Live (1988)

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.

If you loved They Live, the closest films we have are Escape from New York (1981), eXistenZ (1999) and Mad Max 2 (1981). All three share They Live's cerebral and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is District B13 (2004).

πŸ… 86% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. John Carpentercerebralkinetictensebleak
11 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video Β· Paramount Plus Essential Β· MGM Plus

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If They Live hit the spot, these will too

Escape from New York poster
Escape from New York
1981 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 70%β˜… 7.1action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

John Carpenter working the same nerve twice

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.

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

One thread runs through both: dystopia

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.

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

The same preoccupation in both: 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.

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

The same mix in both: ideas, then momentum

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.

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

Tense and bleak in the same breath

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+

Cerebral science fiction in both cases

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

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.

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

Both lean on momentum more than on action

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

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

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.

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

Science fiction built on bleakness, twice over

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 2000s show

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.

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

Action with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

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.

Gamer poster
Gamer
2009 Β· dir. Brian Taylor
πŸ… 29%β˜… 5.7action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Thriller with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

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 the game. Kable's ultimate challenge becomes regaining his identity and independence by defeating the game's mastermind.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines poster
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
2003 Β· dir. Jonathan Mostow
πŸ… 70%β˜… 6.3action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Tense science fiction, and it commits to that

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 assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.

In the mood for more cerebral?

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The best-reviewed films that share They Live’s defining feeling.