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Mars Attacks! poster

Movies that feel likeMars Attacks! (1996)

A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.

If you loved Mars Attacks!, the closest films we have are Delicatessen (1991), Brazil (1985) and Repo Man (1984). All three share Mars Attacks!'s witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is About Endlessness (2019).

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If Mars Attacks! hit the spot, these will too

Delicatessen poster
Delicatessen
1991 Β· dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.5comedy Β· science fiction Β· fantasy

Common ground: dark comedy

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low supply. A young man new in town falls in love with the butcher's daughter, which causes conflicts in her family, who need the young man for other business-related purposes.

Brazil poster
Brazil
1985 Β· dir. Terry Gilliam
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: dark comedy

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

Repo Man poster
Repo Man
1984 Β· dir. Alex Cox
πŸ… 93%β˜… 6.8comedy Β· science fiction

Both land wit and play at once

A down and out young punk gets a job working with a seasoned repo man, but what awaits him in his new career is a series of outlandish adventures revolving around aliens, the CIA, and a most wanted '64 Chevy.

Idiocracy poster
Idiocracy
2006 Β· dir. Mike Judge
πŸ… 71%β˜… 6.5comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventurePrime Video

Both are working the same pair: usa president, congress

The difference: Easier on the dream logic than Mars Attacks!

To test its top-secret Human Hibernation Project, the Pentagon picks the most average European-Americans it can find - an Army private and a prostitute - and sends them to the year 2505 after a series of freak events. But when they arrive, they find a civilization so dumbed-down that they're the smartest people around.

About Endlessness poster
About Endlessness
2019 Β· dir. Roy Andersson
πŸ… 95%β˜… 6.8drama Β· fantasy Β· comedyRent or buy

The same mix in both: dream logic, then dark humor

The difference: Takes it somewhere less cerebral than Mars Attacks! does

A reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendor and banality, guided by a Scheherazade-esque narrator. Inconsequential moments have the same significance as historical events. Simultaneously an ode and a lament, presents a kaleidoscope of all that is eternally human, an infinite story of the vulnerability of existence.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice poster
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
2024 Β· dir. Tim Burton
πŸ… 76%β˜… 6.6comedy Β· fantasyMax

Tim Burton working the same nerve twice

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Betelgeuse, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.

Dogma poster
Dogma
1999 Β· dir. Kevin Smith
πŸ… 72%β˜… 7.3fantasy Β· comedy Β· adventure

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

The difference: Sits closer to adventure than Mars Attacks! does

An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loophole and re-enter Heaven.

A Serious Man poster
A Serious Man
2009 Β· dir. Joel Coen
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7comedy Β· dramaPrime Video

Fantasy built on play, twice over

It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. He scrambles to find a semblance of meaning as he loses control of nearly every aspect of his life.

The Naked Gun 2Β½: The Smell of Fear poster
The Naked Gun 2Β½: The Smell of Fear
1991 Β· dir. David Zucker
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· crimeParamount+

The same two preoccupations: the white house, and parody

Bumbling lieutenant Frank Drebin is out to foil the big boys in the energy industry, who intend to suppress technology that will put them out of business.

Drop Dead Gorgeous poster
Drop Dead Gorgeous
1999 Β· dir. Michael Patrick Jann
πŸ… 47%β˜… 6.7comedy

Darkly funny science fiction in both cases

In a small Minnesota town, the annual beauty pageant is being covered by a TV crew. Former winner Gladys Leeman wants to make sure her daughter follows in her footsteps; explosions, falling lights, and trailer fires prove that. As the Leemans are the richest family in town, the police are pretty relaxed about it all. Despite everything, main rival (but sweet) Amber Atkins won't give up without a fight.

Attack the Block poster
Attack the Block
2011 Β· dir. Joe Cornish
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.7action Β· comedy Β· science fiction

Cerebral comedy, and it commits to that

A South London teen gang must team up with the other residents of their housing estate to protect the neighbourhood from a terrifying alien invasion.

Scary Movie poster
Scary Movie
2000 Β· dir. Keenen Ivory Wayans
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.3comedyParamount+Peacock

Both are built on the same subject: parody

A familiar-looking group of teenagers find themselves being stalked by a more-than-vaguely recognizable masked killer! As the victims begin to pile up and the laughs pile on, none of your favorite scary movies escape the razor-sharp satire of this outrageously funny parody!

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The best-reviewed films that share Mars Attacks!’s defining feeling.