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Movies that feel like Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)

If you loved Plan 9 from Outer Space, the closest films we have are The Thing from Another World (1951), Colony (2026) and Phase IV (1974). All three share Plan 9 from Outer Space's cerebral and dread feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 5 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium and Peacock Premium and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 66% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 3.9 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Edward D. Wood Jr.cerebraldreadunsettling
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If Plan 9 from Outer Space hit the spot, these will too

The Thing from Another World poster
The Thing from Another World
1951 Β· dir. Christian Nyby
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7drama Β· horror Β· science fiction

Both are built on the same subject: alien invasion

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Plan 9 from Outer Space does

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

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Colony poster
Colony
2026 Β· dir. Yeon Sang-ho
β˜… 6.5action Β· horror Β· science fiction

Common ground: zombie

The difference: Leans harder into action than Plan 9 from Outer Space does

Professor Se-jeong is thrust into a bloody nightmare when a rapidly mutating virus is released during a biotech conference causing authorities to seal the facility. Trapped inside with no escape, Se-jeong along with a small group of survivors must fight to stay alive while the infected undergo horrific transformations.

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Phase IV poster
Phase IV
1974 Β· dir. Saul Bass
πŸ… 50%β˜… 6.4horror Β· science fiction

Both land ideas and dread at once

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

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers poster
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1956 Β· dir. Don Siegel
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.7science fiction Β· horror Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: alien

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

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

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers poster
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1978 Β· dir. Philip Kaufman
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.4science fiction Β· horror

Both keep coming back to the same thing: alien

The difference: Made in the 1970s, in a different era of the craft

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.

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The Fly poster
The Fly
1958 Β· dir. Kurt Neumann
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.1science fiction Β· horror Β· drama

Both lean on unease more than on science fiction

Industrialist FranΓ§ois 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.

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Son of Frankenstein poster
Son of Frankenstein
1939 Β· dir. Rowland V. Lee
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7horror Β· science fiction

Horror built on ideas, twice over

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.

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Phantasm poster
Phantasm
1979 Β· dir. Don Coscarelli
πŸ… 72%β˜… 6.6horror Β· science fiction

Dread-soaked science fiction, and it commits to that

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.

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Island of Lost Souls poster
Island of Lost Souls
1932 Β· dir. Erle C. Kenton
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.4science fiction Β· horror

Horror with a pulse of unease, in both cases

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

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Creature from the Black Lagoon poster
Creature from the Black Lagoon
1954 Β· dir. Jack Arnold
πŸ… 81%β˜… 6.9adventure Β· horror Β· science fiction

Cerebral science fiction in both cases

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a β€œmissing 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 fiancΓ©e, Kay.

Feels alike?
Seconds poster
Seconds
1966 Β· dir. John Frankenheimer
πŸ… 79%β˜… 7.6science fiction Β· thriller Β· horror

Dread-soaked horror in both cases

An unhappy middle-aged banker agrees to a procedure that will fake his death and give him a completely new look and identity; one that comes with its own price.

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The Invisible Man poster
The Invisible Man
1933 Β· dir. James Whale
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.6horror Β· science fiction

Both sit in the same unsettling register

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.

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The best-reviewed films that share Plan 9 from Outer Space’s defining feeling.